Lumos developed National Action Plan - Montenegro

Deinstitutionalisation is one of the major changes Montenegro faces in reforming its social welfare sector. While the reform was launched in 2001, the current system of social services is still insufficiently developed and mainly relies on financial benefits and institutional care. Therefore, the primary focus of the reform of services for vulnerable children and families must be to shift from a system that relies on institutional placements to one that will provide responses individually tailored to the needs and circumstances of each child and their family.

Since 2010, Lumos has worked together with the Montenegrin government and UNICEF to develop a National Action Plan for the Reform of Health, Education and Social Services. In 2010, Lumos led a Strategic Review of the system of looking after vulnerable children. On the basis of this review, in March 2011, Lumos facilitated an inter-ministerial planning session, where representatives from all three ministries participated in the drafting of the plan.

The draft National Action Plan (NAP) envisages the develoment of a broad range of services across Montenegro, such as inclusive education, family support services and community health nurses. The NAP also calls for an overhaul of the legislative and regulatory framework, covering issues such as: safeguarding children and child protection; quality assurance - standards and monitoring; financiang mechanisms; judicial review; the introduction of new services; data collection. It outlines the steps needed to strengthen frontline social work provision and suggests ways in which resources from institutions could be transferred to community based services.

Lumos hopes to assist the Montenegrin government towards the implementation of the NAP, thereby assisting the country in fulfilling some of the criteria it must meet on its road to EU accession.

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