The use of EU funds for the transition from institutional to community-based care

On 14 February the European Expert Group (EEG) in coordination with the Office of the Human Rights Defender organised a conference in Warsaw looking at the key steps that need to be taken to modernise social care by moving from an institutional model towards a community-based model of care. The European Social Network (ESN), which is currently acting as co-chair of the EEG, was represented at the event by John Halloran and Adrienn Sz. Nagy. ESN member Barbara Kucharska from the Social Policy Centre in the Mazovia region also spoke at the event.

The conference was opened by ESN Chief Executive and EEG co-chair John Halloran who talked about the importance of moving from a very protective model of care to one which promotes the participation, activation and independence of otherwise vulnerable people receiving care: “It is about promoting a fully inclusive community where everybody can be seen and heard and supported by social and other community services, such as education, health and housing”. To ensure this process there is a need for social investment in quality and sustainable community-based services. He argued that EU Structural Funds present a “once in a life-time opportunity” to make the transition to person-centred community services a reality in Poland and in other parts of Europe.

This last point was underlined in a video message from László Andor, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, who highlighted that Poland will have at its disposal over 12 billion Euro from the European Social Fund; even larger resources are available from the European Regional Development Fund. He argued that it was important that social services in Poland undertake a detailed needs assessment and define a clear plan on where investment of EU funds is needed to promote community care. From DG Regio, Michael Ralph also emphasised the importance of involving regional and local government in the planning and implementation of these priorities with the use of EU funding, as prescribed under the partnership principle.

Contributions from representatives from the social affairs, health and regional development Ministry showed that they agreed that transition to community-based services was the right direction of travel for Poland, although they were sceptical about the role of the national authorities in this process; rather they see this as a responsibilility of regional and local level. Indeed the country currently lacks a coordinated national level strategy on the transition to community-based care. The 2011 Act on Family Support and the System of Foster Care forbids the institutionalisation of children under the age of ten. In practice, however, due to the insufficient number of foster families, children may still end up in institutional care.

There has been some progress through regional and local level action, with certain regions putting together strategies, which advise on the development of social and health services based in the community. Barabara Kucharska from the Social Policy Centre in the Mazovia region (who was a member of ESN’s developing community care training group) talked about the importance of having a regional strategy supporting the transition process. She highlighted the need to talk about social investment and strengthening people’s independence, and the key to moving forward in this debate.

In addition, there were a pocket of progressive local practices from the cities of Gdansk and Lublin, which have developed community-based services for people with disabilities, those with mental health problems and older people. However, the problem remains that long-stay institutions and well-developed community-based services often exist side-by-side, which is an inefficient and unsustainable use of Polish resources. Therefore there is a need for renewed commitment and cooperation between stakeholders in Poland to ensure the effective and efficient use of EU funds in the new programming period.

The EEG is a broad coalition gathering stakeholders representing people with care or support needs including children, people with disabilities, people experiencing mental health problems, families; as well as service providers, public authorities and intergovernmental organisations. The European Social Network is currently acting as the co-chair of the group alongside UNICEF and the European Disability Forum.

If you are a interested in getting involved in future EEG seminars in the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Slovenia, or Slovakia please get in touch with Marianne Doyen for more information.

Resources

• Read ESN news article explaining EU Structural and Investment Funds 2014-20 here


• Read ESN article on new regulations on the use of EU funds for the transition to community-based care here (ESN members only)