Jelena Pešić The Republic Institute for Social Protection Belgrade, 2013

Basic facts about country EU membership candidate Total population – 7,120,666 Children – 17.6% Upper-middle income country facing considerable social cost of the economic crisis: Unemployment rate – 26% (2012), 50% among young people Poverty – increased from 2008 to 2010: General population - from 6.1 to 9.2% Children – 7.3 to 13.7% Number of families receiving social cash benefits is constantly rising KEY FACT > 8.8% population benefit from Social Welfare System

Key regulations Social Welfare Law – 2011 Family Law – 2005 Law on financial assistance to families with children – 2009

Mainstream of the reform Licensing of professionals and service providers introduced Service quality standardization established Plurality of service providers guaranteed Special-purpose funds introduced to support less developed municipalities Transformation of residential institutions and development of alternative models of family support Banning institutional placement for children age 0-3 Residential capacity of individual institutions limited up to 50 users Development of foster care Better and wider protection of abused and neglected children Social Welfare Law adopted in 2011.

Child care system CENTRAL LOCAL CASH BENEFITS: Social allowance Disability allowance Child allowance Maternity leave allowance Parental allowance STATUTORY SERVICES: Foster care Residential care One-of cash payments Preschool allowance for children from economically vulnerable families Community based services (Day care centers, Home care, Shelters, Supported housing, ) Counseling-therapeutic and social-educational services MULTISECTORAL APPROACHES

Social welfare/child care system 140 Social Work Centers Among 85 Institutions 19 residential care for children and youth : 11 residential care for children and youth, 5 residential care for children and youth with disabilities, 3 institutions for children and youth with behavioral problems 5 Regional centers for fostering and adoption Government Ministry LESP Republic Institute for Social Protection

Local social services Present in 137 (out of 175) local communities > 33 different types of local social services 15 types of services are intend to children and youth 9 types of services for adults and seniors and 9 types of services are equally used by all age groups of users, and those services are classified as services for family

Serbia Residential care for children and youth Residential care for children and youth with disabilities Institutions for children and youth with behavioral problems Regional centers for fostering and adopting

The main facts Number of children and youth in residential care decreased by 48% in 2000 – 2011 period Serbia is now among the countries with the lowest rate of institutionalization in Europe Out of the total number of children separated from their biological families around 80% are placed in foster care

Children and youth in formal care

Basic characteristics of residential care Majority of children and youth came from biological families (50%) and from other institutions(30%) - Dominant reason for accommodation are inadequate parental care (around 50%) - More then 20% leave institition for chlidren and youth able to live independetly - Around 20% are moved back in biological families - 19% moved to foster care families - Period of stay in institutions: 22% is 2 – 3 years, 14% stay 8 to 10 years - Half of the children are without contact with their families and close relatives - Children are placed in institutions far away from their families

Summary More than 170 services for children available at local level Services for children with disability in 65% of all municipalities – day care centers in 70 municipalities, home care in 37 municipalities… Community based services 4 institutions closed; remaining 19 are being downsized and transformed to provide new services (shelters, day- care centers, supported living, respite care, high-quality small group homes for children with complex disability) 70% of institutions have capacity for residential placement in line with the new law (less than 50 users) Residential institutions 5 Regional centers for fostering and adoption established and fully operational 3 new Centers planed for early 2014 More than foster families certified Fostering

Professional challenges Create and develop new and upgrade existing services for family support Remove adults (young adults) from institutions for children and youth and ensure adequate residental care Incerase number and territorial coverage of local social srevices for children and youth Develop cross-sector cooperation (Social welfare with Education system and Health care) Better knowledge on issues and needs of families at risk provided to general public Improve competence structure and increase total number of professionals working with children and families

Thank you Republic Institute for Social Protection Terazije 34, Belgrade