Municipality of Durrës Social Inclusion Local Plan 2017-2019 Measuring, Monitoring and Reporting on Result-Oriented Policies November 2016 This document was prepared by the Municipality of Durrës, in close conslutance with representatives of the local authorities, experts of local organizations, with the contribution of the civil society and experts on social inclusion. Expertize and technical assistance for the preparation of the document was provided from Urban Research Institute, URI, as part of the Project “UN Support on Social Inclusion in Albania” (UNSSIA), funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and impemetned by the United Nations Developmet Program - UNDP, in partnership with the Governmetn of Albania. November, 2016 FOREWORD The Social Inclusion Action Plan represents an important document of the Municipality of Durrës for the evaluation of social inclusion in its several policy domains including: social protection, employment and skills, health, education, social housing and fulfilment of basic needs, as well as social participation and human rights. Social inclusion is concerned with measures to provide access to social services for vulnerable individuals and groups, enabling them to participate in the social, economic and political life of the society with their full capabilities. Economic growth and development of the rural and urban areas of our municipality will be possible when all human and physical resources will be employed in productive activities. The more we invest in human capital through education, and in the improvement of productivity through a better provision of health services and food, social housing and social protection, the more social exclusion will shrink. In the midterm, it is of strategic priority for the Municipality of Durrës the implementation of programs and projects that interrelate social inclusion to poverty, supporting education, employment and entrepreneurship, health services, social housing, and social participation and human rights. I wish to thank the local and regional institutions, the Directory of Social Service in the Municipality and all civil society organizations for the contribution given in the preparation of this document, while also for the continuous support they provide for the protection of human rights. I express my gratitude to the UNDP for its continuous support, and wish to thank especially the experts of the Urban Research Institute URI for their work and assistance in the finalization of the Social Inclusion Action Plan of the Municipality of Durrës. MAYOR Vangjush DAKO Social Inclusion Local Plan Municipality of Durrës 2017-201 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Municipality of Durrës, in coopertion with local and regional stakeholders, operates currently in all social inclusion policy domains through social services provided by it. The Directory of Social Service of the Municipality is the basic local structure of social service provision, which, upon cooperation with other actors, fulfills the legal functions related to it. In this way, the field of social inclusion is currently approached within the legal framework and local structues of social service. The municipal action in each of the social inclusion policy domains is directed and limited by the available national or local budgetary financial fund; this fund is distributed between social services in each domain according to local priorities evaluated by the employee’s experience of Durrës Municipality and signals from civil society organizations. The local budget for social service in Durrës Municipality is currently at the level of 6.8% of the total budget for current expenses and 16.1% of the budget for capital expenses. Before the implementation of administrative-territorial reform in 2014, current expenses for social services represented about 4% of the total executed current expenses. After the reform, Durrës Municipality population has increased approximately 47%. Consequently, the social service budget should also respond to the increased population needs. A monitoring and evaluation system of the social inclusion indicators is present in none of its policy domains; therefore no targeted and sustainable local policies for vulnerable groups are informed. The indicators currently utilized by the Municipality and the regional directories in the social inclusion policy domains they cover are mainly expressed in absolute value. The greatet part of them do not correspond to the national social inclusion indicators of the SIPD, otherwise, they are not disaggregated by all categories of vulnerable individuals, families and groups, by the sources of social exclusion or other details as the national indicators. Currently the Municipality of Durrës is concluding the process of needs assessment for social inclusion services in its territory, which will inform necessary policies in each of these domains and actions for their implementation. The current situation of social inclusion in the Municipality of Durrës is outlined through several important issues in the following paragrahps. I Social Inclusion Local Plan Municipality of Durrës 2017-201 The social assistance scheme excludes every month a group of individuals or families whom Durrës Municipality considers vulnerable groups launched by the legislation, but even from the experience of specialists and administrators. Currently, the Municipality has not approved selection criteria of vulnerable groups who benefit financial assistance from the local special fund. In addition to these criteria, there is lack of a bottom-up evaluation of the vulnerable group’s general situation, spread across the new Municipality of Durrës with particular focus on the new administrative units’ merged with the city. The Department of Social Service manages several community service centers for social care; on the other hand, these centers are all located in Durrës city and do not cover the rural areas of the administrative units. For persons with disabilities, the lack of infrastructure that facilitates the movement in the environment where they live and in obtaining public services (transport, education, health care, sport activities) is the initial factor that causes social exclusion of this group as well as it generates further exemption forms. There are lack of data for inclusion in the active labor market programs of families receiving social assistance. This is due to a no regular basis cooperation between the Municipality and the Regional Employment Office of Durrës. The current social housing programs in the Municipality of Durrës do not help individuals and poor families, so the less favoured groups, who, given the extremely low financial income, are not selected by any program. The enrolment in the civil registry for the identity right and thus to acquire various services is reflected as a problem, mainly for Roma and Egyptian community in some areas of Durrës. The possibility to accommodate women, victims of violence and trafficking, are currently limited; the problem is bigger in the administrative units of Durrrës Municipality. Strategic priorities of Durrës Municipality for social inclusion, due to the current situation and strategic priorities in national level of PDSI are: 1. Capacity building for the Durrës municipality employees whose work is directly related to social services and the implementation of SIAP on measuring and analyzing the indicators on each of the policy areas of social inclusion by SIPD. 2. Capacity building for the Durrës municipality employees whose work is directly related to social services and the implementation of SIAP on monitoring and evaluating the indicators on each of the policy areas of social inclusion by SIPD. II Social Inclusion Local Plan Municipality of Durrës 2017-201 3. Growth of social servicies access, especialy in social care servicies, for vulnerable groups in rural areas of Durrës minicipality. 4. Growth of number of beneficiers in social programs of housing from disadvantaged voulenerable groups, especiallyfamilies with low incomes 5. Infrastructure inlargement for the movement of persons with disabilities. 6. Identification of social exclusion forms present in Durrës municipality and the aproach to them. The Action Plan for Social Inclusion of Durrës Municipality derives from the Social Inclusion Policy Document 2016-2020, prepared by the Ministry of Social Welfare and Youth and which defines the vision, strategic priorities and objectives for social inclusion approach at the national level in a midterm period. The SIAP of Durrës Municipality is designed as a local instrument to fulfil the national social inclusion objectives. This action plan established a structure for the measurement, monitoring and evaluation of social inclusion in the municipality, by the policy domains and indicators as approved from the Ministry of Social Welfare and Youth, with the purpose of designing and implementing local policies on social inclusion which are sustainable and target the vulnerable groups of the municipality. The process of implementation of the Action Plan for Social Inclusion will need a cross- institutional Tematic Group of Work, operating within the Municipality and cooperating on regular basis with civil society rapresentatives. III Social Inclusion Local Plan Municipality of Durrës 2017-2019 Content EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................................................I List of figures ...................................................................................................................................