Summary:  

In the context of the ongoing reform of the social welfare and child care system in Montenegro, development and provision of quality social services is becoming increasingly important.

While some progress has been made, the effective and accountable delivery of quality social services at the local level still faces considerable challenges in terms of:

1. design and implementation of the local social inclusion plans;
2.  insufficient organizational and human capacities to deliver social services; and most importantly:
3. lack of facilities for services’ provision.

To tackle these challenges, UNDP in partnership of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare implements the project Developing Facilities for Provision of Social Services in Montenegro.

Objectives:

The project aims at improving capacities of national and local authorities to manage social programmes. In turn, this will increase their potential to provide social services in line with standards in relation to infrastructural, technical, functional and human capacities requirements. The main objective is to support the overall system reform by creating enabling environment for vulnerable groups, providing equal access to quality social services. Conditions for social inclusion of currently excluded vulnerable groups, children and their families, will be ensured through strengthened institutional mechanisms and capacities of service providers. This will enhance access to standardized, comprehensive and sustainable social and child protection services.

Activities:

The project will address these challenges through following components: 

• Enhancement of the existing network of social welfare and child care institutions and social service providers in Montenegro.
• Diversification of the available services and tailoring services to the actual needs of the vulnerable population.
• Support to transformational change of residential institutions in line with reform principles of decentralization and deinstitutionalization.
• Improving national and local level capacities for planning, managing development and provision of social services.

The main project objective is to enable the provision of quality services tuned towards the needs of excluded vulnerable population.

Results:

So far, more than 30 different facilities for provision of social welfare services all over the county have been developed including:

• Brand new multifunctional facility in Petnjica constructed and furnished for the need of Social Welfare Centre, Pension and Disability Insurance Fund, Employment Agency, Health Insurance Fund of Montenegro and Day Care Centre for Elderly;
• 10 facilities – Day Care Centres for the Elderly reconstructed/renovated and/or equipped (2 in Nikšić, 2 in Danilovgrad, and 1 each in Podgorica, Plav, Petnjica, Rožaje, Cetinje, Bijelo Polje);
• 5 facilities – Day Care Centres for Children with Disabilities reconstructed/renovated and/or equipped (in Podgorica, Danilovgrad, Kotor, Bijela and Nikšić);
• 5 Social Welfare Centres premises reconstructed/renovated and/or equipped (Nikšić, Golubovci, Danilovgrad, Cetinje and Šavnik);
• 3 apartments for Supported living service – renovated and equipped (Herceg Novi, Spuž and Nikšić);
• 8 more facilities have been subject of adaptation (reconstruction, renovation, equipping) to become functional for provision of social services, including: Children’s Home „Mladost” Bijela, home for the elderly in Pljevlja, Risan and Bijelo Polje, etc.