7 October 2020

KOMF in cooperation with the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare held the first thematic workshop on the Draft Law on Social and Family Services.

The first thematic workshop addressed the issues as below:

• Integration of social services with health and education services;
• Profiling and structure of Centers for Social Work;
• Accreditation of training programs for social services and licensing of services and entities.

KOMF presented its Position on the Law on Social and Family Services, namely the second proposal for the integration of social services with health and education services.

KOMF presented different models of integration of social services with other sectors, such as integration of social services by hiring of professional social workers within the educational and health institutions or by having a number of current health and educational professionals specialize in social areas through training and capacity building.

The first alternative ensures more quality services, but with a higher financial cost for its implementation.

The second alternative however, does not provide quality as in the first alternative, but is more cost effective. Law on Social Services has to define that the CSW social workers conduct regular systematic visits in preschool education facilities and schools for the purpose of early identification and managing of cases.

Law on Social and Family Services has to envisage the integration of social services with the health sector by conducting systematic home visits together with health professionals, for the purpose of identifying and recording vulnerable cases within the municipality.

KOMF and MLSW agreed that the relevant articles which regulate the integration of services with other sectors will be elaborated and enriched in order to strengthen the integration of services. Knowing that the integration of services requires a consensus with other sectors, it is recommended to ensure the compliance between the sectors involved at the central level, prior to the adoption of this law. The integration models of the services which will be applied in frame of this law, have to be discussed and defined in cooperation with the abovementioned sectors.

While on the second day there were discussed the profiling and structure of the Centers for Social Work. KOMF in cooperation with the Association of Centers for Social Work and OFAP agreed to organize a joint meeting with the Centers for Social Work of Kosovo in order to provide concrete proposals about the structure of the Centers for Social Work within the Draft Law on Social and Family Services.

The workshop involved stakeholders as professionals from MLSW, Centers for Social Work and KOMF member organizations directly involved in welfare and social services issues.

This activity was organized in frame of the project “Strengthening Social Services for Children and Vulnerable Families”, funded by the Swiss Embassy in Kosovo and implemented by the Coalition of NGOs for Child Protection KOMF, as well as the project “Joint Action for Decentralization ”, funded by the European Union, managed by the EU Office in Kosovo and implemented by the Coalition of NGOs for Child Protection in Kosovo – KOMF in partnership with the Organization for Children without Parental Care – OFAP, SOS Children’s Villages Kosovo and KMOP. [:]