U-LEAD with Europe invites you to participate in the Support Programs on the organization of the provision of social services for vulnerable categories of the population in a municipality.

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What is the role and place of local self-government bodies in the system of support for families with children, people with disabilities and the elderly, children and persons under 23 years of age who have experience in alternative care and upbringing (graduates of institutional care and upbringing) in the municipality (hereinafter referred to as vulnerable categories of the population)? How to choose the method of providing social services for vulnerable categories of the population? How to plan the organization of the provision of social services for vulnerable people categories of the population? How to assess the effectiveness of the provision of social services for vulnerable categories of the population? What should be the local regulatory regulation of the provision of social services for vulnerable categories of the population?

Answers to these and many other questions in the new initiative U-LEAD with Europe on the organization of the provision of social services in the territorial municipality under the following Support Programs:

1. «Organization of the provision of social services for families with children in a territorial community»
2. «Organization of the provision of social services for people with disabilities and the elderly in a territorial community»
3. «Organization of the provision of social services for children and persons under 23 years of age who have experience in alternative care and upbringing (graduates of institutions of institutional care and education) in a territorial community»

IMPORTANT: Three Support Programs on social services in a municipality are being launched at the same time. A municipality can participate in only one of the three programs, taking into account the priority of the implementation of certain social services in a particular municipality.

What is this?

Support programs where participants:

• learn about the basic principles of organizing and ensuring the provision of social services for vulnerable categories of the population in a municipality, in particular:

1. Support Program «Organization of Social Services for Families with Children in a Territorial Community»:
   • Accompaniment during inclusive education
   • Day care for children with disabilities
2. Support Program «Organization of Social Services for People with Disabilities and the Elderly in a Territorial Community»:
   • Personal assistant service
   • Transport services
3. Support Program «Organization of the provision of social services for children and persons under 23 years of age who have experience in alternative care and upbringing (graduates of institutions of institutional care and education) in a territorial community»:
           - Transit Supported Living
           - Social integration and reintegration

• choose the method of providing social services for vulnerable categories of the population in a municipality;
• understand the algorithm for organizing the provision of social services for vulnerable categories of the population in a municipality;
• determine key resources (human, financial, institutional, etc.) for the provision of the above-mentioned social services for vulnerable categories of the population in a municipality, taking into account the characteristics and needs of each municipality;
• have the skills to independently monitor and assess the quality of social services for vulnerable categories of the population in a municipality;
• prepare a package of local regulatory documents for their implementation;
• establish contacts and establish cooperation with colleagues from other regions of Ukraine.

Who can become a member of the program?

Municipality:

• up to 50 thousand population;
• is not in the temporarily occupied territory or in the zone of active hostilities;
• assessed the needs for the provision of social services for vulnerable categories of the population in the municipality;
• has prepared and has a report on the results of a needs assessment or an information and analytical report on determining the needs for the provision of social services for vulnerable categories of the population in the municipality;
• is ready to implement selected social services for vulnerable categories of the population in the municipality in 2025;
• is able to provide resources for the implementation of selected social services for vulnerable categories of the population in the municipality;
• has a team of 2 motivated managers, namely: the head of the structural unit of the local council in the field of social protection and the head of the Center for the Provision of Social Services/Territorial Center for Social Services;
• can provide its team with the technical capabilities to actively participate in the activities of the program (camera, microphone, Internet).

10 municipalityes will be selected – 10 teams (2 participants each) for each of the three Support Programs.

When?

From April 1, 2025. Duration - 6 weeks. All events will be held online and are free of charge for participants.

How to participate?

To participate in the selection, fill out one of three applications:

• application «Organization of the provision of social services for families with children in the territorial community»,
• application «Organization of the provision of social services for people with disabilities and the elderly in the territorial community»
• application «Organization of the provision of social services for children and persons under 23 years of age who have experience in alternative care and upbringing (graduates of institutions of institutional care and education) in the territorial community»

Submit to the application a copy of the report on the results of the assessment of the needs for the provision of social services, or an information and analytical certificate on the determination of the needs for the provision of social services (if any), and a letter signed by the head of the municipality, in which to confirm:

• interest in this program;
• readiness of 2 declared municipality representatives to participate in the support program;
• human and financial capacity to implement the selected social service/services for families with children in the municipality;
• readiness to implement in 2025 the selected social service/services for vulnerable categories of the population in the municipality;
• readiness to submit draft local regulatory documents for the implementation of social services/services for consideration by the local council/executive committee;
• readiness to organize monitoring and evaluate the implemented services for vulnerable categories of the population in the municipalities;
• guarantees of participation of selected municipality representatives in the educational activities of the program.

A completed one of the three applications in MS Excel format, an attached copy of the report/certificate and a letter must be sent to the e-mail address:
regops.u-lead@giz.de until 18:00 on March 11, 2025, indicating in the subject line:

1. «Social service_Families with children_Community name_Region»;
2. «Social Service_Elderly People_Community Name_Region»;
3. «Social Service_Graduates of Institutional Care Institutions_Community Name_Region».

The application is in MS Excel format, a copy of the report on the results of the assessment of the needs for the provision of social services/information and analytical reference on the identification of the needs for the provision of social services and  a letter signed by the head in PDF format.

You can find out the details of participation in support programs at the promotional event that will take place at this link on March 5, 2025 at 2:00 p.m