Consolidated territorial communities (CC) must prepare for the new Law "On Social Services", which will come into force on January 1, 2020.

Deputy Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine Oleh Koval said during a press conference "Social Services in Communities - Achievements and Challenges" with the support of Solidarity Fund PL in Ukraine and Polska Pomoc.

"Poland is mentally very close to us and we adopt their experience with pleasure. On the ground, we are faced with the fact that not all heads of CC understand the importance of social services, they are only concerned with local business development without understanding the importance of the social sphere in the process of economic growth, so all the bilateral documents that we agree on the events with Polish partners we transfer to CC for implementation," the Deputy Minister said.

The project "Social Services in Communities - Achievements and Challenges", jointly with Polish partners, was carried out at the central and local levels during two years: experts participated in the development of by-laws and implemented measures to increase the competence of specialists and managers of social services in 15 pilot CCs of Chernihiv region.

"The new Law "On Social Services" amends eight other laws. For example, it will consolidate the social sphere within communities, change the approach in the social work with families and the youth. The Ministry of Social Policy has developed 22 standards for social services and another 6 have to be finalized to increase the service’s transparency. Some of the assistance will be provided under contracts, but we have also envisaged part of the emergency services that will be provided during the day. The law also clearly outlines 16 factors that can cause difficult life circumstances, so social workers will be able to work clearly following the instructions," said Oksana Sulima, Head of the Expert Group on Social Services Formation of the Social Services and Integration Directorate.

In turn, the lead expert of the project Mirosław Olczak noted that the new Law "On Social Services" fully complies with European standards.

"We adapted our recommendations for social services to comply with Ukrainian realities because the law fully meets European standards. The process of setting up social assistance is long-lasting - you can build a road in a year, but not a service system. We emphasized the importance of forecasting the demand and need for services, their calculation, the availability of material resources - equipment, software and access to data. The less time it takes to process data, the more time is left to work directly with the public. Also, the demand for skilled personnel in the social sphere will only grow," said Mirosław Olczak.