NRP Portugal

placesinsocialresponsestothedisabledby2009.ThetotalinvestmentplannedinthescopeofthePARESProgrammeby2009is450millionEurosandthecreationofaround15,000newworkposts.In the 3 stages of PARES, 618 facilities were approved, corresponding to 1,049 social responses and38,470 places. The total investment in these facilities is 422.5 million Euros, of which 210.7 millionEuroscomefrompublicfinancing.Withthesenewresponses,theGovernmentplanstocreatearound10,300newworkposts.Asregardscrèchesinparticular,around18,650placesin418crèchesandatotal investment of 154 million were approved, of which 82.7 million stem from public financing(provisionalamounts).The fight against poverty and social exclusion is not only based on services and social and healthfacilities,butalsoondevelopingproximitynetworkswhich,byidentifyingthecharacteristicproblemsandspecificitieswithinacertainterritory,developsadjustedinterventionstrategies.Inthiscontext,theCLDS – Local Social Development Contracts (Government Order no. 396/2007 of 2 April) areintroduced.TheirterritoriesarepreviouslyselectedaccordingtotheexistingneedsandtherespectivemunicipalitiesinvitedtodevelopaprojecttogetherwithacoordinatingNGO,whichisorganisedfromtheLocalSocialNetworksthroughinterventionpartnershipsatstrategicpoints:familyandcommunity;employmentandtrainingandaccessibilityandinformation.At the level of social minimums, a number of alterations were made in the legislation on the RSI –SocialInsertionIncomeduetothealterationsconferredbyLawno.45/2005of29August,aswellastheinterventionstrategyitself,strengtheningtheinsertioncomponentofthebeneficiaries,intermsofbothsocialandprofessionalintegration.TheinterventionlogicoftheRSIisbasedonthemonitoringoffamilies by partners from the Local Insertion Nuclei and the IPSS with specific protocols for thispurpose, pledging in taking full advantage of community resources in supporting the so‐calledsituationsofextremeneed.In2006,106,167householdsand286.837beneficiarieswerecoveredand49,394 integration agreements were signed, while in 2007, 117,740 households and 341,149beneficiarieswerecoveredand68,173integrationagreementssigned,.Relativeto2008(August),thismeasure covered around 341,149 beneficiaries and 128,915 families, and 73,693 integrationagreementsweresigned.Alsointheareaofsocialprotectionforthemostneedy,theSolidaritySupplementfortheElderly(CSI)wascreatedbyDecree‐Lawno.232/2005of29December.Itrepresentsaspecialbenefitforcombatingthepovertyoftheelderlyandispartofthesubsystemofsolidarityaimedatpensionersover65yearsof age, assuming the character of a supplement to the pre‐existing income. Its value is defined byreference to a threshold that is defined each year and its attribution varies in accordance with theconcrete situation of the pensioner who requests it. The Solidarity Supplement for the Elderly wasintroducedprogressivelyforthreeyears,i.e.itwasestablishedthattheageforrecognisingtherighttothesolidaritysupplementfortheelderlywouldbe80yearsin2006,70andabovein2007,and65andabovein2008.Asattheendofthefirstquarterof2008,70,400elderlypersons(themajorityofwhomwerewomen)benefitedfromthismeasure.Expressedinfigures, 27 thegradualimplementationofthemeasurecovered18,275beneficiariesin2006,ofwhich74%werewomen(onlytheelderlyaged80andabove).In2007,thenumberofbeneficiariesincreasedtoaround55,771(theelderlyaged70andabove) and in 2008, persons aged 65 years and above were included in the measure.In September2008,themeasurecoveredabout125.727beneficiaries.Between2006and2007,avariationoftheaveragepaymentwasregisteredbetween75and79Euros,havingagrowingtrendinlightofthenewreferencethreshold.TheNationalNetworkofIntegratedContinuedCare 28 (RNCCI),createdbyDecree‐Lawno.101/2006of6June,withinthescopeoftheactivityoftheMinistriesofHealthandofLabourandSocialSolidarity,isbasedontwofundamentalpillars,theNationalHealthServiceandtheSocialProtectionSystem,andstrivestocovertheallofmainlandPortugal.ItisbasedontheProximityCommunityServicesinorder27 2006,2007,beginningof200828 www.rncci.min-saude.pt. Pilot study until July 2007 when it started covering the entire territory of mainland Portugal.2974 for women and 72 for men.30Government Order no. 376/2008 of 23 May.31Government Orders 1087-A/2007 of 5 September and no. 189/2008 of 19 February.79