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This article is based on a report concerning the state of knowledge of “ Social care of young children aged below three in situations of poverty” submitted to the French national family allowance fund in May 2020. The present purpose was to address the question of what public policy should be implemented, for social care in childhood, to alleviate the situations of poverty experienced by very young children.  Drawing on a baseline study composed of a literature review of national and international research, three alternatives commonly put forward in French public debate are questioned:  Which is preferable, a universal policy or a targeted one?  Or can a middle way, as a “proportioned universality”, be envisioned? And which is better, investing in structures or developing personal allowances?