PROJECT ACHIEVEMENTS

March 2016

Our Action, implemented in the municipalities of Zabari, Jagodina and Cicevac, improved the position of persons with mental disability and mental health disorders who needed home care, establishing an innovative practice of HC service provision for this target group.

Based on fully completed user files (admission, assessment and individual care plan) prepared by social work professionals, provision of home care service improved the living conditions of 110 persons with mental disability and mental health disorders: 41 persons in Zabari, 39 in Jagodina and 30 in Cicevac. 49 users live in urban centres while the remaining 61 persons live in villages. There were much more women (78 users) than men (32 users). The number of users exceeded the targeted number (72) by more tha 50%. As planned, 18 Independent living associates, 3 professionals in social work and 3 CBSS coordinators, provide services in Zabari, Jagodina and Cicevac.

Social work professionals on behalf of the service providers conducted the whole admission and assessment procedure and prepared individual care plans for all users in accordance with the national standards for this service. In addition, all procedures prescribed for provision of HC service were developed and applied, so CBSS providers in all 3 communities are fully prepared for licensing: Both in Žabari and Ćićevac CBSS providers met the licensing requirements set by the line ministry. Full sustainability is ensured in all 3 communities: in Jagodina today 3 independent living associates provide services to 15 beneficiaries and as of April until end of year another 6independent living associates will be engaged and they will cover all beneficiaries, including the new ones; in Ćićevac and Žabari licensed organisations provide the service to all project beneficiaries, including the new ones, while the staff is engaged on a larger scale than during the project period.

The project had a wider impact on the community and sensitized the public for provision of sustainable home care for the persons with mental disability and mental health disorders. This was achieved by media promotion during which 5000+500 flyers and 100 posters were distributed, 6 articles were published in national and regional newspapers and 10 TV reportages were broadcasted on TV stations, news were posted on 14 Internet portals, while the Action web portal published 2 dozen news items, along with many useful materials.

Status in the community and rights of persons with mental disabilities and mental health disorders were significantly improved, while the series of documents which the Municipalities and CBSS provider adopted during the project created the preconditions for maintaining such status and improved the level of rights in the future.

Given that users of the project were persons with mental disabilities and mental health disorders, the project team and all the institutions involved in the organization of provision of home care services and services aimed at socialisation and integration of users adhered to the principles and general objectives starting from "umbrella" documents such as the Poverty Reduction Strategy and Social Protection Development Strategy to thematic documents such as the, Strategy for Improving the Position of Persons with Disabilities etc.

The LSG’s of Žabari, Jagodina and Ćićevac are committed to building a successful and fair community governed by solidarity and equal chances, so their documents are fully aligned with the Law on Social Protection and the National Strategy for EU Accession, which says: ''an important element of a long-term strategy is reform of social services in the direction of deinstitutionalization, development of alternative forms of social protection and inclusion of various stakeholders in service provision''. Also, our Action is aligned with a series of EU documents: European Platform against Poverty, 2010; EU Disability Strategy 2010 – 2020, Renewed Social Agenda: Opportunities, Access and Solidarity in EU, 2008 ("all citizens must have access to good quality education, social protection, health care and services that can help to overcome inequalities in starting points and to enable all to enjoy longer, healthier lives"); European Social Charter (revised) (which requires creation of equal opportunities for independent living and promotion of social inclusion); EU Charter of Fundamental Rights(Article 25, The rights of the elderly which "recognises and respects the rights of the elderly to lead a life of dignity and independence and to participate in social and cultural life")...

CBSS providers ensured the protection of users' rights, among other, the rights concerning protection against discrimination in accordance with the Constitution, UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Law on Prevention of Discrimination of Persons With Disabilities. They made sure that all users participated in creation of individual plans and monitoring of their implementation and that they are fully informed on services and activities that are provided. Service provision was conditioned on users’ free choice and consent (pursuant to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Art 4).

In accordance with the eligibility requirements for the use of HC service, based on physical and psychological limitations and prohibition on any kind of discrimination – including gender-based discrimination – the service was provided to users on equal footing, regardless of whether they are men or women. The project kept gender-sensitive statistics, and the data available show that among 110 users there were much more women (78 users) than men (32).

All service providers, CSW Jagodina, Red Cross Ćićevac, CSW Žabari and CDA Žagubica, did a good job: services were provided according to national standards and were secured for a large number of users, which was significantly higher than originally targeted by the project.

In February 2015, Municipality of Žabari completed the public procurement for HC social service provision, thus creating legal obligation for Municipality of Žabari to change the service provider. The issue of the change of the HC service provider is purely implementation of the Law on Social Protection: Article 122 of the Law on Social Protection stipulates that a Centre for Social Work can provide community services only if there is no other in the given Municipality. This new service provider was the Community Development Association Žagubica. The Community Development Association Žagubica is an experienced service provider for persons with disabilities. Their staff has the experience that can cover several vulnerable groups (children with disability, the elderly, adults with disability) and are a proven service provider in more than one municipality. The CDA Zagubica continued providing quality HC services to users and is introducing new users to the service.

Sustainability

Provision of HC service will be ensured on a sustainable and continuous basis immediately upon project completion. Financial sustainability – expansion od project services in post-project period: Municipalities of Žabari, Jagodina and Ćićevac allocated in their 2016 budgets resources for financing of HC service. With the financing secured in all 3 local communities the service will be provided to all project beneficiaries including the new ones, until the end of this budget year: in Jagodina currently 3 independent living associates work with 15 beneficiaries from the completed project, while additional 8 independent living associates will be engaged during next month (in April 2016) and they will cover all beneficiaries in the community (including 9 beneficiaries from the project for whom service provision was temporarily discontinued in early 2016); in Ćićevac there are 7 independent living associates engaged (one more person in addition to 6 engaged under the project) who continued to work with all project beneficiaries, while the social protection professional makes preparations for involvement of new beneficiaries; in Žabari 10 independent living associates are engaged (4 more persons in addition to 6 persons engaged under the project) who continued to work with all project beneficiaries, while the social protection professional included 3 children with intellectual and mental disabilities and 30 elderly persons with physical and psychological disabilities.

These data demonstrate the degree of achieved sustainability of HC service, with the capacity of service provision increased compared to the project period – in communities of Žabari, Jagodina and Ćićevac.

Institutional sustainability at a municipal level is ensured at all levels, based on adopted rulebooks, decisions, programme documents on social protection development and programme budget.

In August 2014 Žabari local governments regulated the terms and conditions for provision of HC service in their territory: they adopted the Decision on the Economic Price of Home Care Service, Decision on the Level of User Co-Financing of Home Care Service and Rulebook on Provision of HC Service. Jagodina and Ćićevac adopted the corresponding acts on service pricing and level of user co-financing earlier, before the project started. Together with Assembly decisions adopted in 2012 which regulated social protection in the territory of municipality, those three documents rounded off the regulatory framework for provision of HC service. Therefore, it may be said that terms and conditions of provision of HC service are fully regulated by relevant decisions. As acts effective for indefinite time period, such decisions also ensure normative sustainability.

In Jagodina and in two other partner local communities, CBSS providers providing services in compliance with national standards, same as during the project. In Jagodina, the City of Jagodina decided not to apply for the licensing of the CSW Jagodina while the current "ban on employment" in the public sector is in place. The duration of the employment ban was last extended in December 2015, just before the end of the project. The City of Jagodina assessed that it was impossible, and also against the law, to transfer the existing community-based social services provided by the CSW Jagodina to an NGO: in Jagodina those services are highly, which means that the level of required capacities cannot be attained by any NGO in Serbia. Service providers in Ćićevac and Žabari municipalities in post-project period will be social protection organizations licensed for provision of home care service.

Sustainability at the level of measures and policies was achieved through adoption of the local Social Protection Development Strategies. In these documents the municipalities envisaged the sustainability of HC service.