Transcript Belize’s Co-responsibility Cash Transfer Program

Belize’s Co-responsibility
Cash Transfer Program
Building
Opportunities for
Our Social
Transformation
name
MHDSTPA : Policy and Planning Unit
BOOST – Program Objectives
• A Conditional Cash Transfer program
• Two broad aims:
• immediate poverty reduction through a
small, but regular cash payment
• break family’s cycle of poverty through
human development of children
MHDSTPA : Policy and Planning Unit
BOOST – What is it?
• There 4 outcomes we can measure:
• 1.Short term service use
• attendance at school
• number of health centre visits
• 2.Final Outcomes
• educational attainment
• improved health
MHDSTPA : Policy and Planning Unit
BOOST – What is it?
• There 4 outcomes we can measure:
• 3.Short term HH welfare
• family income and expenditures
• 4. Long term HH welfare
• child’s future income/wealth
• mental well-being / happiness
MHDSTPA : Policy and Planning Unit
BOOST – Design Details
• Aimed at five groups of individuals:
• Women who are pregnant
• Children 0-4
• School children (Infant I – Form IV)
• Elderly (over 60 years of age)
• Physically disabled
• Each group has to meet criteria for payments
MHDSTPA : Policy and Planning Unit
BOOST Features: Compliance
► Children:
0-4 follow Ministry of Health’s
vaccination and health check calendar
► Children: 5-14 and 15-18 attend 85% of school
 Non-compliance: 1st month – half payment
 Non-compliance: 2nd month – no payment
► Elderly
population: two health checks per year
► Only education conditions are monitored now
► Health: soft conditions
MHDSTPA : Policy and Planning Unit
Payment Structure [1]
► Payments
made to female if possible
► Basic payment is BZ$44 ≡ US$22 a month
► Increases by school level and sex
Max. payment is $82 for
males & $75 for females
$5 F / $10 M
$5 F / $7 M
+$2
+$2
+$2
MHDSTPA : Policy and Planning Unit
+$5
+$5
+$5
Payment Structure [2]
•Why?
•Males drop out of school…
• At greater rates
• At early levels
•Secondary school net enrolment data:
• Males = 37%
• Females = 44%
MHDSTPA : Policy and Planning Unit
BOOST: Future…
► Monitor
Health Conditions
 Data exchange with Ministry of Health pending
► Potential
for other services offered to BOOST
households:
 Parenting Course
 Financial planning (through Credit Unions)
 Skills building and training
► Managed
expansion
► Evaluation & Research : Impact on household
MHDSTPA : Policy and Planning Unit
BOOST – Program Impact
► Two levels of
Impact:
 Beneficiaries
 Social Protection Sector
MHDSTPA : Policy and Planning Unit
Program Impact – Beneficiaries [1]
► No
impact study conducted, but anecdotal
evidence from process evaluation conducted
by the World Bank (http://goo.gl/FN9EN, June
2012)
MHDSTPA : Policy and Planning Unit
Program Impact – Beneficiaries [2]
MHDSTPA : Policy and Planning Unit
Program Impact – SP System [1]
► BOOST
as a key driver of wider system reform;
intra- and inter-ministry by highlighting
‘opportunities’ in the SP system
 Difficulty in getting birth certificates / SS#s
 Lack of co-ordination between units /ministries
► Led
to collaboration between Education
Ministry [Truancy Unit] and MHDSTPA in
collecting attendance data from schools
MHDSTPA : Policy and Planning Unit
Program Impact – SP System [2]
► Growing
degree of appreciation for evidence
based social policy across government
► Moving beyond quantifying the poor to
actually targeting services by design…
Only programme to use a transparent,
objective eligibility criterion (PMT)
► Shown that Government can implement
complex, modern and effective programs
MHDSTPA : Policy and Planning Unit
Program Impact – SP System [3]
► Positive
feedback from multi-lateral donors
► Ministry profile raised (still a small ministry
MHDSTPA : Policy and Planning Unit
BOOST – Program Sustainability
► Wholly
funded from GoB recurrent
expenditure [very positive]
► High profile with politicians and public
 Prime Minister attributes some of last electoral
success to BOOST
 Good mention in local media
http://edition.channel5belize.com/archives/78048
http://edition.channel5belize.com/archives/78045
http://edition.channel5belize.com/archives/66222
MHDSTPA : Policy and Planning Unit
BOOST – Innovation
► Really
was a new experience for Ministry in
terms of implementing such a large, complex
program…
► In-House MIS
► Credit Union Accounts
► Proxy Means Test (PMT)
MHDSTPA : Policy and Planning Unit
Innovations: In-House MIS [1]
► Started
as series of Excel worksheets…
► Now an Access DB & Website for case mgmt
► Evolution of MIS was demand driven &
specifically for context
► All built in-house – zero cost
(except for sleepless nights!)
► Extensive use of Google functionality
MHDSTPA : Policy and Planning Unit
Innovations: In-House MIS [2]
MHDSTPA : Policy and Planning Unit
Innovations: In-House MIS [3]
MHDSTPA : Policy and Planning Unit
Innovations: Credit Unions
► Real
emphasis on signing up beneficiaries to
Credit Unions:
 Access to wider financial services
 Security [previously large amounts of cash being
paid]
 No transaction cost using CUs
► Currently
98% of beneficiaries paid through
CUs
MHDSTPA : Policy and Planning Unit
Innovations: Proxy Means Test
► Isn’t
so innovative in terms of other CCT
program in region
► But was sharp change for MHDSTPA
 Technical assistance from another project team
 Difficulty in explaining results to officers and
public
MHDSTPA : Policy and Planning Unit
Replication & potential for exchange
► Evidence
suggest CCTs are easy to replicate in
different countries and contexts
[vast number being implemented in over 30
countries]
► Some of design settings could be equally
applicable to other Caribbean states
► Great potential for exchange
MHDSTPA : Policy and Planning Unit
MHDSTPA : Policy and Planning Unit