Transcript Child Welfare Reform in Albania Marieta Zaçe Deputy Minister of Labor, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Albania Sofia 3-6 July 2007

Child Welfare Reform in
Albania
Marieta Zaçe
Deputy Minister of Labor, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities,
Albania
Sofia 3-6 July 2007
Country Profile
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Population (in million)
Children under 15 years old
GDP per capita (current USD)
Unemployment rate (%)
Poverty rate (%)
3.142
820,000
2.664
14,1
18,5
 Children at risk:
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Children living in complete poverty
Children without parental care
Disabled children
Children emigrating to other countries without their
parents
– Street children. In addition, there are children victims of
violence and children in conflict with the law.
Main Findings and Outcomes
Measures
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Target groups of children
Key reform initiatives and documents
Reforms of planning and decision-making
Reorganisation of statutory services – “service
purchasing” and gate-keeping at local level
Decentralisation
Deinstitutionalisation
Community-based services
Personnel issues
Gate-keeping at national level
Material assistance for children and families
Groups of Children
Social welfare policies the Albanian Ministry of Labor
develops focus on the children in need or at risk, including:
 Orphans or single-parent children
 Disabled children
 Street children (beggars, street workers, abandoned
children)
 Violated children
 Children leading a secluded life (blood feuds),
 Unaccompanied child emigrants
 Trafficked children
 Other types of children or youth with problems: drug
addicts, unemployed, involved in criminal offences;
 Roma and Egyptian children
 School drop-outs.
Key Reform Initiatives
 Strategies and action plans on child
protection, with World Bank support
 Current review of the Action Plan based on
the child protection system analysis
Reforms of planning and
decision-making
 Primarily focused on the development and
strengthening of planning and decision-making at
regional level.
 The regional level governance and the
communication channels with the local authorities
are yet to be improved.
 The Strategy for Social Services (2005) provides
for the relevant role to be played by local
authorities for reviewing and assessing relevant
policies.
Reorganisation of statutory
services
 Reform efforts for service purchasing are
focused on the development of the new ‘service
purchasing’
 Community Care Plans
 Pilot projects - Child Protection Units
(supported by UNICEF) and Child Labour
Monitoring Committees (supported by ILOIPEC).
Decentralisation
 Decentralisation of social services, under
the new Law on Social Services.
 Increased responsibilities for
municipalities/communes and the newlyintroduced regional level governance
(Regional Social Care Sections).
 Financial constraints
First step: transfer of residential care centers to local
governments
Deinstitutionalization
 Deinstitutionalization goals:
– improve the quality of care in existing
institutions, and
– promote and develop community-based
alternatives.
• Deinstitutionalization to continue based on
budget and donor fund availability
Community-based Services
Second step:
 Development of community-based services,
associated with the transfer of the responsibility for
services to the local government.
 Introduction of non-governmental service
providers
 Lack of services targeting both children and
parents
 Foster care services are yet to be developed
 Initiation of a Social Fund to promote the
development of community-based services.
Quality of Services
New standards of social services
Development and implementation of a number
of standards
Licensing of service providers
Inspection
Capacity-building
New information system
Staff-related Issues
 Training and education
 Training provided for a variety of
professionals from various sectors
Gate-keeping at National Level
 Different gate-keeping mechanisms
(development of standards, licensing and
inspection)
 Implementation yet to take place
Material assistance for children
and families
 Amendments to the social cash benefit
program, aiming at adjusting the programme
to the economic and social situation of the
country.
 Improved targeting of the cash benefits
 The cash benefit program is still
predominant to the provision of social
services.
Response: place the child at the
centre of the policy agenda
 Promote a country ‘pro-child’ approach:
– income support
– access to services (health, social and family services,
child care, housing, education, kindergarten)
– youth integration
– child socialisation
 Emphasize reduction of (regional) disparities in
child wellbeing
 Data collection, policy-oriented analysis,
monitoring of public policies
Complimentary Efforts for Social
Programs
• Revision of the Strategy for Social and Child
Protection
• The goal is to reduce the poverty count to
10% by 2013 from the current 18%
• Roll-out of community-based social services
• Harmonization of social cash benefit
assistance with other cash benefit programs
• Inclusion of all categories in need