SARAJEVO, MAY 27 (ONASA) – Federal Minister of Labor and Social Policy Adnan Delić made a decision on the allocation of 700,000 BAM from the budget of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the year 2024.
These funds are planned for the first time in the budget of the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, and are intended to support social work centers with the aim of strengthening their personnel capacities.
“Centers for social work in society must play a leading role in the prevention of social problems, through education, counseling and support for families and individuals before a crisis occurs. Their primary duty must be to identify risky situations and provide timely assistance in order to prevent more serious problems such as domestic violence, child abuse and social exclusion,” stated Minister Delić, and added that due to the fact that centers for social work carry out procedures and activities established federal regulations in the field of social and child protection, and the protection of persons with disabilities, i.e. they are working on the adoption of solutions for realizing the right to disability benefits, child allowance, compensation for parent caregivers, they do not have enough capacity and space to deal with their primary work.
“That’s why we considered it necessary to provide certain funds that will relieve the centers so that they can work on the prevention of negative social phenomena, which is their primary job,” Minister Delić explained.
This allocation is realized within the framework of Segment 2 of the Fund Spending Program with the allocation criteria “Current transfers to other levels of government and funds – Transfer for the implementation of federal laws on social protection, child protection and persons with disabilities.”
“Strengthening the capacity of centers for social work is extremely important for improving the quality of social services. This year, for the first time, this type of support for social work centers was introduced from the Federation level, which aims to ensure more efficient implementation of the law and the provision of assistance to the most vulnerable categories of the population,” the minister added.
The funds will be used for:
1. Co-financing of permanent employment of professional staff during 2024.
2. Co-financing of temporary employment of professional staff (temporary or occasional work contracts, work contracts).
3. Supplement to the salary of employed professional staff who work overtime on the tasks of administrative resolution of rights established by federal regulations.
According to the relevant ministry, the right to these funds belongs to centers for social work, which have the status of an independent legal entity and which are the competent first-instance authorities in the implementation of the procedures established by the Law on the Basics of Social Protection, Protection of Civilian Victims of War and Protection of Families with Children, and the Law on Caring Parents , and the Law on Material Support for Families with Children in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Minister Delić also explained how it was determined how much funding each center would receive.
“We distributed the funds based on the number of beneficiaries of rights and the number of issued decisions in the field of social and child protection and protection of persons with disabilities, according to data from the SOTAC electronic database. The distribution formula includes the percentage share of each center for social work in the total number of users and issued decisions at the level of the Federation,” said Minister Delić.
Centers for social work to which funds have been approved will be obliged to submit a statement on the way funds are spent to the Ministry within 15 days, including all relevant data and documentation on work engagement supported by approved funds. After submission of complete documentation, individual contracts will be concluded between the Ministry and the centers for social work, which will regulate mutual rights and obligations, as well as monitoring the intended spending of funds.
The inclusion of this support in the budget of the Ministry and its implementation represent a significant step towards the improvement of social protection in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, ensuring adequate resources and professional staff for work with the most sensitive categories of the population, the Ministry announced. (end)