From the rehabilitation of disabled individuals to assisting elderly citizens living alone and the unemployed, the scope of this service is quite broad.
From the rehabilitation of disabled individuals to assisting elderly citizens living alone and the unemployed, the scope of this service is quite broad. Targeting specific needs, proactive identification of issues, and a comprehensive approach to resolving each person's problems are the principles upon which its work is based. However, this new model was not achieved overnight: the social protection system for the population has existed in Belarus for a long time. "How did it all begin and what successes have already been achieved?" – was recalled on the 95th anniversary of this service at the RDC.
As noted by Vasily Ravovoy, Head of the Department for Labour, Employment and Social Protection of the Lepel District Executive Committee, social work in our country has evolved into various forms – from charity to public welfare, and then to an organized state system of social protection. Today, these forms are well combined with diverse types of public and private charitable activities.
95 years is almost a century. During this time, the social service has undergone numerous reorganizations. Times, names, leaders, and employees have changed… The district social security department, established in 1929, only in 2007 became the complete structure we know today. Currently, the Department for Labour, Employment and Social Protection of the Population of the District Executive Committee employs 13 staff members who perform 41 administrative procedures. The structure of the department includes three divisions: the Pension Assignment Division, the Social and Labour Relations Division, and the Population Employment Division. The Territorial Centre for Social Services for the Population has been operating as an independent legal entity since 2002. Each of the centre's eight departments has its own functions: from home care for elderly citizens and disabled individuals to providing targeted social assistance and one-off services at socially low prices.
In 2013, a new department for elderly citizens was opened. In total, there are 15 such departments in the republic and five in the region. The indicator for the number of citizens served by the home social care department has been overfulfilled by 5.4 percent. The committee's indicator for one-off services has been doubled. Currently, extra-budgetary funds exceed 250 million rubles. Two workshops are in operation, along with a program for working with disabled individuals.
Similar celebrations took place in every district, but commendations for assisting the social services were presented to employees of the district executive committee in only three of them. Lepel District was among this trio. Thus, the Chairperson of the District Executive Committee, Boris Efremov, Deputy Chairperson Nikolai Nikitin, and Head of the Finance Department, Svetlana Onyshko, were recognised with commendations for their significant personal contribution to the implementation of state social policy. The Director of the Territorial Centre for Social Services of the Population (TCSOP), Natalia Ivanova, Head of the Home Social Care Department, Elvira Podlepyonkina, and Head of the Day Care Department for Disabled Persons, Elena Pamyatikho, received Certificates of Honour from the regional committee. The Head of the Hobby Group at the Day Care Department for Disabled Persons, Alexey Shevchenko, the psychologist of the Social Adaptation and Rehabilitation Department, Ella Khatskevich, and the driver, Vasily Avsievich, were recognised with commendations from the regional committee.