KOMF, together with parents of children beneficiaries of social services, and service providers held the awareness raising action, with the message: “Services for children are closing! And this is an Alarm for Action for the Municipalities, the Government and the Assembly”.

Social service providers in 2024 are in the most difficult financial situation. This is because in December 2023, for the most part of service providers, the programs and projects of international donors in support of social services have ended, creating large gaps in the financing of services. Due to the lack of sustainable funding from public institutions, some services for children have been closed, some have been reduced. If this situation continues, other services will be closed in the coming months, leading to a collapse in child protection and an unprecedented situation in Kosovo.

As part of the activity, the message was conveyed about the risk of closing vital social services for children without parental care, children’s victims of violence, abuse, trafficking, children with disabilities, children in street situations, children involved in child labour, children using drugs and all other vulnerable children in need of protection and services. These services are guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo.

This call is first for the municipalities that have full responsibility in providing, managing and financing social services for children and citizens, since the decentralization of social services in 2009. Today in 2024, after 15 years that social services have passed under the responsibility of municipalities, they do not have the will and willingness to provide and finance social services for children. Based on this situation, KOMF asks from municipalities to take urgent measures, to fulfill their legal responsibilities, ensure financing, functionalize services and prevent their closure in municipalities. Since the Grant for Municipalities in 2024 has increased, KOMF requests that this increase to be reflected in the support for social services for vulnerable children and families. KOMF asks from municipalities to make long-term solutions through the creation of a sustainable financing scheme through the purchase of social services.

This is a call for the Government to intervene in this serious situation. The financial support provided by the Ministry of Justice to the organizations licensed for the provision of social services, as much as it has alleviated the situation, has not managed to operationalize the provision of social services. In these circumstances, despite the will of social service providers, it is impossible to continue providing social services with full capacity for children and their families. Based on this situation, KOMF requests the creation of a temporary Measure for the functionalization of social services within the Economic Revitalization Package, as a transitional measure until the regulation of sustainable financing for social services. As a long-term solution, KOMF requests from the Government the creation of a Special Grant for Social Services and the creation of a financing formula.

This is a call to the Assembly – KOMF asks support from the deputies in the process of revising the Budget Law in June 2024, to raise their voice to allocate a budget for social services to overcome this emergency situation.

This is a call for action by beneficiaries and providers of social services to increase the budget for social services, to ensure the basic rights of children guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo.

This awareness-raising activity was supported by the regional project “SMART Balkans – Civil Society for Common Values ​​in the Western Balkans” implemented by the Center for the Promotion of Civil Society (CPCD) in cooperation with the Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM), and the Center for Research and Policymaking (CRPM) and financially supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (NMFA).