Decade reform: 7 key innovations of the law on social services
For more than three months - since January - the new law on social services has been waiting for the signature of the President of Ukraine.
However, this period is much shorter than the years of waiting for changes to take place in this area.
What exactly are social services? Why is social service reform so important?
I will explain in detail.
SERVICE, NOT SUBSIDY
Undoubtedly, the reform of the social services system is the most important in the field of social policy over the past 10 years, because unlike other social protection mechanisms (benefits, payments, social benefits, subsidies) can really help a person overcome or minimize the consequences of difficult life circumstances.
Usually, when we hear "social services", we imagine the registration of a subsidy, birth assistance or just getting another certificate from the social security department.
However, social services have nothing to do with the above-mentioned administrative services.
According to the new law:
Social services are actions aimed at preventing difficult life circumstances, overcoming such circumstances or minimizing their negative consequences for individuals / families in them.
It is also worth emphasizing the following concept:
Difficult life circumstances (hereinafter - SJO) are circumstances that negatively affect the life, health and development of the individual, the functioning of the family, which the person / family can not overcome alone.
Considering the life situation of the Ivanchuk family will help us to understand what social services are:
- father Stepan, 38 years old - works seasonally, sometimes abuses alcohol;
- mother Olga, 35 years old - does not work, is on maternity leave, has health problems (needs surgery, but can not leave 2 children unattended);
- son Dmytro, 9 years old - a child with a disability (subgroup A - needs constant round-the-clock care), is constantly at home;
- son Ivan, 9 years old - a child with a disability (has a musculoskeletal disorder), attends a special school 50 km from home, parents take home on vacation.
A social worker who visited the family determined that the family was low-income and in the SJO.
Ivanchuks already receive support from the state and the community in the form of cash benefits (assistance for children with disabilities, allowance for caring for a child with disabilities, assistance to low-income families), as well as subsidies for housing and communal services, benefits and sometimes financial assistance from the community.
Do these numerous activities help to overcome the SJO in which the family found itself?
Obviously not. Because their problem is not a lack of funds (at least not the main one), but the fact that parents for various reasons are not able to provide for the family and cope with these circumstances on their own.
Material assistance from the community is not able to change the father’s attitude to his responsibility for the family (unfortunately, often the opposite), assistance to low-income families - will not help the mother to solve health problems, disability benefits - socialize Dmitry in the community and return to seven Івана Ivan Ivan
лише Only the provision of quality social services will be able to overcome the SJO in the Ivanchuk family, namely:
- the whole family must be under social supporta specialist in social work, whose task, in particular, is to assess the situation and draw up an individual plan, training and skills development, assistance in obtaining psychological assistance, informing counseling, etc .;
- Father Stepan should receive a service of social adaptation , which includes, in particular, correction of psychological state and behavior in everyday life, providing psychological support, promoting employment, assistance in strengthening / restoring family and socially useful ties;
- Olga’s mother needs temporary rest services for parents or their surrogates caring for children with disabilities - this will allow her to go to the hospital, have surgery and improve her health;
- son Dmytro needs a social day care service - it is staying in centers, departments for children with disabilities during the day under the supervision of specialists, where children receive rehabilitation services, where their self-care skills are formed and maintained, psychological support is provided, leisure is organized;
- son Ivan has to return home - live in a family and study in a community, in an inclusive classroom. There he can receive social support during inclusive education.
With these services, the life of the Ivanchuk family has a chance to improve and their negative consequences can be overcome or at least minimized.
The "old" law on social services, which was adopted back in 2003, is currently in force. Most of the above services can be provided long ago: developed standards and the system seems to be ready.
What prevented this? Why was it necessary to pass a new law?
The answer is below, in seven key innovations that will come into force on January 1, 2020:
1. Social services - their own powers of communities
From next year services in accordance with the law.
The powers of these bodies will include, in particular, determining the needs of the population in social services, informing about their list, ensuring their funding, as well as ensuring the improvement of competence and skills of social service providers.
Kyiv and Sevastopol city state administrations, district, district state administrations in Kyiv and Sevastopol, executive bodies of city councils of cities of regional significance, as well as executive bodies of village, settlement, city councils of united territorial communities provide direct provision of basic social services.
2. Basic social services
This is one of the biggest victories of this law. Very soon in each community, if necessary, the following services should be developed, which can be divided into the following groups:
- preventive / preventive: counseling, information, social prevention;
- for persons / families in difficult life circumstances: social support, social adaptation, social integration and reintegration, in-kind assistance, representation of interests, mediation;
- for people with disabilities and the elderly: supported accommodation, home care, physical support for people with disabilities who have musculoskeletal disorders and move in wheelchairs, visual impairments, sign language translation;
- for children with disabilities: support during inclusive education, day care;
- crisis services: emergency (crisis) intervention; granting asylum;
- for orphans and children deprived of parental care: care and upbringing of children in conditions close to family.
As you can see, the list is quite large and this is due to the fact that all these services should be provided in the community, as close as possible to the residence of the person who needs them .
3. Demonopolization of the market
The law establishes uniform requirements for providers of social services of all forms of ownership: state, municipal and non-state.
Providers of social services in the non-governmental sector include enterprises, institutions, organizations, public associations, charitable, religious organizations, natural persons - entrepreneurs and natural persons who provide social care services in accordance with this law without doing business.
It is determined that non-state sector providers can be involved through social procurement, public-private partnership, competition of social projects, social programs, etc.
Ensuring the provision of social services through social order is carried out by compensating social service providers for the cost of social services provided by them.
We remind you that, in particular, the requirement for non-governmental organizations to provide (starting in 2026) at least 50% of social services to children and families with children at the request of executive and local governments, defined in the National Strategy for Institutional Care Reform and raising children.
4. Mandatory provision of social services
The new law stipulates that in some cases, service recipients cannot refuse them, but must undergo individual correctional programs:
- parents who do not fulfill parental responsibilities;
- persons who have committed gender-based violence, domestic violence or child abuse;
- persons to whom probation measures are applied in accordance with the law;
- persons sent by the court to pass the program for offenders;
- in other cases provided by law.
The law also allows not to apply the case in case of threat to life or health of a person - the provision of social services in an emergency (crisis).
5. Case management
This is one of the key technologies of social work, which is practiced in many developed countries.
The case is aimed at solving psychological, interpersonal, social and other problems by establishing direct interaction between the social worker and the recipient of the service and his family or environment.
The stages of the case are as follows:
1. Analysis of the application / request for social services, notification of persons / families who are in difficult life circumstances or in situations that threaten the life or health of the person;
2. Assessment of the needs of the individual / family in social services;
3. Making a decision on the provision of social services taking into account the individual needs of the person / family;
4. Development of an individual plan for the provision of social services;
5. Concluding an agreement on the provision of social services;
6. Execution of the agreement on the provision of social services and the individual plan for the provision of social services;
7. Monitoring the provision of social services and assessing their quality.
Thus, a social worker not only redirects a person after establishing the fact of SJO, but also accompanies him on the way to overcome them or minimize the negative consequences.
6. Register of social
services The register consists of sections on providers of social services (including individuals who provide social services for care without doing business), and on recipients of social services.
For providers, inclusion in the Register means the opportunity to work in the official field and apply for funding from the budget, in particular through the social procurement mechanism. To be in the Register, providers must meet the criteria established by the Cabinet of Ministers, including, in particular:
1. availability of statutory documents, civil law contracts (for individuals - entrepreneurs);
2. compliance with state standards of social services;
3. appropriate professional level of employees, etc.
The law also stipulates that social services may be provided in employment centers, health care, education, culture, etc.
For recipients of social services, the availability of the Register will guarantee the preservation of the history of receiving social services, which will allow, for example, when changing residence, professionals to make more effective decisions to overcome or minimize the negative consequences of SJO.
Information on recipients of social services is entered into the Register directly by providers.
The holder of the Register is the Ministry of Social Policy. The procedure for forming, maintaining and accessing the Register shall be approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
Information from the Register is used in compliance with the requirements of the laws of Ukraine "On Information" and "On Personal Data Protection" only for the needs specified by the legislation on social services.
7. Classifier of social services
The new law also provides for a new classification of social services.
Thus, according to Article 16 of the law, social services are divided into services aimed at:
- social prevention - prevention of difficult life circumstances and / or getting a person / family in such circumstances;
- social support - helping a person / family to overcome difficult life circumstances;
- social services - minimizing the negative consequences of difficult life circumstances for a person / family, supporting their livelihoods, social status and inclusion in the community.
In addition, social services are classified by type, place of provision and timing of provision.
The Ministry of Social Policy is already working on the development of the Classifier of Social Services and anyone can join this activity.
Marianna Onufryk, head of the public organization "Social Synergy", especially for the UE. Life
However, this period is much shorter than the years of waiting for changes to take place in this area.
What exactly are social services? Why is social service reform so important?
I will explain in detail.
SERVICE, NOT SUBSIDY
Undoubtedly, the reform of the social services system is the most important in the field of social policy over the past 10 years, because unlike other social protection mechanisms (benefits, payments, social benefits, subsidies) can really help a person overcome or minimize the consequences of difficult life circumstances.
Usually, when we hear "social services", we imagine the registration of a subsidy, birth assistance or just getting another certificate from the social security department.
However, social services have nothing to do with the above-mentioned administrative services.
According to the new law:
Social services are actions aimed at preventing difficult life circumstances, overcoming such circumstances or minimizing their negative consequences for individuals / families in them.
It is also worth emphasizing the following concept:
Difficult life circumstances (hereinafter - SJO) are circumstances that negatively affect the life, health and development of the individual, the functioning of the family, which the person / family can not overcome alone.
Considering the life situation of the Ivanchuk family will help us to understand what social services are:
- father Stepan, 38 years old - works seasonally, sometimes abuses alcohol;
- mother Olga, 35 years old - does not work, is on maternity leave, has health problems (needs surgery, but can not leave 2 children unattended);
- son Dmytro, 9 years old - a child with a disability (subgroup A - needs constant round-the-clock care), is constantly at home;
- son Ivan, 9 years old - a child with a disability (has a musculoskeletal disorder), attends a special school 50 km from home, parents take home on vacation.
A social worker who visited the family determined that the family was low-income and in the SJO.
Ivanchuks already receive support from the state and the community in the form of cash benefits (assistance for children with disabilities, allowance for caring for a child with disabilities, assistance to low-income families), as well as subsidies for housing and communal services, benefits and sometimes financial assistance from the community.
Do these numerous activities help to overcome the SJO in which the family found itself?
Obviously not. Because their problem is not a lack of funds (at least not the main one), but the fact that parents for various reasons are not able to provide for the family and cope with these circumstances on their own.
Material assistance from the community is not able to change the father’s attitude to his responsibility for the family (unfortunately, often the opposite), assistance to low-income families - will not help the mother to solve health problems, disability benefits - socialize Dmitry in the community and return to seven Івана Ivan Ivan
лише Only the provision of quality social services will be able to overcome the SJO in the Ivanchuk family, namely:
- the whole family must be under social supporta specialist in social work, whose task, in particular, is to assess the situation and draw up an individual plan, training and skills development, assistance in obtaining psychological assistance, informing counseling, etc .;
- Father Stepan should receive a service of social adaptation , which includes, in particular, correction of psychological state and behavior in everyday life, providing psychological support, promoting employment, assistance in strengthening / restoring family and socially useful ties;
- Olga’s mother needs temporary rest services for parents or their surrogates caring for children with disabilities - this will allow her to go to the hospital, have surgery and improve her health;
- son Dmytro needs a social day care service - it is staying in centers, departments for children with disabilities during the day under the supervision of specialists, where children receive rehabilitation services, where their self-care skills are formed and maintained, psychological support is provided, leisure is organized;
- son Ivan has to return home - live in a family and study in a community, in an inclusive classroom. There he can receive social support during inclusive education.
With these services, the life of the Ivanchuk family has a chance to improve and their negative consequences can be overcome or at least minimized.
The "old" law on social services, which was adopted back in 2003, is currently in force. Most of the above services can be provided long ago: developed standards and the system seems to be ready.
What prevented this? Why was it necessary to pass a new law?
The answer is below, in seven key innovations that will come into force on January 1, 2020:
1. Social services - their own powers of communities
From next year services in accordance with the law.
The powers of these bodies will include, in particular, determining the needs of the population in social services, informing about their list, ensuring their funding, as well as ensuring the improvement of competence and skills of social service providers.
Kyiv and Sevastopol city state administrations, district, district state administrations in Kyiv and Sevastopol, executive bodies of city councils of cities of regional significance, as well as executive bodies of village, settlement, city councils of united territorial communities provide direct provision of basic social services.
2. Basic social services
This is one of the biggest victories of this law. Very soon in each community, if necessary, the following services should be developed, which can be divided into the following groups:
- preventive / preventive: counseling, information, social prevention;
- for persons / families in difficult life circumstances: social support, social adaptation, social integration and reintegration, in-kind assistance, representation of interests, mediation;
- for people with disabilities and the elderly: supported accommodation, home care, physical support for people with disabilities who have musculoskeletal disorders and move in wheelchairs, visual impairments, sign language translation;
- for children with disabilities: support during inclusive education, day care;
- crisis services: emergency (crisis) intervention; granting asylum;
- for orphans and children deprived of parental care: care and upbringing of children in conditions close to family.
As you can see, the list is quite large and this is due to the fact that all these services should be provided in the community, as close as possible to the residence of the person who needs them . 3. Demonopolization of the market
The law establishes uniform requirements for providers of social services of all forms of ownership: state, municipal and non-state.
Providers of social services in the non-governmental sector include enterprises, institutions, organizations, public associations, charitable, religious organizations, natural persons - entrepreneurs and natural persons who provide social care services in accordance with this law without doing business.
It is determined that non-state sector providers can be involved through social procurement, public-private partnership, competition of social projects, social programs, etc.
Ensuring the provision of social services through social order is carried out by compensating social service providers for the cost of social services provided by them.
We remind you that, in particular, the requirement for non-governmental organizations to provide (starting in 2026) at least 50% of social services to children and families with children at the request of executive and local governments, defined in the National Strategy for Institutional Care Reform and raising children.
4. Mandatory provision of social services
The new law stipulates that in some cases, service recipients cannot refuse them, but must undergo individual correctional programs:
- parents who do not fulfill parental responsibilities;
- persons who have committed gender-based violence, domestic violence or child abuse;
- persons to whom probation measures are applied in accordance with the law;
- persons sent by the court to pass the program for offenders;
- in other cases provided by law.
The law also allows not to apply the case in case of threat to life or health of a person - the provision of social services in an emergency (crisis).
5. Case management
This is one of the key technologies of social work, which is practiced in many developed countries.
The case is aimed at solving psychological, interpersonal, social and other problems by establishing direct interaction between the social worker and the recipient of the service and his family or environment.
The stages of the case are as follows:
1. Analysis of the application / request for social services, notification of persons / families who are in difficult life circumstances or in situations that threaten the life or health of the person;
2. Assessment of the needs of the individual / family in social services;
3. Making a decision on the provision of social services taking into account the individual needs of the person / family;
4. Development of an individual plan for the provision of social services;
5. Concluding an agreement on the provision of social services;
6. Execution of the agreement on the provision of social services and the individual plan for the provision of social services;
7. Monitoring the provision of social services and assessing their quality.
Thus, a social worker not only redirects a person after establishing the fact of SJO, but also accompanies him on the way to overcome them or minimize the negative consequences.
6. Register of social
services The register consists of sections on providers of social services (including individuals who provide social services for care without doing business), and on recipients of social services.
For providers, inclusion in the Register means the opportunity to work in the official field and apply for funding from the budget, in particular through the social procurement mechanism. To be in the Register, providers must meet the criteria established by the Cabinet of Ministers, including, in particular:
1. availability of statutory documents, civil law contracts (for individuals - entrepreneurs);
2. compliance with state standards of social services;
3. appropriate professional level of employees, etc.
The law also stipulates that social services may be provided in employment centers, health care, education, culture, etc.
For recipients of social services, the availability of the Register will guarantee the preservation of the history of receiving social services, which will allow, for example, when changing residence, professionals to make more effective decisions to overcome or minimize the negative consequences of SJO.
Information on recipients of social services is entered into the Register directly by providers.
The holder of the Register is the Ministry of Social Policy. The procedure for forming, maintaining and accessing the Register shall be approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
Information from the Register is used in compliance with the requirements of the laws of Ukraine "On Information" and "On Personal Data Protection" only for the needs specified by the legislation on social services.
7. Classifier of social services
The new law also provides for a new classification of social services.
Thus, according to Article 16 of the law, social services are divided into services aimed at:
- social prevention - prevention of difficult life circumstances and / or getting a person / family in such circumstances;
- social support - helping a person / family to overcome difficult life circumstances;
- social services - minimizing the negative consequences of difficult life circumstances for a person / family, supporting their livelihoods, social status and inclusion in the community.
In addition, social services are classified by type, place of provision and timing of provision.
The Ministry of Social Policy is already working on the development of the Classifier of Social Services and anyone can join this activity.
Marianna Onufryk, head of the public organization "Social Synergy", especially for the UE. Life