The Minister of Labour and Social Policy of Ukraine, Oksana Zholnovych, has stated that it is wrong to view the Ministry as a “ministry of payments” that deals only with social assistance. She emphasises that the main task of the ministry is to ensure the sustainability of each person by promoting their independence. She spoke about this in an interview with Ukrinform, Komersant ukrainskyi
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“It was important for me to start changing the philosophy of social support and social policy. The Ministry of Social Policy is about support, about service, about human centredness. We are not a ‘ministry of payments’, we are a ministry that forms the human capacity and resilience of each person. … The task of the state is to create conditions for everyone to feel confident, independent, and have opportunities for development,” she said.
Zholnovych also points out that no state seeks to provide 100% of the population with some kind of support, as this leads to dependency.
“The Soviet Union formed such relations. When everyone was poor, they were on the housing waiting list, and the state was constantly manipulating whether to give assistance or not,” she explained.
She notes that Ukrainians need not only financial support but also other forms of assistance. That is why it is important that social sector specialists go beyond the formal calculation of benefits and actually help people by selecting the necessary range of social services.
“If we are talking about a family with, for example, people with gambling addiction, a payment will not help in this case. It is necessary to conduct psychological counselling, look for another motivation for life and support in long-term rehabilitation, including the service of restoring family relationships,” Zholnovych adds.
The minister also said that in September, Ukraine will introduce “social case management”, which will be aimed at selecting the necessary set of services for each person.
“In their own office, people will be able to see all the types of support we can provide. They will have to fill in a short questionnaire to identify the problem and ways of possible assistance,” concluded Zholnovych.
Earlier, Zholnovych said that the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy of Ukraine plans to abolish the subsistence minimum and replace it with a new system of social benefits.
According to the minister, the new approach involves an individual calculation of social benefits, taking into account the composition of the family. The main reasons for receiving assistance will be disability and poverty.
The minister stressed that the current subsistence minimum does not meet the real needs of citizens due to its low size. She believes that the introduction of the new system will have a positive impact on the social sphere and the economy as a whole.
However, experts have expressed doubts about the feasibility and appropriateness of such a reform.