The FINANCIAL — TBILISI — Deputy Minister of Labour, Health and Social Affairs Mr Zaza Sopromadze and Director of the Social Service Agency Gaioz Talakvadze presented the results of the revision of the social assistance programme to better reflect the needs of vulnurable families. The revision of the system has taken place throughout the year with the support of UNICEF. The new system will become effective from 2015.
The new methodology will be focused on income of families rather than expenses. The status of socially vulnerable can be granted to a family which has income or any income-generating property, e.g extra apartment, agricultural plot, car. The score will not be affected by household equipment, such as TV, gas stove, washing machine, refrigerator etc. The needs of a family will also be considered, for instance if members have disabilities or chronic diseases.
Subjective views of social agents will not affect definition of scoring. This will minimize the possibility of biased assessment.
The GEL 10 benefit per child will be introduced on UNICEF’s recommendation. Every family, including those with 65 000-100 000 scores, which is not receiving TSA, will be eligible for the child benefit.
“UNICEF commends the Government for revising the social protection system,” says Sascha Graumann, UNICEF Representative in Georgia. “The improved TSA model with the newly introduced child benefit is a significant step towards the reduction of child poverty in Georgia. UNICEF has been supporting the Government in revising the social protection system and we are pleased to see the positive results. UNICEF stands ready to continue cooperating with the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs and the Social Service Agency in the implementation of the new model.“
As per the new system, socially vulnurable groups will be differentiated. The most vulnurable families will be receiving more assistance. Families with up to 30 000 scores will receive GEL60. The highest score will be 60 000-65 000 and the respective families will get GEL30. All family members will receive the same amount unlike the current method envisaging GEL 60 for the head of the household and GEL 48 per other members.
As the current methodology is outdated, the need to develop a new system for granting the status of social vulnerability emerged.
Poverty is a complex phenomenon, it requires additional mechanisms to effectively address it. For that reason, the social protection system should protect the poor and ensure all children in need receive child benefits and services, prevent vulnerable families with children from falling into poverty and promote their economic independence by supporting families with children to become more resilient.
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