APPROVED

Minister of Social Affairs Directive No 10 of 11 January 2012

Ministry of Social Affairs

PROGRAMME

WELFARE MEASURES IN SUPPORT OF FINDING WORK

2012–2013

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.NAME AND OBJECTIVE OF THE PROGRAMME

2. DESCRIPTION OF OBJECTIVES

3. DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES

3.1. Provision of Counselling Services Support Employment

3.1.1. Provision of counselling services in the Centre for Disability Information and Aids

3.1.2. Provision of Need-Based Services to Persons with Multiple Problems by Piloting Case-by-Case Networking

3.1.3. Provision of Debt Counselling

3.2. Provision of Rehabilitation Programmes Supporting Employment

3.3. Evaluation of Capacity for Work and Development of Ability to Work

3.4. Provision of Support Person Services to Young Persons Leaving Substitute Homes and Foster Care

3.5. Guaranteeing a good-quality welfare service by training service providers and introducing a quality management system

3.5.1. Guaranteeing a Good-Quality Care Service to Reduce the Care Burden of Family Members

3.5.2. Implementation of a Quality Management System for Rehabilitation and Special Care Services

The programme was composed on the basis of subsection 20 (1) of the Structural Assistance Act for the Period 2007-2013 (hereinafter the Structural Assistance Act).

1.NAME AND OBJECTIVE OF THE PROGRAMME

1.1. Name of the Programme

The name of the programme is “Welfare Measures Supporting Finding Work 2012–2013”.

1.2. General Objective of the Programme

The general objective of the programme is to increase the employment of persons with social or economic coping difficulties, persons with special needs and their family members.

Programme Activities

  • A more individual approach will be implemented when providing welfare services in order to prevent unemployment and inactivity.
  • Supporting welfare services will be provided and developed in order to reduce the obstacles that make it difficult for people to enter the labour market.
  • The accessibility and quality of welfare services will be improved in order to enable employment of unemployed and inactive persons.
  • In order to support the risk groups of the labour market, welfare services that specifically meet their needs and support entering the labour market and employment will be developed and implemented on a trial basis with attention given to developing partnership, network engagement and international cooperation.
  • Principles of gender equality will be followed and perpetuating gender stereotypes in the welfare sector will be avoided in carrying out the activities of the programme.

1.3. Name of the Operational Programme, Priority Axis and Measure

The programme will be carried out within the scope of the measure “Welfare Measures Supporting Finding Work” of the priority axis “Good-quality and Long Working Life” of the “Operational Programme for Human Resource Development”.

1.4. Implementing Authority

Pursuant to clause 7 4) of Government of the Republic Regulation No 111 of 19 April 2007 “Determination of the Agencies that Organise the Grant of Structural Assistance for the Period 2007-2013” the Implementing Authority of the priority axis “Good-quality and Long Working Life” is the Ministry of Social Affairs.

1.5. Implementing Body

Pursuant to clause 8 4) of Government of the Republic Regulation No 111 of 19 April 2007 “Determination of the Agencies that Organise the Grant of Structural Assistance for the Period 2007-2013” the Implementing Body (hereinafter the IB) of the priority axis “Good-quality and Long Working Life” is the Foundation for Lifelong Learning Development Innove (hereinafter Innove). The Ministry of Social Affairs authorises Innove to perform the functions of the IB pursuant to Contract under Public Law No 9.6-4/2508 entered into on 21 September 2007 between the Ministry of Social Affairs and Innove.

1.6. Implementing Party and Partners

The Implementing Party of the programme is the Social Welfare Department of the Ministry of Social Affairs.

The Social Welfare Department of the Ministry of Social Affairs is not involved in performing the tasks of the IB.

Partners:

National Institute for Health Development.

The National Institute for Health Development (NIHD) is a state research and development institution administered by the Ministry of Social Affairs and that was established in 2003 on the basis of three institutions – the Institution of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, the Centre of Estonian Health Education and the Centre of Public Health and Social Education. It is currently the only state institution that is offering training in the welfare sector, and the partnership in organising central training in the care and nursing sector is based on long-term and quality cooperation. The NIHD as a partner will carry out clause 3.5.1 of the programme “Providing Quality Care Service to Reduce the Care Burden of Family Members”.

Astangu Vocational Rehabilitation Centre

Astangu Vocational Rehabilitation Centre is a welfare institution administered by the Ministry of Social Affairs whose objective is to support the independent coping and professional activities of persons through various activities, taking into account their special needs. In order to achieve this objective, one of the functions of Astangu Vocational Rehabilitation Centre is to be a training, information and methodology centre for the development of social coping and professional activities. The Centre for Disability Information and Aids established by the ESF programme “Welfare Measures Supporting Finding Work 2007-2009” is located on the premises of Astangu Vocational Rehabilitation Centre. The target groups of Astangu Vocational Rehabilitation Centre and the Centre for Disability Information and Aids coincide; Astangu Vocational Rehabilitation Centre has also gained recognition for providing services aimed at persons with special needs. The inclusion of an agency administered by the Ministry of Social Affairs as a partner guarantees the project’s sustainability, because the Ministry of Social Affairs as the initiator of the project is interested in the continuation and development of the activities.

Astangu Vocational Rehabilitation Centre as a partner will carry out the programme’s clauses 3.1.1 “Offering Counselling Services in the Centre for Disability Information and Aids”, 3.2 “Offering Rehabilitation Programmes Supporting Finding Work” and 3.3 “Introducing a Quality Management System for Rehabilitation Services”.

Social Insurance Board

The Social Insurance Board (SIB) is the Paying Authority managed by the Ministry of Social Affairs that will carry out the programme’s clause 3.1.2 “Providing Need-based Services to Persons with Multiple Problems by Piloting Case-by-Case Networking”.

The SIB has the experience in service provision and organisation, incl. in working with clients and paying out invoices, and nationwide regional service points that are required for carrying out the activity. The functions of the SIB among others are provision and organisation of victim support and conciliation services, guaranteeing and funding the provision of rehabilitation services, and supervision of the provision of services.

1.7. Eligibility Period of the Programme

The eligibility period of the programme is 01.01.2012–31.12.2013.

1.8. Background, Explanation of Relevance

The steep economic decline of 2008 and 2009 was followed by a 3.1% economic growth in Estonia in 2010. According to the forecast of the Ministry of Finance for 2011, the country’s Annual economic growth will be 3% in 2012, 3.3% in 2013 and 3.5% on average from 2013-2015.[1]

A sudden decrease in the number of employed persons and an increase in unemployment and inactivity emerged in addition to the recession from the end of 2008.

A sudden change took place in employment in the first quarter of 2009 – the number of employed persons dropped to 612,100, which was 6.8% less than in the same period a year ago. Although employment continued to decrease in the first half of 2010, the number of employed persons had increased to 627,800 by the end of the third quarter.[2] According to the 2011 summer forecast of the Ministry of Finance, the number of employed persons can be expected to increase also in the fourth quarter of 2011 when compared to the previous year. Employment increased by 6.8% in the first quarter, 7.8% in the second quarter and 2.8% in the third quarter. A slight slowdown (1%) of the increase in employment is forecast for 2012. The increase in employment will drop to 0.8% by the end of the year and the number of employed persons will be 626 thousand.

The unemployment rate has grown from 5.5% in 2008 to 16.9% in 2010.[3] 46,421 persons were registered as unemployed in the end of October 2011, which is 7.2 per cent of workforce from 16 years to retirement age. The rate of unemployment decreased from 13.3% to 10.9% and the rate of employment (people aged 20-64) increased from 69.4% to 72.2% in comparison to the second quarter of 2011. Both of these indicators are the best indicators from 2009-2011. The reason why people have terminated their registration as indicated by annual statistics is the increase in the number of employed persons. 28,286 persons terminated their registration as unemployed in 2009 due to becoming employed, the same indicator in 2010 was 58,550 persons, and more than 22,000 persons have terminated their registration as unemployed in the first five months of this year due to becoming employed.[4] The actual number of persons who have found employment is bigger, because some of the unemployed persons who do not report when required or wish to deregister themselves as unemployed persons have actually found jobs.

The increase in unemployment is partly caused by persons who had been away from the labour market and now started looking for work, i.e. the decrease in inactive population. However, the level of inactivity has not changed much in the last two years. One of the most significant reasons of inactivity is still the need to care for children and other family members.

The increase in the percentage of the long-term unemployed, which is confirmed by the data about long-term unemployment and the share of the long-term unemployed among all unemployed persons, is causing concern. According to Statistics Estonia the rate of unemployment has grown from 1.7% in 2008 to 7.7% in 2010. The share of the long-term unemployed among all unemployed persons in 2009 was 27.4%, but it had increased to 45.4% by 2010. According to Statistics Estonia the rate of extremely long-term unemployment has grown from 0.9% in 2008 to 2.8% in 2010. Unemployment is expected to decrease from 2012-2013 according to the forecast of the Bank of Estonia, but the share of the long-term employed will increase, mainly because it is relatively more difficult for the long-term unemployed to return to the labour market.

Further decrease in unemployment is difficult to achieve due to the discrepancy between the qualifications and geographic location of the unemployed and the needs of employers. The professional skills of persons who lost their jobs during the crisis may not meet the requirements of the recovering labour market, and retraining the unemployed and improving their qualifications takes time. The duration of unemployment itself reduces the likelihood of finding a job – the intensity of job-seeking decreases in time, as does the ability to compete for jobs. It is therefore probable that structural unemployment will remain high for now.[5]

The most important risk groups on the labour market are young people, the long-term unemployed, older persons, disabled persons, persons who are the carers of other persons, and people with a low level of education. The purpose of this programme is to support disabled persons, persons with care burden and the long-term unemployed in finding jobs or taking part in labour market measures.

Disabled persons are not active on the labour market in Estonia. The average employment rate of disabled persons among those aged 15–64 in 2010 was 17.8%.[6] 1,475 disabled persons were registered as unemployed as at the end of September 2011, which is 3.2% of all unemployed persons.[7]

Disabled persons have pointed out the lack of aid that develops human capital (training events, field training and counselling), inadequate and expensive opportunities of moving between home and workplace, and the lack of an environment that enables them to cope with work as the main obstacles to their employment.[8] The technical barriers that arise from the negative confluence of a person’s disability and the unadjusted environment, lack of courage and initiative caused by a feeling of inferiority, the person’s state of health, presumed prejudice and lack of interest of employers, lack of flexible working time options, and lack of a profession in addition to the disability are the factors that play an important role, and they have made disabled persons relatively passive and hesitant. Overall unemployment, insufficient knowledge of suitable jobs and the fear of losing benefits also affect the employment of disabled persons.

On one hand, the welfare services provided to disabled persons must help them cope in society as independently as possible and support their active participation in social life, and on the other hand these services must help alleviate the care burden that the family members of disabled persons have to carry. The need to care for children and other family members is a significant reason of inactivity in the 25-49 age group, which points at the inadequate accessibility of care, day care and child day care services and is the reason why special attention has to be given to implementing supportive welfare measures. Overall coverage with care services is approximately 6%, but the need for it is 15%.[9]

In the current socioeconomic situation it is important to focus on guaranteeing assistance for persons who lost their jobs as a result of the recession, incl. the long-term unemployed. Developing opportunities for working age disabled persons and persons with care burden to participate in the labour market also needs a lot of attention. It is important to support the independence and psychosocial balance of the persons who have dropped out of the labour market and their chances of entering or returning to the labour market. It is also important to provide services in order to prevent the deepening of a person’s crisis that is accompanied with a decline in independent coping, increase in the need for aid in the long run, possible loss of their home and job, and decline in children’s development opportunities due to their parents being unemployed. The European Commission also finds that giving people direct help and counselling, keeping them active and supporting them is of primary importance in the conditions of recession. It is extremely important to offer every person quality services that support finding work and meet the needs of the particular person irrespective of the reasons of unemployment or inactivity.

1.8.1. Connection with the Objectives of the Operational Programme and the Priority Axis

The activities of the programme are directed at achieving the objectives of the priority axis “Good-quality and Long Working Life” of the “Operational Programme for Human Resource Development”:

  • prevention of unemployment and inactivity;
  • helping unemployed and inactive persons get employed.

Services will be provided in a more individual and flexible manner within the scope of the programme in order to prevent unemployment and inactivity (and reduce the obstacles that prevent people from entering the labour market) by developing the existing welfare services and creating new ones. The activities of the programme focus on reducing the care burden of family members, improving the quality and accessibility of welfare services in order to help unemployed and inactive persons get employed.

1.8.2. Connection with other Measures, Programmes and Open Application Rounds of the Priority Axis

  • Measure 1.3.1. “Increasing the Availability of Qualified Labour Force” – the objective of the welfare measure is to provide different preliminary services to persons before they enter the labour market (e.g. counselling services, rehabilitation services, support person services, etc.) that the Unemployment Insurance Fund does not provide or provides to other target groups as compared to the welfare measures. Unlike the measure for increasing the availability of qualified labour force the welfare measure also deals with the development of the quality of welfare services.
  • Open application rounds are planned in the measure “Welfare Measures Supporting Finding Work” in addition to the programme, which entail the development of various welfare services that support persons finding work or prevention of unemployment.

1.8.3. Connection with Sectoral Development Plans

  • The “Estonia 2020“[10] competitiveness strategy stipulates that attention should be given to the prevention and reduction of long-term unemployment and unemployment among young people. The strategy foresees the need for higher employment in the future, prescribes increasing the rate of employment and the readiness of people aged 65 and over to work in order to make up for the decrease in population and to support economic growth. This programme is connected with measure I “Increasing the Quality and Efficiency of Providing Labour Market Measures” of government policy challenge no. 4 “Increasing the Influence of Active Labour Market Policy and Sustainability of Funding”, which among others entails a clearer definition of institutional division of responsibility between the Ministry of Education and Research, the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Unemployment Insurance Fund and local authorities in order to guarantee greater efficiency of the provision of training and social services to the unemployed, implementation of programmes aimed at increasing the employment of disabled persons and development of the measures that support the employment of older people from 2011-2015.
  • The activities of the 2012-2015 development plan “Goals, Measures and Activities in the Area of Social Protection” of the Ministry of Social Affairs are 1.4.1 “Guaranteeing the Availability of Welfare Services and Their Correspondence to Needs (of Persons)”, 1.4.3 “Improvement of the System for Analysing and Planning the Need for Welfare Services”, 1.4.4 “Guaranteeing Need-based Social Assistance”, 1.5.2 “Increasing the Efficiency of Quality Management and Supervision of Welfare Services”, 1.5.3 “Improving the Qualification of Welfare Specialists”, 1.7.1 “Guaranteeing the Social Inclusion and Protection of the Rights of Disabled Persons”.It is emphasised in the development plan that employment is one of the important prerequisites for the coping of a person. The employment rate of working-age social risk groups is low. The purpose of welfare services is to help a person find a job and stay employed. The plan also emphasises that demographic changes in society pose a challenge to the development of welfare services, day care services and other measures that decrease the care burden of families.
  • The objective of the welfare concept is to define the general basis of the welfare policy of Estonia and the measures for improving the situation in the coming years. The objective of implementing the welfare concept has been increased employment of persons who need special treatment and of persons belonging to a risk group (disabled, long-term unemployed, young and elderly), and better accessibility and quality of welfare services. The focus is also on better implementation of an individual approach, including a more widespread introduction of the case management work method and improvement of coping and employment of persons with special needs by providing more effective services of rehabilitation, aids and personal assistants.
  • The Estonian National Housing Development Plan for 2008–2013[11] sets goals and tasks for the development of the housing sector in such a manner that the residents of Estonia are guaranteed access to suitable and affordable housing, a good-quality and sustainable housing fund, diversity of residential areas, and a balanced and sustainable development. Measures 1.1 “Increasing the Accessibility of Housing” and 1.4 “Guaranteeing That the Housing Expenses of Persons with Coping Difficulties Are Covered” of activity I of the housing development plan.
  • The Children and Families Development Plan 2012-2020 (draft) was prepared in order to guarantee a safe and human-friendly living environment for all children and families living in Estonia. The objective of the development plan is to improve the well-being and quality of living of children and families, thereby promoting the birth of children. The following objectives, measures and activities of the development plan are connected with this programme: activities 4.2.1 “Provision and Development of Social Services Promoting Economic Coping” and 4.2.2 “Increasing the Success of Labour Market Services and Increasing the Relevant Awareness of the Population” of measure 4.2 “Development of Services for Promotion of the Independent Coping of Families” of strategic objective 4 “Estonia has a combined system of benefits and services that supports the adequate economic coping of Estonia, which offers permanent security to families”.

1.9. Target Groups for Granting Benefits