EFFICIENT SOCIAL PROTECTION IN THE FUNCTION OF POVERTY REDUCTION

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EFFICIENT SOCIAL PROTECTION IN THE FUNCTION OF
POVERTY REDUCTION

• MINISTRY OF LABOR, EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL POLICY

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The most important objectives and measures set in
the Poverty Reduction Strategy in the area of
social protection

• The main objective is the reduction of the number
  of the poor and the development of a more
  efficient social protection, and in particular
• Improved recognition and establishment of the
  poorest population and increased emphasis on
  society members who are not able-bodied
• Development of social protection services which
  support life in the community daily residence
  for persons with special needs, house care and
  assistance, fostering
• Development of professional standards,
  procedures, protocols and norms
• Improvement of public awareness on various social
  protection programmes
• Linking of all social protection actors at the
  local level
• Assessment and improvement of protection for
  persons with disabilities
• Development of special programmes for the
  integration of Roma, refugees and displaced
  persons.

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Strategic Development Framework

• European Integrations agenda
• Poverty Reduction Strategy
• Social Protection Development Strategy

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Social Protection Development Strategy
PRIORITIES SPDS ? PRS

• Building of new policy and legislative activity
• Decentralization of the social welfare system
• Ensuring more efficient material services
  relating to social protection
• Ensuring quality services relating to social
  protection
• Strengthening of professional capacities of the
  employed in the social protection system

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STRUCTURE OF OBJECTIVES WITHIN THE SOCIAL
PROTECTION REFORM
Integral social protection
Development of the network of services in the
community
Improved protection of the poor
Ensuring the existential minimum
More efficient system of material allowances
Integral assessment and planning in the
community
Introduction of the quality system
Development of territory-based and functionally
accessible services
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Improvement of the Protection of the Poor -
RESULTS

• Amendments to the Law on Social Protection
• Introduces a unified minimum level of social
  security (harmonized with living costs and
  follows economic trends) and census
• Family Financial Support (MOP) is conditioned by
  income and property
• Enhanced targeting of the poorest population
• Increased allowances for some 2/3 of
  beneficiaries and
• Increased number of MOP beneficiaries
• Achieved regularity of payment from the budget of
  the Republic

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Improved protection of the poor - RESULTS

• The adoption of the Law on Financial Support for
  the Family with Children includes
• Child allowance in the function of poverty
  reduction
• A unique amount for every child until the fourth
  child has been introduced, increased for single
  parent children and children with development
  disabilities and in foster care (with a more
  favorable census established)
• Parent allowance has been introduced as a
  population policy measure

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Improvement of Protection of the Poor - PLANS

• Introduction of new legislative solutions as
  results of monitoring the effects of introduced
  measures for protecting the poor
• Redefining the poverty line in line with the
  achieved economic development
• Development of employment programmes for
  able-bodied beneficiaries of financial support
• Strengthening existing services and unification
  of their activities
• Establishment of a unique material allowances
  registry

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Improvement of the Protection of the Poor -
CHALLENGES

• Ensuring access to the social protection system
  for persons without identification documents,
• Create space for more efficient direction of
  social transfers, taking into consideration
  changes in the equivalence scale,
• Development of control mechanisms which should
  prevent misuse and whose non-existence hinders
  further decentralization,
• Linking of various sectors at the central and
  local level (employment, education, health,
  social protection) in order to ensure an
  integrated social protection approach with
  emphasis on active social policy measures towards
  the poor
• Implementation of projects of protected and
  social residence

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Developing a Network of Services within a
Community- RESULTS

• Defined methodology of establishing the needs and
  linking of all local resources into a system of
  integral social protection
• Foundations established for introducing the
  quality system into the social protection system
• - Appropriate normative framework
• - Ethical codex
• - Standards of social protection services
• - Licensing and accreditation
• - Education of the staff in the system

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Developing a Network of Services within a
Community- RESULTS

• Social Innovations Fund has supported 150 local
  projects directed to the development of
  alternative social protection services
• Local plans developed and the process of
  transforming residential institutions for social
  protection is initiated
• Network of foster families has been developed,
  the number of foster children increased and share
  of children in residential institutions has
  changed in regard to foster families
• Enhanced system of protection against violence in
  the family and social protection institutions
• Social protection institutes have been
  established

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Developing a Network of Services within a
Community- RESULTS

• Ensured resources for improving the
  infrastructure necessary for developing new
  services in the community (NIP)
• 180 flats for independent living with support of
  persons with disabilities
• 20 flats for independent living of youth leaving
  social protection institutions
• 100 day care cases (prevention of residential
  housing)
• 20 new small-capacity elderly homes
• Improvement of material-technical conditions of
  social work institutions (IT equipment,
  transportation, removal of architectonic
  barriers)
• Improvement of material-technical conditions of
  residential social protection institutions
  (adequate transportation, removal of
  architectonic barriers and necessary adaptations)

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Developing a Network of Services within a
Community- PLANS

• Motion and adoption of the cross-sector protocol
  on cooperation which shall define obligations and
  cooperation of various systems
• Development of strategic and action plans of
  services at various levels
• Establishment of local councils for social issues
• Adoption of regulations defining service
  standards
• Implementation of service standards into the
  social protection system
• Establishment of a unique data base enabling the
  monitoring of needs, services and outcomes at all
  levels

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Developing a Network of Services within a
Community- PLANS

• Further development of services and departments
  for supporting the natural family (advisory,
  educational, on-site services, clubs and day care
  centers with various contents)
• Development of small-capacity institutions for
  non-covered services
• Introduction of 24/7 attendance for immediate
  interventions in social work centers
• Establishment and support of SOS services

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Developing a Network of Services within a
Community- CHALLENGES

• Introduction of independent representation
• Introduction of professional behaviour codex into
  the system
• Establishment of a professional advancement
  system through continued professional education
• Adoption of regulation which shall define minimum
  share of the municipality budget for social
  protection
• Introduction of tax and other incentives for
  investing and performing social protection
  activities

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• www.minrzs.sr.gov.yu