Support to the Delivery of Effective and sustainable social assistance services in Moldova

Reports and publications

• 2/8/2010
  The aim of this review is to assist the Ministry of Labour, Social Protection and Family (MLSPF) and local governments in strengthening the implementation of, in particular, the National Programme on the Development of an Integrated System of Social Services 2008-12 - the precursor to the Law on Social Services—by reviewing current public expenditure on social protection and public expenditure systems and their implications.
• 9/1/2008

  The Government of Moldova is reforming its system of social service provision so that it diversifies its range of services to take into account individual need and increases its overall coverage of the population. The Ministry of Social Protection, Family and Child (MSPFC) has developed an Integrated Strategy for Social Services (ISSS) which is undergoing an approval process. The strategy envisages a refocusing of services away from highly specialised facilities to more appropriate community-based and preventative services, in line with Moldova's international commitments. This includes a scaling-down or phasing-out of some specialised institutions, as agreed in the government's deinstitutionalisation strategy of 2007, and a strengthening of the new national network of social assistants and other local services.

  The strategy takes into account the ongoing process of decentralisation in Moldova and so it enables local public authorities at the first and second levels (the primaria and raion) to develop services that most closely reflect the needs in their area, and by the most effective and efficient means possible, under the guidance of the overall framework for social services provided by the MSPFC. The ISSS will therefore place significant demands on raion Social Assistance and Family Protection Departments (SAFPDs), who will have to change the mix of services provided and the way they deliver them.

  An organisational assessment of raion SAFPDs has been carried out to enhance the MSPFC's understanding of current practices and constraints in raion SAFPDs. The aim is to inform the drafting of legislation and regulations and support the implementation of the strategy. This report presents the findings of the assessment.

• 9/1/2007

  The Ministry of Social Protection, Family and Child (MSPFC) made public the qualitative reaserch “Beneficiary Assessment” performed in the context of reforming social assistance system launched by the Ministry. The new social assistance policy will provide targeted cash transfers and social services to the poorest and most vulnerable representatives of society. It aims at providing people with a safety net to prevent them from falling into, or deeper into, poverty and where possible a springboard that supports their efforts to move out of poverty.

  The aim of the Beneficiary Assessment was to understand the relationship between vulnerability and existing social assistance services providing information that will assist in the design and implementation of the social assistance policy framework.

  According to the Minister of Social Protection, Family and Child, Mrs. Galina Balmosh, the research was aimed not to produce statistical representative data (as is already provided by the Household Budget Survey), but rather to gain insights into the everyday experiences of poor people in order to understand the problems they face, the strategies they use to deal with these problems, and their experiences with social assistance and services. This helped us to understand how cash transfers and social assistance services can help those most in need, said the Minister. 

  The Beneficiary Assessment, which included both beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries of social services and social transfers amongst the poor and vulnerable, was carried out in urban and rural communities in four raions across Moldova, with focus group discussions conducted with representatives of four different types of vulnerable group: the elderly, families with children at risk, disabled (or carers of disabled) and young people. In some cases an alternative fourth group comprised people aged 45-58 years who were not working but who had not yet retired.