Tim za socijalno uključivanje i smanjenje siromaštva

The Creative Educational Center – KEC and the Clinic for Psychiatric Disorders “Dr Laza Lazarević” organized a roundtable on 24 November 2014 with the subject of “Community Based Social Services Aimed at Preventing Institutionalization”. In addition to representatives of the public and civil sector, the roundtable was attended by beneficiaries, persons with intellectual and mental difficulties.

The roundtable is part of the project “Community Based Social Services and Employment for Persons with Intellectual and Mental Disabilities”, supported by the European Union Delegation in the Republic of Serbia. The goal of the roundtable was establishing a broad and open dialog at the local level in order to promote the importance of community based social services in the process of de-institutionalization and to contribute to positive changes at both the policy and the practical level in realizing the right to social inclusion for persons with intellectual and mental disabilities.

The importance of the development of community based social services was analysed through the introductory statements by the general manager of the Clinic for Psychiatric Disorders “Dr Laza Lazarević”, prof. Slavica Đukić Dejanović PhD, speaking of the importance of the cooperation of institutions and civil society organizations in the process of de-institutionalization and prevention of institutionalization; the head of the department of information, promotion and support at the Republic Institute for Social Protection, Slavica Milojević, speaking of the reform processes defining local services under the auspices of local self-governments; as well as the social protection inspector at the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Policy, Nena Darmanović, speaking of the importance and the obligation of licensing local social services providers. Of particular importance were the contributions of the beneficiaries of the association “Duša” and the “Creative Educational Center – KEC”, emphasizing the importance of such community support through authentic stories.

The roundtable produced the following recommendations:

• The approach to the issues of persons with intellectual and mental disabilities needs to be analysed from a human rights aspect and this should guide the planning of support.

• The introduction of a programme for strengthening institutional capacities is required in order to support the process of de-institutionalization.

• Programmes of working with families should be introduced.

• Programmes of lifelong learning should be introduced as an instrument for achieving greater social equality and justice and to respond to the challenges caused by educational drop-out of persons with intellectual and mental disabilities.

• Promote programmes of work engagement and employment of persons with intellectual and mental disabilities as one of the key criteria of personal competence and mechanisms for the productive inclusion of these persons in the community.

• Introduce the practice of presenting the work of associations for beneficiaries in institutions.