EU Phare project SSCC 9503.001

Eesti keeles In Estonian

Special thanx to Helen for inputting the booklet

Under the Constitution a citizen of Estonia is entitled to aid from the state in old age, in case of inability to work, loss of the breadwinner and dire need. The families with many children and disabled persons are the object of particular care by local municipalities.

Under the Law of Social Care and Welfare the organization of social care is the responsibility of Ministry of Social Affairs and the county governors. Social care and welfare of local municipality is the responsibility of the municipal government.

Ministry of Social Affairs will elaborate the national policy of social care and welfare, the laws regulating the social care and welfare and other legal acts, national programs and projects.

County government is the extension of the Ministry of Social Affairs in counties, as far as the national social care and welfare is concerned: the fulfillment of national tasks will be organized by counties; furthermore, a large slice of the work of the Ministry of Social Affairs is based on data obtained from the county governments and the propositions made by them.

National social care and welfare will be organized through the Social and Health Department of the county government.

County governor shall, in cooperation with local municipalities and other legal and natural persons, elaborate the social care and welfare policy of the county, organize the training of social workers, administer the national social care and welfare facilities located in the territory of the county. He shall as well monitor the quality of social services and other aid provided in the county, as well as the use of funds allocated by the state for social care and welfare.

Local municipal government has the duty to organize and provide social services, social assistance, and other aid to individuals in need of help. The local municipal government will assign and pay out the social assistance.

FUNDING

In Estonia social care and welfare is funded:

* from the state budget
* from budgets of local municipal governments
* from the means of legal and natural persons, voluntarily engaged in social care and welfare
* from other means

The state budget covers the following:
* national social care and welfare programs
* national social assistance and allowances
* monetary appropriations to social care and welfare establishments
* fulfillment of other national tasks of social care and welfare
* state investments into social care and welfare

The budget of local municipality will get subsidies from the state budget, to meet expenses on social care and welfare and to fulfill those tasks that the state has imposed on the local municipality, through the operation of law. Local municipality must report on the use of those funds, following the guidelines established by the Ministry of Social Affairs.

Under the Law on Social Care and Welfare the expenses that the state does not fund are to be covered from the budget of the local municipality.

National care and welfare programs in 1997:	National social assistance and allowances on 1997:
- implementation of open care	- subsistence allowance and complimentary social assistance
- reorganization of social care and welfare establishments	- assistance for victims of Chernobyl catastrophe
- preventive social work	- compensation of assistance for using transportation by the disabled persons
- coverage of subsistence costs of welfare recipients in private social care and welfare facilities	- compensation or assistance for use of the telephone
- formation of the system of resocializing (rehabilitation) of people having committed crimes	- support to those released from penitentiary

Legal and natural persons that are engaged in social care and welfare on a voluntary basis will themselves cover the expenses involved. Ministry of Social Affairs, the county governor and the municipal government may make with them contracts and allocate monetary and material means for covering the expenses related to social care and welfare.

Other means. For financing the social care and welfare, the money received from various funds, foundations, as well as the money received from nonprofit activities, donations and sponsorship can be used; the expenses can also be covered by client fees.

Payment for social services
Under the Law on Social Care and Welfare the provider of social services may charge the cost of social services to the beneficiary of the service and to the family member, who must support the beneficiary.

Provider of the social service or other aid can also be reimbursed for the expenses he has incurred by the municipal government of the domicile of that person. The latter will have no right to refuse to reimburse those expenses, provided the ways and scope of the giving of the aid, specified in the legal acts or the contract, have been complied with.

Besides that, in 1997 money was allocated from the state budge to the Subsistence Center of Astangu, for care of adults in special and general social homes and for care of children in children homes and boarding schools. The state has also outsourced rehabilitation services from different establishments and has supported the self-financing facilities, engaged in rehabilitation of the disabled persons: Support Home of Pahkla; Representative Association of Psychiatric Patients.

In the national investments program of 1997, the social care and welfare was allocated the following appropriations:

for construction of Subsistence Center of Astangu

for capital repairs of Social Care and Welfare Home of Sillamäe

for capital repairs of Social Care and Welfare Home of Kernu

for capital repairs of Social Care and Welfare Home of Tori

for repairs of Social Care and Welfare Home of Tohvri

PROVISION

Scope of persons eligible to aid
In social care and welfare the individuals eligible to support are permanent residents of the Republic of Estonia. Considered as permanent resides are citizens of Estonia, living in Estonia, or aliens, having the permanent residence permit.
The aliens with temporary residence permit can draw the social support, subject to the Law, only in case a respective international agreement has been made. Currently Estonia has no international agreements, covering the social care and welfare.

Exceptions
* An alien, who was staying in Estonia in the period before July 1, 1990, on the basis of permanent domicile registration, has the right to enjoy social services, assistance and other aid, until the termination of the legal deadline of his sojourn in Estonia.
* A citizen of a foreign country or a stateless person - Estonian national, having moved to live in Estonia after Aug. 20, 1991, or his spouse and child, have the right to enjoy social services, social assistance and other help, like a permanent resident of Estonia.

Entitlements
* artificial limbs, orthopaedic and other aids,
* housing services,
* subsistence benefit.
Provision of other social services, social assistance and other aid, stipulated by the Law on Social Care and Welfare, will depend basically on the availability of the means of the municipality, the availability of professionally trained personnel and funds and the initiative of authorities.
How to obtain aid?
To obtain social services, assistance and other aid, one is to refer to the municipal government.
Municipal government is obliged:
* to give information about the procedure,
* to send the individual to a competent authority,
* to provide the applicant an opportunity to submit complimentary documents to the inadequately made application.
The client must present to the municipal government the data, needed for getting social services, assistance and other aid.
Opinion of the client
Under the Law on Social Care and Welfare, when the question is being resolved, the opinion of the person concerned must be heard out, and his will taken into due consideration. When deciding the question concerning the child, the person under trusteeship, or the person under care, the opinion of the parent and foster parent, trustee or carer must be taken into consideration, and their will heeded.
When being separated from home and family, the will of a child of 10 or older must also be taken into consideration, as well as the will of a child younger than 10, provided his level of intelligence allows this.
Under conditions and procedure, stipulated in the Law, the following can be done without the consent of the person and his legal representative:
* the person can be placed into the social care and welfare facility, provided there is an appropriate court resolution to the effect,
* as an exception, the rights of the person kept in the social care and welfare facility can be restricted,
* the child can be separated from home and family, as an exception
The obligation of notifying about the need for aid
The Law on Social Care and Welfare obliges the following persons to inform the authorities about the need for aid:
* family members of the person in need of aid
* magistrate
* policeman
* prosecutor
* head of a medical treatment or educational establishment
* other officials
Police is obliged to render assistance, if needed, to the social care and welfare worker, for access to the residential premises of the person or some other abode, with the purpose to protect the persons health or to protect the health of other people.
Notifying about the resolution and the substantiation of the resolution
The resolution must be brought to the notice of the person concerned in the way that takes into consideration his age and the level of intelligence, and in the way coherent to the said person.
Under the Law on Social Care and Welfare the resolution on the provision of social care and welfare service, allowance or other aid, and the resolution on refusal to provide the said must be made by the municipal official, subject to his competence. In case the person requesting
social aid so demands, the question will be resolved by the respective commission of the municipal government. If the person disagrees with the resolution, he will have the right to appeal to court. The person must appeal to court within one month as from the date he learned about the violation of his rights or was reasonably expected to learn about that.
County governors authorities
The decisions of the municipal councils and the resolutions of the municipal governments about the provision of social care and welfare service, allowance or other aid, and the resolution about the refusal to provide the said can be monitored by the county governor. He has also the right to monitor their decrees, stipulating the routine of provision of social services, allowances and other aid.
County governor will also monitor the quality of social services and other aid provided in the administrative district of the county government. In case there are revealed any shortcomings or failures, he can make a proposition to suspend the license of the provider of social service or to revoke the license, and to suspend or terminate the respective contract.
The right to access the information
The individual is entitled to access the information about documents in possession of the care worker, as well as about the documents pertaining to him and deposited in the social care and welfare facility.
The care worker has the pledge of confidentiality. The care worker can also disclose the data referring to the individual enjoying social care and welfare and to his family, provided the failure to reveal that information should jeopardize the life or health of another individual, or if the data is related to perpetration of a criminal offense.

SOCIAL SERVICES

Social service is the non-monetary support contributing to the subsistence of the person or his family. That means that the person or the family is not given any cash, being supported in some other way.
Reimbursement for social services
"Non-monetary support" does not mean that the provision of social service must be continually free of charge to the persons; it may be free of charge in case of need and in case free service is feasible. The costs related to the provision of the service can be reimbursed by the municipal government of the domicile of the client, by a non-profit organization, a sponsor or someone else.
Offer of social service
Beneficiary and provider of the service are two equal parties to the contract, then prerequisite for provision of the service being the will of the client or his legal representative, or at least his consent to accept social service.
Organization and provision of social services
Organization of social services is the task of local self-governments. In other words, the social services can be provided by some other person, facility or structural unit, besides the municipal government. In such a case there is often made a contract on the provision of social service and the customer.
Social services can be provided by non-profit associations, foundations, churches and congregations, and also by commercial associations, sole entrepreneurs etc. From the point of view of protection of the interests of the customer it is essential that the social services be
provided subject to requirements.
Types of social services are (under the Law on Social Care and Welfare):
* social consulting;
* provision of artificial limbs, orthopaedic and other aids;
* home help services;
* living premises services;
* care in the family;
* care and rehabilitation in social care and welfare facilities;
Besides that, other social services necessary for subsistence can be provided; the Law on Social Care and Welfare also provides for a number of services to people with special needs.
Individuals with special needs are:
* children,
* disabled persons,
* elderly,
* people released from penitentiary,
* other people in need of social care and welfare

There was 387 persons under care (wards) in the family in 1997, 96 of them has some disability
Age	Number of individuals
0-6	38
7-17	166
18-24	6
25-49	16
50-64	31
65-79	56
80-	74

SOCIAL ASSISTANCE

Social assistance is the monetary allowance, issued to promote the subsistence of the person or the family. The assistance consists of two parts: subsistence allowance and complementary social assistance.

SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCE
Right to subsistence allowance
Eligible to subsistence allowance are people whose monthly wages are beneath the poverty line, stipulated by the Government. As from 1 November 1997 the calculated poverty line has been 500 EEK per month per one adult living alone.
The subsistence allowance is assigned and paid out by the municipality under conditions stipulated by the Government of the Republic, from the funds allocated in the state budget for that purpose.
What can be designated as the income?
Income is the amount that will be retained by the person (family) after the permanent expenses of the permanent residence are covered.
Included into the family income will be all incomes, except the one-off (single and unrepeated) national benefits.
Included are the incomes of the following persons:
* the income of the person requesting the subsistence allowance
* the income of a spouse or a person in the status of "significant other" (e.g. a cohabiting partner), residing in the same living premises
* incomes of children or parents dependent on that person, or
* incomes of other persons, jointly using one or more sources of income, or having a common household

Coverage of the costs of housing
The costs of housing are covered within the standard floor area. The standard (normative) floor area is 18 square meters of overall area per one member of the family, and additional 15 square meters per family, except in following cases:
* in case the flat has the same number of rooms, as the number of permanent residents, however if the overall area of the flat is larger than the standard area, the overall area will be taken as the basis;
* if the overall area of the flat is smaller than the standard area, the actual area will be taken as the basis;
* as an exception, the area of living premises of a pensioner, living alone, can be considered as standard area (under a respective decision by the municipal government), if the following applies: the standard area is the overall area of the two-room flat; the standard area is the overall area of up to 51 square meters in a flat of more than two rooms.
When assigning the subsistence allowance the costs of living premises of the family within the standard area are taken into consideration, in case all adult members of the family:
* are working,
* are studying day time (resident study) in Estonian national educational facilities or educational facilities having the training licenses, issued by the Ministry of Education,
* are pensioners,
* are beneficiaries of the subsistence allowance,
* are people officially registered as unemployed.
The costs of living premises must be covered by the person (family). The indebtedness accrued earlier is not covered by social assistance.
Subsistence benefit for the job seeker
The job seeker, whose unemployment status has expired, and the unemployed job seeker, not registered in the Employment Service, will be paid the subsistence allowance (if the money is available), provided he participated in social rehabilitation offered by the commune or the town.

COMPLIMENTARY SOCIAL ASSISTANCE

The municipal government can assign and pay complimentary social aid from the state budget, from the budget of local municipality or from other sources.
Paid from the state budget as complimentary social assistance will be:
* compensation for use of transportation
* compensation for use of telephone
* other complimentary social assistance
Assistance for use of transportation is paid to a disabled person using his own vehicle or a pooled vehicle. The user of communal transportation is not paid the national benefit. However, the local municipal governments may establish for them assistance or preferential tariffs.
Assistance for a use of telephone will be paid in case the person is living alone and needs, due to a poor health condition, regular medical aid at home. It will also be paid to the family of special social needs, educating four or more under-age children.
Other complimentary social assistance is paid to those in need of aid for partial reimbursement of emergency expenses, if the local self-governments have sufficient funds to pay them the subsistence allowance.

CHILD WELFARE

Involved in the care for children will be:
* family,
* local municipality,
* local kindergarten, school,
* medical treatment facility,
* child protection associations,
* representatives of churches and congregations,
* local police, if needed,
* other establishments or individuals.

Particular attention must be paid to children left without parental care, the disabled children, children having suffered abuse and children having violated the law. In addition to basic social services and social support those children and families need further help.
Support family or support person
The municipal government may assign to the child or a person upbringing a child a supporter or a support family, organize trusteeship of the child or organize fostering (adoption) of the child.
The support person or the support family will voluntarily try to solve the child's problems, will help and support him. As a rule, the child will not live in the support family or with the support person.
Trusteeship
Trusteeship will be resolved by the court of law, under an application by the trustee organization. Trusteeship will be established for the child who has been deprived or parental care, in order to bring him up and protect his personal and property rights and interests.
The trustee is obliged to take care of the child's upbringing and sustenance.
The child must not obligatorily live with the trustee, nor must the trustee himself bring him up.
All children under trusteeship living in the trustees family will be entitled to the allowance for a child under trusteeship, besides the regular child's allowance.
Adoption
Adoption can be effected only subject to the conditions specified in the Family Law. The adoption will be resolved by the court.
International adoption will be tolerated first and foremost in cases it is impossible to take adequate care of the child in Estonia.
Separation of the child from the home and family
The child can be separated from home and family, for the provision of social service or other aid solely subject to the convergent occurrence of following circumstances:
* Failures in care and upbringing of the child endanger the life, health or development of the child; or else the child himself, by his behavior, jeopardizes his life, health or development;
* the measures taken regarding the family and the child have been found to be inadequate, or else their employment is not possible;
* separation of the child from the family is in the best interests of the child.
If any of the above circumstances is missing, the child will be eased back home and family.
The sisters and brothers coming from other family shall be kept together, when separated from home and family, except when this is running counter to the interest of the children. The replaced children have the right to get information about their origin, the reason of separation and the questions concerning their future.
Residence, care and upbringing of the child separated from the family will be decided by the municipal government.
Child welfare workers
For the purpose of providing aid to children, to the families with children and other individuals bringing up the children, the county social and health departments and, when needed, also the commune and town governments keep in employ the child welfare officers. When necessary, there will be set up a child welfare commission, attached to the municipal government, as a body with advisory powers.

Number of children homes and children growing in there, 1997
	Number of homes	Number of children
Total general children homes	17	772
Total nursing care facilities (nursing homes)	7	335
Total boarding schools	8	459
Total family children homes	3	71
Total youth homes	2	20
Total mixed type homes	1	29
Total	38	1686

SOCIAL CARE AND WELFARE FOR THE ELDERLY

The elderly constitute one fifth of the total population of Estonia.
The number of elderly, particulary of elderly single women is continuously growing. Upon assessment by demographers, in Estonia there are more single elderly women than in any other European country. Currently the majority of the elderly is constituted by non-Estonians and urban population.
Obligation to take care of the elderly
Estonian laws impose on the elderly peoples children and kinsfolk the obligation to take care of the elderly. If the family lacks the means therefor, or if the elderly person is single, the Government will assume the responsibility for him. The elderly people can resort to social services and enjoy the social assistance on an equal basis, as compared to other individuals.
The most recurrent social services to the elderly are:
* round-the-clock care in social care and welfare facility
In Estonia there are 93 general type care homes, accommodating nearly 3000 people.
* aiding the elderly at home
* provision of hearing etc. aids
Besides that the local self-governments have put up houses for the elderly, where the elderly can live in rooms or flats, on their own, using requisite complimentary services.
There are also been created day care centers, where the specialists offer to the elderly the services on the spot, and also travel to the home of those needing the aid.
Organizations of the elderly:
Active in Estonia are three national pensioners organizations and a number of smaller associations and interest clubs of the elderly.
For self-improvement of the elderly, two "universities" have been created: the University of Senior Citizens and the University of the Third Youth.

SOCIAL CARE AND WELFARE FOR THE DISABLED PERSONS

In Estonia there live over 55 000 people , drawing the disability pension. The actual number of disabled people in Estonia may well be c. 150 000.
The Government has approved the general concept of the Estonian policy for the disabled, basing on the "Standard Rules of Creation of the Equal Opportunities for Disabled Persons" of UNO.
The Estonian laws recognize, as a rule, the needs of the disabled persons, however they prevent them from obtaining education and work. Furthermore, in case of many other areas of life the correct principles spelled out in the law have not yet led to overall changes in the practice.

Besides the fact, that
* disabled people, who have been designated the disability qualification, draw the disability pension, the size whereof depends on the qualification,
* the children with the disability qualification (in the Law: invalid children) draw, apart from disability pension, also the children assistance,
* a non-working parent, bringing up an invalid child aged up to 18, or an invalid from childhood, is paid the monthly care allowance,
the disabled people can draw social assistance:
* subsistence allowance,
* assistance for the use of transportation,
* the invalids of the 2-nd category, the travel allowances (except for travelling in city communal transportation),
* payment remissions in traffic insurance,
* compensation for the use of telephone,
* complimentary social aid.
The disabled persons enjoy the equal right to obtain all basic social services, as compared to other people. Besides that, for promotion of their self-help there are the following social services:
* personal helpmate,
* support person,
* translator of the sign language,
* transportation under preferential tariffs.
Organizations of disabled persons:
Operative in Estonia are 25 national unions and associations of disabled persons, united by the Chamber of Disabled Persons of Estonia.

SOCIAL CARE AND WELFARE FOR OTHER PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

Considered as people with special needs, in the context of social care and welfare also those released from penitentiary and victims of crime.
Individuals released from penitentiary
Those released from penitentiary are provided, subject to their needs, the social services specified in the Law on Social Care and Welfare, or they are paid social allowances, and are helped to find employment.
Those released from penitentiary are also provided, in case of need, the asylums, and they can be assigned a caregiver (a support person).
The Government has approved the scheme for creation a national system of resocializing (rehabilitation) of the individuals having committed crimes, as one of the subprograms of the national program of criminal prevention.
The main directions of that scheme are:
* effecting positive changes in the mentality of juvenile delinquents;
* effecting positive changes in the mentality of adults, guilty of performing minor offenses;
* corrective care (probation) of those released from penitentiary.
Aid to crime victims
The Government has approved the subprogram of criminal prevention "Creation of the system of aid to victims of crime".
Conceived as a victim of crime is an individual, who has fallen victim of negligent or unfair treatment, or physical, mental or sexual abuse, i.e. he has been mad to suffer or has been damaged by another person, a group of people or an organization. A person is a victim regardless of whether the perpetrator of damage has been disclosed to public and whether criminal action has been taken against the perpetrator.
However, victims of crime are also those kin to the victim of crime, e.g. the relatives and family members of the person murdered, parents of the child having suffered mistreatment etc.
The basic directions of the subprogram are:
* creation and launching of network of aid to victims of crime;
* formation of the understanding and supportive public opinion, as regards the victims of crime;
* working out the technique of helping the victims of crime (translation, compilation and publishing of respective literature) organization of researches;
* drafting of laws and other legal acts, their complementation and improvement;
* working out the principles of the Register of Victims of Crime.

TRAINING OF SOCIAL WORKERS

Training in professions of social area was reintroduced in Estonia at the beginning of the 1990s. Trained are social workers, social pedagogues and social caretakers; as from autumn 1998 also organizers of social work. Social area workers are educated in vocational and middle level educational establishments and two universities.
Those to be engaged in social work are trained on three levels:
Social worker
The profession of the social worker calls for a university diploma or the bachelors degree. The social workers with higher education are trained both in University of Tartu and Tallinn Pedagogical University. In both universities there are also opportunities for enrolling in MSc
and PhD programs.
Social workers having graduated from the university are expected to be employed by local municipalities, e.g. in the post of the social counsellor. However, they are needed in Boards of Social Affairs of the counties and in Ministry for Social Affairs. The social workers have
also found employment at hospitals and social care and welfare facilities.
Social pedagogue
The profession of social pedagogue can be obtained, on the basis of the secondary school, at Tallinn Pedagogical Seminar and Rakvere Pedagogical School. The first of them will give the graduates the college education, the latter the secondary education.
Social pedagogues are trained in various social care and welfare facilities: in children's homes and social homes (old peoples homes), in asylums, in boarding schools etc. The task of the social pedagogue is to involve the inmates of social care and welfare establishments in
various activities, in order to support their subsistence. Social pedagogues also work with disabled children.
Social caretaker
Education of social caretaker can be obtained, after the basic school, in Tallinn Pedagogical Seminar, Rakvere Pedagogical School. School of Domestic Economy of Pärnu, Kuressaare Vocational School and Vana-Antsla Agricultural School. Christian social caretakers are trained at
Tallinn Christian Caretaking Center.
Social caretakers help the people that can not cope with all chores at home. They are also responsible for the inmates of social ca
re and welfare facilities, who need constant care.
In-service training
In-service training is the responsibility of county governors and it is to be organized by them. In-service training can be outsourced from universities, from middle level schools, vocational schools and training centers and organizations.

Requirements
The training of social worker, social pedagogue and social caretaker must meet the demands approved by the order of Minister of Social Affairs, describing the skills, knowledge and experience required of them in their position.

THE SOCIAL WORK PROFESSIONS TAUGHT IN ESTONIA

Social worker	Tallinn Pedagogical University University of Tartu
Social pedagogue	Tallinn Pedagogical Seminar Pedagogical School of Rakvere
Organizer of Social Work	College of Pärnu with University of Tartu
Social Caretaker	Tallinn Pedagogical Seminar Pedagogical School of Rakvere School of Domestic Economy of Pärnu Vocational School of Kuressaare Agricultural School of Vana-Antsla