11 September 2008Ezra Jn. Baptiste, Social Policy Unit, OECS Secretariat 1 Caribbean Conference on Horizontal Cooperation in Social Protection Trinidad

11 September 2008 Ezra Jn. Baptiste, Social Policy Unit, OECS Secretariat

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Caribbean Conference on Horizontal Cooperation in Social Protection

Trinidad & Tobago

Institutionalization of Social Policy in the Caribbean

Approach:Definition of Social PolicyStatus of Social Policy in the Caribbean (CARICOM including the OECS)Main Institutional Arrangements Challenges and OpportunitiesTowards a better Way


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Social policy refers to: 1) those aims, objectives and declared intentions of a range of organizations in the public, private/business, civil sectors and international community that are intended to reduce poverty and to meet the needs of the population, in order to improve their well-being or welfare, and to promote the development of the country; 2) the way these declared aims, objectives and intentions are translated into specific programmes and projects for change; and 3) the monitored outcomes of these interventions (Thomas, 2001).


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Trinidad & Tobago


Status of Social Policy in the Caribbean distinctly curative – seeks to address the

failure or breakdown of mainstream policy - education, employment.


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These measures have been categorized into four broad areas:

• Developmental – capacity building

• Supportive – welfare, capacity to cope is not addressed

• Remedial – restoration to previous levels

• Preventative – protection and increasing resilience


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Governments have adopted policies based on the individual or homogeneous group at risk, rather than policies focused on addressing the underlying cause of the various social problems.


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The main groups that configure the institutionalization of social policy in the Caribbean are as follows:

• Women• The Income Poor• Elderly• The Family• Children and Youth• Persons Living with HIV/AIDS• Persons with Disabilities• The Unemployed

Approach taken to address the various vulnerable groups is welfare oriented rather than developmental.


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Factors influencing institutionalization of social policy in the Caribbean:

• Global pressures (human rights, globalization, global norms and standards, migration).

• Regional initiatives (CSME and OECS Economic Union)

• Millennium Development Goals and other international agreements ( SIDS Programme of Action, ICPD Programme of Action, Mauritius Strategy)


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Main Institutional Arrangements

Past and Current Institutional Arrangements are based on the curative approach and the individual/group at risk approach


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Separate Institutions Established: Ministries / Departments / Units - Youth, Gender, Family, etc

This arrangement separates the individual into several ministries or departments.

Youth are outside of the main social ministries in 9 out of 14 Caricom countries. (Exception: Grenada has an exclusive MoY).

The unemployed are not explicitly dealt with by social policy. Treated as part of the income poor.


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The following are inherent in the current institutional arrangements for the implementation of social policy:

1. fragmentation of services

2. bureaucratic delays in accessing services across ministries / departments / units / programmes.


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Differential approaches in institutional arrangements for policy development (including poverty reduction).Jamaica – use of trend data from SLCs and other surveys (1988)Trinidad & Tobago – National Development Plan - Vision 2020 (beyond MDGs 2015)Commonwealth of Dominica – Growth and Social Protection Strategy, Poverty Assessment and Report on a Local Agenda for Achieving the MDGs.

There is still a lack of evidence policy decision-making.


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Institutionalization of social policy – Variations in addressing the needs of vulnerable groups

Children and Youth - Treated as 2 distinct groups- Youth are grouped with Ministries of Health, Education,

Sport or Culture. - Youth conceptualized as a group at risk that requires

preventative assistance. Preventative measures will not be able to adequately address the main issue of unemployment among the youth.


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Children are seen as a broad group that requires remedial and supportive measures. Children at risk or in unsafe environments are the remit of ministries of Social Transformation, Health or Justice. Exceptions: Barbados, JamaicaHighlight: inherent confusion of mission in dealing with youthBest Practice Grenada: Ministry of Youth, activities span for developmental to remedial.


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WomenProblems are more structural than personal.Remedial policies address the personal problems.Policies to address structural are more varied in approach

and effectiveness.- Public institutions established to address women’s needs

are beset by lack of staff and other requisite resources including funding.

- NGOs and other civil society groups have had to take up an advocacy role.

- In the main social policies are remedial (personal trauma).

- Current progammes do not protect the most vulnerable.


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According to Blank (2007) the main constraints in dealing with the issue of gender and women in the Caribbean are:

• a overlapping and uncoordinated programmes,

• lack of transparent selection mechanisms,

• lack of clear objectives,

• modest monitoring and evaluation.


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Persons With Disabilities• Policies are mainly supportive (subventions and in-kind)• Lack of sensitivity and integration towards PWDs in

OECS.• There are different approaches to entrepreneurship:

- In OECS NGOs dominate the provision of services with the support of governments- In MDCs the approach of governments is more developmental (Jamaica – The Abilities Foundation and main Ministries) – IT, garment construction, horticulture, landscaping. Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago less integrative.

• This approach is not indicative of social policy for PWDs across the CARICOM Region


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The Unemployed

Developmental and preventative policies to addressunemployment. Example: Employment services, training, technical services, microfinance, advocacy for enterprise development, Enhance capability andreducing capabilities

Measures are within the:- Ministry of Labour (T&T)- Ministry of Local Government (T&T - Social Transformation (Saint Lucia)- National Employment Bureau (Barbados)

Policies in social ministries are distinctly supportive – welfare transfers. (E.G. Barbados – Unemployment Insurance Scheme, National Insurance Scheme).


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Income PoorSocial policy addressed through supportive programmes

mainly in the social ministries. Developmental Programmes to enhance unemployment –training in community centres

Non contributory pensions Support from various ministries such as education and

health – school feeding programmes, book and uniform assistance, free public health care, monetary grants, clothing, food, payment of utility bills and rent, and house repairs. Residential care is provided to children and the elderly on a needs basis.


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CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIESThere is a distinctly social welfarist approach to social policy.There are increasing tendencies to a more developmental environment

to social policy.There is a disconnect between the main line social ministry and other

“public goods” ministries.There are fragmented approaches as they relate to policies for

children, youth and women. Inter-agency co-operation is bureaucratic and time consuming.There is an almost separate of youth from the main line social Ministry,

inspite of the multiple issues facing the youth.


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But there has been progress when compared to the immediate post-independence era:

Rights-based Performance Encouraging in the following areas (a few countries have not ratified the CESCR):

• Health (policy regarding HIV/AIDS lowest policy performing area)

• Education• Housing• Justice• Personal Security• Freedom of association and speech• Access to institutions


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Conclusion

Institutionalization of social policy is distinctly supportive in relation to the main social ministry

Interventions outside the main social ministry result in more developmental approaches to social policy.


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Some impact has been seen on the orientation of social policy from interventions within and outside the social ministries.

• Education and Training – interventions are mainly developmental. Preventative and remedial aspects have been noted.

• Technical Assistance – developmental to the individual, supportive and remedial to organizations


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• Infrastructural Provision – supportive in the provision of residential care; developmental and preventive in the case of communities.

• Resource Provision – essentially developmental (support to micro enterprise initiatives). Supportive and remedial in the case of subventions to NGOs and CBOs dealing with PLHIV/AIDS, PWDs.

• Care and Counselling – remedial as part of safety net provision.


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Advocacy – developmental. Substantial progress noted in sensitizing the public to issues confronting children, elderly, PWDs, HIV/AIDS, women and gender.


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AREAS TO BIG UP• Social policy is still geared towards welfare “handouts”

rather than developmental “leg-ups”. Empowerment as a core element of a rights based approach is needed.

• The development facet of social policy. The other facets (supportive, remedial, preventive) will never cease to exist in Caribbean societies.

• Institutional changes will be required • Integrated programmes and inter-agency co-ordination

will be required to avoided time delays and non-servicing of clients. A central agency will ease bureaucratic delays.

• It has become necessary to shift the focus from individuals to households (CDB, 2004)


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These actions will address the challenges facing the institutionalization of social policy in the Caribbean which have been categorized as:


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Structural – a pronounced level of duplication parallels a lack of co-ordination.

Procedural – different ways of doing the same things even within an individual ministry.

Ideological – governments take full responsibility for social policy.


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Recommendation

Less state intervention, the establishment of a purposeful state where facilitation is dominant over application and duplication (Humphreys, 2008).


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The Way ForwardEducation and Training as a developmental and

preventative measure with a specific focus on vulnerable groups.

Technical Assistance and Resources to NGOs and CBOs should be made on condition that their interventions are developmental in nature.

Supportive policy leads to a lack of empowerment and exclusion from economic activity. Attention must be paid to developmental policy measures.


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A focus on developmental social policy will:• Enhance participation in economic activity

through empowerment.• Encourages greater, more productive

participation in the economy as employers and employees.

• Enable Caribbean societies to consolidate social and economic policies in the face of global pressures.


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Given that the majority of empowering initiatives lie outside the main social ministry, it is perhaps instructive that the “right” type of institutionalization of social policy is not taking place in the “right” institutional setting.


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Certain realities will force us to:

- Globalization

- OECS Economic Union

- Trinidad & Tobago and OECS Union

- CSME

- Migration of the Human Resource

- Demographic Situation


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Steps must be taken by:Governments of the Caribbean must be the main facilitators in this process supported by non-governmental agencies including the private sector. Development partners need to respond more aggressively.The research community needs to explore and provide policy prescriptions more regularly


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Questions:

Is there a case for harmonization of social policy?

Does the current state of the institutionalization of social policy facilitate harmonization?

Can harmonization facilitate institutionalization of social policy?

Should we begin to explore the new frontiers of social policy, e.g. social capital?


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Perhaps we should begin by exploring those questions in the first instance.

THANK YOU !!!

Documents

11 September 2008Ezra Jn. Baptiste, Social Policy Unit, OECS Secretariat 1 Caribbean Conference on Horizontal Cooperation in Social Protection Trinidad