The coalition of NGOs for Children’s Protection KOMF and the Association of Social Work Centres has addressed the prime minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, for ensuring sustainable financing for social services and the founding of the Special Grant for Social Services, as a priority in the 2027 budget.
Social protection financing in Kosovo remains largely focused on monetary transfers, while social services continue to take a very small part of the sector’s budget. In 2024, Kosovo spent about 854.6m euros on social protection, of which only 1.6% were dedicated to social services. This disproportion testifies to the need for a more balanced approach to funding, which, along with support through monetary transfers, invests more in prevention and professional services for children and families.
On the front line of service delivery are 38 Centres for Social Work and about 50 licensed organisations. However, they face lack of human resources, financing and working conditions. In large municipalities, a QPS official manages about 350 active substances per year, while in most municipalities, the Guardians are not complete with the five professionals required by law. At the same time, licensed organisations risk cutting services due to a lack of sustainable financing.
Therefore, we seek the creation of the Special Grant for Social Services, as mechanism for sustainable, transparent financing and based on municipal needs. Currently, about 20m euros per year are earmarked for social services, while additional 16m euros are needed according to financial analyses to ensure total financing of 36m euros annually, or about 0.4% of Kosovo’s budget.
We propose that the government: I announce the budget for employing 200 new social services officials in the QPS, as well as improving infrastructure and working conditions. To boost the budget dedicated to public calling for licensed social service delivery organisations, in order to ensure the sustainability of these services and expand support for children and families in need, adopts the Special Grant for Social Services under the Local Power Finance Bill and finalise the guarantee of grant access, based on the needs and capacities of the municipalities, it is said.
Source Layer: RTKLive