Positive Supported Employment Program -2016 (original) (raw)

IOM Country Profiles: Migration in Malta - Country Profile 2015

Migration in Malta – Country Profile 2015 seeks to provide an overview of the migration situation and trends in Malta. With an area of just over 316 km², Malta is the smallest EU Member State (MS) and one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Malta’s geographical position in the centre of the Mediterranean and the legacy of 7,000 years of colonization, as well as of the times of strife and destitution are among the factors that have interacted to create the country’s unique and complex migration narrative. Over the recent years, most prominently, following its EU membership, Malta has turned from a country of emigration to a country of immigration – a reality that presents both challenges and opportunities. For many EU nationals, and others coming from further afield, Malta is the chosen destination for employment, retirement, or studies, coupled with the Mediterranean climate and lifestyle. Furthermore, located at the EU’s external borders, just 1,000 km off the coast of Libya, for more than a decade Malta has been receiving refugees and migrants, mainly from sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and the Middle East. For them, Malta may represent a place of refuge, a new home, or only transit point in their journey, but not necessarily a destination of choice.

Social enterprises and their eco-systems: A European mapping report. Updated country report: Poland

According to the EU operational definition, four types of social enterprises can be distinguished. These are: type 1: Social Cooperatives, type 2: Entrepreneurial Non-Profit Organisations (ENPOs), type 3: Professional Activity Establishments (Zakład Aktywności Zawodowej – ZAZ) and type 4: Non-Profit. Social cooperatives can be regarded as social enterprises par excellence, and–along with ENPOs–they are situated in the very centre of the ‘constellation’ of Polish social enterprises. ZAZ and non-profit companies can be included in the social enterprise ’constellation’, although they are situated a little further from its very centre. Social enterprises in Poland are regulated by legal frameworks specified for each type. This is due to the fact that no commonly shared legal definition of a social enterprise has yet been agreed upon. However, some steps toward the legal recognition of social enterprises have been made in the National Programme for Social Economy Development (KPRES), which was accepted by the Council of Ministers in 2014. It recognizes social enterprises as various legal types demonstrating particular features. Legal recognition of a social enterprise is also declared by the draft Act on Social Enterprises and Supporting Social Economy, which–if enacted–will introduce a social enterprise status that could be obtained by organisations regardless of their legal types if they fulfil certain conditions.

Implementation of legal aid act 2000 problems and prospect.docx

2018

Legal aid is essentially a mechanism that enables the poor and the vulnerable sectors of the society to be able to enforce their legal rights in order to access a fair and equitable justice in the society. Nowadays, a legal aid can be justifiably said as a crying need to ensure social and legal justice in Bangladesh because most of the citizens are illiterate and they live below the poverty line which incidentally makes matters worse. Due to their financial crisis or lack of legal knowledge they are often precluded to access justice. In recognizing the legal aid as a right, the government has enacted some laws. However, unfortunately those laws are full of weaknesses, loopholes, and procedural complexities which have to be judiciously addressed in the proper legal perspectives. As a matter of fact, legally speaking, much has been said and done, but ironically not much has been practiced. Due to these ever unsettling defects, the ultimate objectives of those laws have frequently failed to ensure enjoyment of the legal aid services among the vulnerable sectors of the society. In this research, focuses on the present legal aid services of Bangladesh, and frame out a comprehensive solution for ensuring the legal aid program by adopting the analytical research methods.

SOCIAL ASSISTANCE AND RURAL POVERTY REDUCTION IN THE UPPER WEST REGION, GHANA

The study assessed the effects of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) social assistance programme on rural poverty reduction. A mixed methods research approach was used while the after only design constituted the study design. The sample size was 302 respondents selected using stratified random sampling. Data was collected using interview schedule, observation guide and interview guide. Analysis of data involved the application of descriptive statistics, chi-square test, hypothesis test for two independent proportions, Mann-Whitney U test and thematic analysis. The study found that beneficiaries largely used the LEAP cash grant in consumption of basic needs while few invested in farm and non-farm enterprises. In addition, LEAP led to the reduction in poverty as acceptable food consumption, income levels, savings, access to healthcare and school attendance improved; yet, there were insufficient and weak exit strategies. The major challenges confronting LEAP were: travelling to collect cash grant, inadequate means of transport, limited meeting of scheme implementers and inadequate complementary services. However, the study concludes that LEAP contributes to poverty reduction despite its challenges. It is therefore, recommended that the Department of Social Welfare should base the targeting of LEAP beneficiaries on the Ghana National Household Registry data to reduce the inclusion errors that lead to wastage of state resources and collaborate with partners like the National Health Insurance Authority in order to improve on the provision of complementary services. Furthermore, beneficiaries of LEAP should invest part of their grant in farm activities to earn extra income to enable them to meet their basic needs and develop self-sufficiency.

Investing in the social services’ workforce: A study on how local public social services are planning, managing and training the social services workforce of the future

The objective of this report is to analyse key issues concerning the social services workforce in Europe, with a focus on social workers and social care workers. It is based on secondary literature and policy analysis, the results of a questionnaire, and discussion groups that took place during a seminar organised by ESN in Bratislava in November 2016. The report rst sets the scene by describing key similarities and differences between the social services workforce and structures of welfare states in Europe. Second, the report covers key developments in policy and practice regarding quali cations and skills, recruitment and retention, workforce mobility across the European Union, and planning and management of the workforce. Finally, the report sets out key recommendations for policy-makers, practitioners and researchers. The structure and legislative framework of the welfare states in European countries shape the size, composition and regulation of the social services workforce. Whilst the Bologna process has harmonised social work academic quali cations to an extent, social care professions are still very much country-speci c with regulation and required quali cations being formalised in some countries but not in others. This has implications for the quality of the services provided as well as the attractiveness and conditions of the jobs available in this area. Preparing professionals with the knowledge and practical skills required to do their job well is a complex endeavour that is organised very differently in European countries. This complexity is illustrated by an overview of quali cations and regulation of social work and social care professionals in selected European countries. The link between institutions responsible for education and training and organisations that deliver services is crucial, particularly regarding the need to align education and training with changes in practice, such as the increasing importance of technological innovation. An important way to bridge potential gaps between theory and practice is the effective involvement of service users in the planning, delivery and evaluation of education and training.

SOCIAL PROTECTION AND VULNERABILITY REDUCTION: AN ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPACT OF THE LIVELIHOOD EMPOWERMENT AGAINST POVERTY PROGRAMME IN THE LAWRA DISTRICT

Over the past decade, there has been a somewhat convergence in thinking regarding the contributions of cash transfers to social protection and vulnerability reduction. As a result, governments of most developing countries in Asia and Africa have begun embracing the idea of cash transfer through a roll-out of various schemes all in a bid to address issues of poverty, vulnerability and social exclusion. This study analyses the contributions so far made by the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme to social protection and vulnerability reduction in the Lawra District of the Upper West Region. A multi-stage sampling procedure involving the use of simple random sampling and purposive sampling techniques was employed in selecting household level respondents, the District Social Welfare Officer and four focused group participants for the study. The study used semi-structured questionnaire, interview guide and focus group guide to collect data from respondents. The data collected was then used to determine the socio-economic impacts of the LEAP programme on recipient households, the challenges faced by the LEAP recipient households and the Lawra District Department of Social Welfare in the implementation of the programme, and the institutional mechanisms instituted to check arbitrary abuses in the implementation of the programme. Using data from structured questionnaires, focus group discussions and desk interviews, the study found positive impacts of the LEAP programme on recipient households in the area of access to healthcare services, school enrolment and retention of children of schooling age, food consumption and nutrition, production activities and social networks. The study observed that though children were engaged in farming activities, this was perceived as a form of socialisation and skill training and therefore do not constitute child labour. In all, the study recommends that discrete social intervention programmes should be sufficiently linked together in the district. It also recommends that the inactive District LEAP Implementation Committee found during the study should be reactivated and logistically supported to perform its function. The study further recommends that the DSW should be adequately resourced to effectively and efficiently carry out its mandate.