The experience of building a Social Protection System in Chile Conference on Horizontal Cooperation in Social Protection Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago September 11 and 12, 2008 Pablo Coloma Correa Executive Director Solidarity and Social Investment Fund – FOSIS Ministry of Planning – Chile

“Contributing to the country’s efforts to overcome poverty, supporting the original responses to issues, areas and work approaches, complementary to those dealt with by other State agencies ”

Some data about FOSIS Founded in 1990 Works in the whole country through 15 regional and 20 provincial offices Manages an annual budget of approximately US$ 100,000, persons work for FOSIS In 2007, FOSIS attended 130,000 families through the Puente Program and 80,000 individuals (men and women) through its program supply

Context of the Puente Program Since the mid-nineties, the reduction of extreme poverty (indigence) has been slowing down.

Targeting social policy was successful, but deficient for the “intra poverty” perspective: The poorest did not demand the offer of services created for them. The reason? Delinking social networks. In response, the Puente Program arises which aims to bring the State to families living in indigent conditions. Today the requirement for entry into the Puente Program is to belong to the 5% most vulnerable families. Context of the Puente Program

“We want to install practices of mutual support to integrate them in their local community, give them access -through expressed demand- to social benefits targeted at the poorest, and link them to existing social networks, so that they can achieve an income which is superior to the line of indigence.” The Puente Program

Working for two years through personalized support of each family in 7 dimensions: Identity, Education, Health, Family Dynamics, Housing, Work and Income Coordinate and arrange the public supply offer around the families’ needs Implement the Program with strategic partners (Municipalities) Being the entrance to the “Chile Solidario” Social Protection System This means:

The Puente Program is the basis for the emergence of the Chile Solidario law enacted in The Chile Solidario System, under the coordination of the Ministry of Planning, provides psychosocial support to each family and ensures preferential access to cash subsidies and governmental social programs. The law guarantees access and maintenance of monetary subsidies: Family Allowance, Pension Assistances (Old Age and Disability), Allowances for Consumption of Drinking Water, Grant for School Retention, Chile Solidario Subsidies (Protection Voucher and Exit Voucher) Puente Program and Chile Solidario

The implementation of the Puente Program stressed the FOSIS management: The regular programmatic offer had to be adapted to the requirements of indigent families.

FOSIS and the consolidation of Chile Solidario We adapted the design and the way of implementing our programs; e.g. Income Generation System We adopted the perspective of life cycles; e.g. Youth Employability Program We softened the delivery mechanisms of existing services; e.g. Social Development Program We generated a specific offer to cover areas not addressed by FOSIS and other State Agencies; e.g. Housing Program, Production for Family Subsistence Program Some answers:

The Program achieves a better articulation between supply and demand for services and a better targeting of preferential offer for vulnerable families: –Education: National Scholar Grants: Assurance of 3 daily meals, dental care, clothing, school material supplies Subsidy for school retention –Health: PAP test –Housing: Access to solidarity funds –Work: Preferential offer by the National Service for Training and Labor –Ministry of Planning: Preferential offer of FOSIS programs, such as Housing, Youth Employability and Family Subsistence –Preferential access to vouchers: in case electricity cost rises, during the winter months, among others –Improved access to specific Family Subsidies among pregnant mothers and children under 18 FOSIS and the consolidation of Chile Solidario

Obvious increase in the awareness of the available public offer Notable increase in the access to education of children between 4 and 15 years Increased number of enrolments in the public health system, more visits for preventive care Significant improvements in projecting into the future by the families and in the perception of their abilities to put actions in place Significant improvements in the access to work and consequently in the families’ income Results: The World Bank

The first analysis of the impact assessment being conducted by the World Bank indicates that for rural areas, Chile Solidario accounts for a 35% reduction of indigence and an 18% reduction of poverty.

Proactive, regarding the risks faced by families: Capable of activating social benefits of universal nature against various types of vulnerability Today: The Chilean Social Protection System presents itself

It provides support in the confrontation of critical situations (unemployment, diseases, disability, old age, poverty) It promises to empower people to fulfill the roles of the different stages in their life cycle It modifies the conditions in the families’ environment (expanding the structure of opportunities and making them accessible) It addresses the specific conditions that explain vulnerability of people It works in the local territory in order to correct inequities that affect the welfare of individuals and communities It inclines towards a potential universal coverage, but with different mechanisms of access and provision of services Social Protection System in Chile