Parliament voted in the final reading to adopt a set of amendments to 19 laws, dubbed the “Restart” Social Assistance Reform. The Ministry of Labor and Protection says that the adjustments will allow the necessary measures to be taken to standardize social services nationally, increase their quality and facilitate access to benefits and social services for all groups of vulnerable people.

Territorial social assistance agencies are to be created, which will ensure better coordination between the central and local levels in the implementation of social assistance policies. Also, the minimum package of social services will be modified, which is currently financed in a piecemeal manner and does not cover the demand from the population. The nomenclature of social services will be revised for a better definition of the categories of social services.

Also, the reform envisages the revision of the salary mechanism for social assistance specialists and the development of a system of continuous professional training. The National Social Assistance Agency will be reorganized into the Social Services Management Agency.

“The Restart reform aims to improve the mechanisms of financing and budget planning in the field of social assistance, prioritize the professional development of social assistance personnel through initial and continuous training programs, create an integrated information system in the field social assistance to provide reliable data on vulnerable people who need assistance” says the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection in the bill’s information note.