Improving Services for Children and Families - Intersectoral Cooperation in Focus of Local Self-Governments

The first local intersectoral meetings have taken place as part of the Joint UN Programme "PRO - Local Governance for People and Nature" and its component aimed at developing and enhancing intersectoral local services for children and families.

Consultative meetings were held with local self-government units of Nis, Sabac, Kraljevo, Cacak, Uzice, Valjevo, Pirot, Bor, Jagodina, and Smederevo. In addition to local self-governments participants were representatives of health centres and developmental counselling centres, preschool institutions, social welfare centres, local service centres, schools for children with developmental disabilities, and school administrations, as well as non-governmental organizations and UNICEF and its partners from the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities, the Belgrade Psychological Center, the Institute for Social Protection and the Association of Professional Workers in Social Protection.

The importance of intersectoral cooperation and coordination for achieving better outcomes for children at the municipal and inter-municipal levels was emphasized at the meetings, along with the need for local self-governments to establish permanent intersectoral working bodies to deal with policies and measures supporting parenting, with a special focus on parents of the youngest children from the most vulnerable families.

During these meetings, representatives of local self-governments and institutions from the health, education, and social welfare sectors collaborated with UNICEF and its partners to define a common vision for improving the quality of local services for children and families through intersectoral cooperation. Planning focused on services for family-oriented early interventions for children with developmental risks and disabilities and their families (PORI), day care services, home care, family counselling, as well as the development of innovative services for families at the local level.

Improving these services will be implemented over the next two years in cooperation with UNICEF, as part of the "PRO - Local Governance for People and Nature" programme, jointly implemented by United Nations agencies in Serbia - UNOPS, UNICEF, UNFPA, and UNEP, in cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Serbia and with the financial support of the Government of Switzerland.