PROUD OF WHAT WE DO IN PAST 10 YEARS ( and a few more)

Personal Assistant Service, first appeared as a concept and as a practice in 2001. in a mini pilot project organized by the Centre for Independent Living Serbia- funded by British NGO Oxfam . The results and experiences of that project CIL has published in research case study " Personal Assistance Service as an alternative form of support for disabled." 

This pilot project paved the way to significant donation that came from " Irish Aid " for the full pilot program in 2002 , which was implemented in cooperation with Catholic Relief Services (CRS ) and supported by Ministry of Social Policy of Serbia and later continued to support by subsequent Ministry of Labour and social Policy of Serbia in three Governments which have changed in that time period. Similar services exist in many countries, including Ireland, United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Italy, Germany and the United States.

Pilot service in Serbia relied on the experience and lessons learned from all of these countries , but most of all inspired by the Irish experience.

Between 2002 the 2010 CIL has held a series of activities and projects for the promotion and provision of personal assistance services including: 

1.  Organizing Services from 2002 to 2007, SPAS I and II projects, which were funded by the Irish Government, CRS and Serbian

2. Developing, testing and implementation of procedures and documents necessary for the performance of services

3. Developing training programs for personal assistants, users and providing education to more than 100 associates, more than 100 users , representatives of social work and local authorities in period 2003 /2007

4. Feasibility study for personal assistance services in Serbia, 2006 and its registration at Intellectual Property Office of the Republic of Serbia

5. Conducted research on the economic feasibility of investing in the PA S and research the changes in the quality of life of users who lived with PA service

6. Organizing PA Services from 2007 to mid-2008 within the project " From alternative to standardization," funded by the Social Innovation Fund of the Republic of Serbia

7. Development of quality standards for personal assistance through the project " From alternative to standardization," funded by the Social Innovation Fund in Serbia (2007)

8. Testing the draft standard for PA services through the provision of services in Belgrade and Leskovac, within the program Checking the standards of Ministry of Labour and Social Policy and in cooperation with the National Institute for Social Welfare  (2008 )

9. Organization of services and further development of standards to users in Belgrade during the through a project funded by the Balkan Trust for Civic Initiatives – BCIF (2009)

10. Support the organization of personal assistance services in Novi Sad - partnership project with the Centre " Living Upright " with the support of the Executive Council of Vojvodina - CIL was responsible for the training of PAs and users, as well as establishing procedures and mechanisms for the provision of services

11. Presentation of experiences in providing personal assistance services , including performing the necessary training and the process of developing quality standards for PA service, on numerous professional, national and international meetings.

Through its project SPAS, Center for Independent Living Serbia turned on a substantial number of relevant institutions from different sectors in the implementation of its activities.  CIL launched an initiative to examine the need for an integrated and related services in the social welfare system and offered alternative services for people with disabilities.

At the time of launching the first PA service (2001/2002)  relevant legislation consisted only of Law on social protection and social security of citizens , which did not recognize this type of service. Since then and thanks to CIL activities there were a series of policies and legislation adopted to provide the basis for these services through the social welfare system but also in other relevant areas . 

The key legal documents that are relevant to the provision of social welfare services are: 

1.  The Poverty Reduction Strategy

2.  Social Welfare Development Strategy

3.  Strategies for improving the situation of persons with disabilities

4.  Law on Social Protection and Social Security of the citizens

5.  Law on Prevention of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities

6.  Law on professional rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities

7.  Law on Ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

8.  Law on Social Protection of Serbia.

Finally, CIL Serbia accredited the first and only training program of education for personal assistants in the Institute of Social Welfare in July 2011. 

We are proud of our work and we know why.