Social service for PWDs in the Republic of Serbia

Centre for Independent Living of Serbia and Handicap International South East Europe, with the financial support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs France, organised the seminar on „Social services for persons with disabilities in the Republic of Serbia – the challenges of the reform process”. The seminar was held on 15th of June 2006.
A system of social services should respond to the expressed needs of persons with disabilities, in order to promote inclusion and provide equal opportunities for full participation in society. Social services should also comply with quality and efficiency requirements. In order to achieve these goals, each country implements a set of regulatory mechanisms, like: the needs assessments (the mapping of needs and services at a local level), the sets of quality standards, the procedures of licensing/authorization, the contracting and funding procedures, the monitoring and evaluation of the service.
These regulatory mechanisms can be adjusted in relation with the national policies of social welfare, but also with the stage of development of the system of services. That’s why, in a system which is in transition, their role is crucial: they are one of the levers to work towards a universal access of persons with disabilities to qualitative and sustainable services.

Most of the countries of the region are facing a similar transition phase: the open market and the new paradigm of rights based approach to services delivery require a diversity of providers, from the public, private and non-profit sector. Since in the Republic of Serbia the National Strategy for Development of Social Welfare was already elaborated, the need for developing new types of services as well as framing and ensuring the quality and sustainability of these services have been acknowledged. The State develops currently operational plans and regulatory procedures in order to increase the access of people with disabilities to social services.
This seminar targets the difficulties and challenges of this ambitious reform process in Serbia, and brings concepts and experiences from EU and other South Eastern Europe countries.
Participants of the seminar will be the representatives of central and local authorities, service providers, representatives of NGOs, DPOs and parents’ organizations, together with representatives of international agencies and organizations, which are active in the field of social services sector.

Main presentations from the seminar:
CRC_Lj_Peakovic_en.ppt
HI-D_Chiriacescu.ppt
MINRZS_V_Ilic.ppt
MINRZS_S_Markovic.pdf

20.06.2006