SARAJEVO, AUGUST 6 (ONASA) – At the session of the Ministerial Coordination in the field of social policy in FBiH, the members, i.e. the federal minister and the cantonal ministers and ministers of social protection, adopted information on the problem of housing children with severe mental disorders, and unanimously reached a conclusion on the need the formation of a working group that would begin to find a solution to this problem that has been pressing the social protection sector for more than a decade.
This initiative of the Ministerial Coordination arose from the need for a more comprehensive solution to the problem of housing children who have severe forms of mental disorders or illnesses.
In this regard, the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Policy forwarded the information of the Coordination to the Government of FBiH, which in its Conclusion obliged the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy to undertake the necessary activities for the formation of a working group that will work on finding solutions with the ultimate goal of improving accommodation and care for children with mental difficulties in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The working group will include representatives of the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, the Federal Ministry of Health, and all cantonal ministries responsible for social policy and health, and will be appointed by a decision of the FBiH Government.
The main task of this working group is to clearly define the competences and responsibilities in the segments of health and social protection, and the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, the Federal Ministry of Health and the cantonal ministries of social protection and health are obliged to submit the proposals of the members of the Working Group within fifteen days from entry into force of this conclusion, after which a Working Group will be formed.
“At the ministerial coordination session, we clearly detected the problem of housing children with mental disabilities who, in the absence of adequate housing and care, have been placed in social care institutions, both cantonal and federal, for ten years. Children with diagnoses of behavioral disorders or other psychiatric diagnoses require medical treatment that is currently not provided by any health or social care institution in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. With its joint conclusion, the ministerial coordination emphasizes the need to involve the health profession in this case in order to provide adequate care for these children, and relieve or strengthen the social protection sector,” said Minister Adnan Delić in his capacity as the president of this ministerial coordination.
Social protection in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is regulated by the Law on the Basics of Social Protection, Protection of Civilian Victims of War and Protection of Families with Children, which establishes the policy of social protection, while financing of social protection is provided from the budgets of cantons and municipalities, except for institutions of importance to the Federation that are financed from the federal budget. The law foresees the establishment of various social protection institutions, including those for children with disorders in physical and mental development, and in this regard, the legal framework is not an obstacle for the development of the necessary services at the cantonal level with the support of all relevant actors.
“This is our common problem, and it is certain that the social protection system, in addition to having no competence, does not have all the necessary resources, nor the ability to deal with this extremely demanding social problem on its own, and that is why we are of the opinion that it is necessary for both departments, i.e. health and social protection, together find the best solution for the care and placement of children from this category of disorders and diseases. We hope that the Working Group will offer an adequate solution on which we will all work together again”, Minister Delić concluded.
This is another way of trying to solve accumulated problems in the field of social protection, and a serious step in improving the social protection system and providing appropriate care for users of social services, primarily the most vulnerable, such as children with severe mental disabilities in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina for which there has been no permanent solution for their care after treatment and discharge from health institutions for years. (end)