1. Puente in the Caribbean Programme Internship on Social Protection Strategies October 26- November 2 2009 Santiago Chile Ms. Jovil Martin Director Community and Social Development St. Kitts and Nevis

2. Activities Planned Presentation to Ministry and Cabinet Policy Review Analysis of Systems and Resources Presentation to Cabinet Local Stakeholder Consultations and other participating Countries

3. Presentation to Ministry and Cabinet This was done upon return from meeting in St. Lucia The Permanent Secretary was appraised of the workshop outcomes and presented with the proposed timelines The Puente Programme was well received and accepted by the Ministry. The Ministry gave its approval to further explore how the Puente Programme can be encorporated into our existing programmes.

4. Policy Review The Ministry is presently implementing the EU funded Institutional Strengthening for Social and Economic Development Project. As part of this project a number of activities were developed 1.Means Test instrument 2.Procedural Manual/Handbook 3.Job Descriptions 4.Policy Brief – in draft

5. Analysis of Systems UNICEF-UNIFEM-WB study, Assessment of the Social Safety Nets in St. Kitts and Nevis undertaken early October Study Tour to Jamaica – PATH, JSIF, UWI in June Concordia University MIS System tested and Officers trained in September

6. Local Stakeholder Consultation Not undertaken as yet

7. Challenges Faced/Facing Policy Review- Short timeframe for the consultant to deliver Services are in various Ministries A reform cannot be achieved in six months Consequently the policy brief was not completed How to complete unfinished work Funding

8. CHALLENGES Services are Non conditional, systems of graduation not built in. Creates a high level of dependency There is a lack of a social policy/protection framework which contributes to overlapping of functions and duplication of effort/services Shift from social assistance to social development is required

9. CHALLENGES Economy is vulnerable and Public debt will remain high for many years to come Social Services have suffered /shrinking budget in the face of downturn in economy Political Will

10. Strategy for Moving Forward 2010-2013 1.Policy Review and Development Rationalization of policy/operations to match resources A transparent targeting framework Strengthening of Social Assistance Comprehensive Social Protection Framework, one stop service Poverty Reduction Strategy

11. The Way Forward 2.Systems Streamline systems of delivery of the various benefits Proxy Means testing instrument Financial Management System

12. The Way Forward 3. Human Resources Institutional Review Capacity Building/Training and Upgrading 4.Review and Adopt Best Practices.Chile Puente

13. The Way Forward 5.Evidence Based Social Planning Monitoring and Evaluation Framework Ongoing Research

14. The Way Forward Building Partnerships with local, regional and international agencies OAS, UNICEF, UNIFEM, WB, CDB, OECS Secretariat, European Union, UWI

15. Assistance Required Technical and Financial Support for the convening of a stakeholder meeting to introduce the Puente Programme Technical assistance with the development of an M & E framework Technical assistance with the development of a comprehensive policy framework for social protection.

16. THANK YOU