The success of public policies can be measured through laws adopted, programmes implemented or resources invested. But their real impact is ultimately measured by people’s lives—when barriers become smaller, services become more accessible and people have greater opportunities to live independently, participate in their communities and exercise their rights on an equal basis with others.

This is particularly important when it comes to the rights and inclusion of persons with disabilities. For many years, disability policy was approached primarily through financial benefits and administrative procedures. While financial support remains important, it cannot on its own respond to the diversity of people’s needs or create the conditions for their full and equal participation in society.

A rights-based approach requires something broader: accessible and responsive public services, opportunities for education and employment, support for independent living, and the meaningful participation of persons with disabilities in decisions that affect their lives.

This understanding is at the heart of the reforms currently underway in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Strategy for the Development of the Social and Child Protection System of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina provides a framework for transforming social protection by placing greater emphasis on quality social services, stronger support to families and increased participation of beneficiaries in community life. The underlying principle is simple: services and institutions should respond to people’s needs and enable greater independence.

Building on this approach, the Strategy for the Advancement of the Rights and Status of Persons with Disabilities in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina brings together priorities across education, employment, healthcare, social protection, accessibility, housing, mobility and participation in community life.

Importantly, organizations of persons with disabilities have contributed to the development of this framework. Their knowledge, experience and participation are essential to ensuring that policies respond to real barriers and priorities. The principle of “Nothing about us without us” must be reflected not only in consultation processes, but throughout the design, implementation and monitoring of policies.

From institutional care to community-based support

An important part of the reform is the transition towards community-based services and greater opportunities for independent living.

The Action Plan for the Transformation of Social Welfare Institutions, with initial activities involving the Public Institution Pazarić, is part of a longer-term process aimed at expanding alternatives to institutional care and developing services that enable people, wherever possible, to live within their families and communities with appropriate professional and social support.

Personal assistance, family support, day-care services, counselling and other community-based services are therefore not supplementary measures. They are essential components of an inclusive social protection system.

Access to such services should not be determined by where a person lives or by the financial capacity of an individual local community. Developing more equitable access across the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is therefore one of the central challenges for the social protection system.

A new Law on Social Services has also been prepared to establish more consistent quality standards, introduce licensing of service providers, clarify financing mechanisms and create conditions for more balanced development of services across the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Legislation and strategies, however, can only make a difference when they are translated into services that people can access.

Over the past three years, more than BAM 15 million has been allocated through capital transfers for the construction, renovation, modernization and equipping of institutions and facilities providing social services across the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Additional programmes have supported public institutions, civil society organizations and other service providers in strengthening existing capacities and developing new forms of support.

The next challenge is to ensure that these investments contribute to a sustainable system of accessible, quality and community-based services.

Opening the labour market

Employment is another fundamental dimension of inclusion and independent living.

Persons with disabilities should have opportunities to use their knowledge, qualifications and professional skills in the open labour market on an equal basis with others. Sheltered and protected employment may continue to provide important opportunities for some people, but they should not be the only pathway available.

Recent changes to the implementation of the Law on Professional Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities, including revisions to the Fund’s implementing regulations, seek to make employment support more accessible to employers and persons with disabilities.

The latest amendments extend eligibility for employment incentives in the open labour market to persons assessed with 50 per cent disability, expanding the number of people who can access these measures.

This is an important step towards a labour market in which persons with disabilities have a wider range of employment choices and opportunities and in which support is designed around individual abilities, aspirations and needs.

Reform through partnership

No institution can deliver systemic change alone.

Cooperation with organizations of persons with disabilities, civil society, local communities, international partners and the United Nations is an important part of this process. The Disability Inclusion Working Group provides an additional platform for exchanging knowledge, identifying barriers and supporting greater alignment of policies and practices with international disability rights standards.

Such partnerships can provide expertise, facilitate dialogue and help test new approaches. Ultimately, however, sustainable change depends on domestic institutions taking ownership of reforms and ensuring that they become an integral and lasting part of public policy.

The different measures currently underway - from social services and community-based support to employment and accessibility - should therefore be understood as interconnected parts of a broader transition towards a more inclusive system.

The measure of success will not simply be how many strategies are adopted, how much funding is allocated or how many programmes are implemented. It will be whether a person with a disability can access the support they need, pursue education and employment, participate in their community, make choices about their own life and exercise their rights on an equal basis with others.

That is the kind of social protection system we should be working towards: one that protects when protection is needed, supports independence wherever possible and creates opportunities for everyone to participate fully in society.

Building such a system takes time. But investing in inclusion, accessibility and dignity is not only an investment in social protection. It is an investment in a fairer, stronger and more resilient society for everyone.

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The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) or the United Nations.