info@cebud.be kleinhoefstraat 4, 2440 geel +32 (0)14 56 23 10 the use of reference budgets in local...
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info@cebud.be www.cebud.be
Kleinhoefstraat 4, 2440 Geel+32 (0)14 56 23 10
The use of reference budgets in local social
welfare offices
Bérénice stormsResearch coordinator Cebud
4-9-2014
Cebud
• Multidisciplinair centre for budget research and budget advice(cebud) at Thomas More
• www.cebud.be
2Reference budgets
Content
• WHAT are reference budgets?• WHY we need reference budgets?• HOW can reference budgets be used in local
social welfare offices?• REMI, a social innovative tool to empower
vulnerable families
3Reference budgets
What are reference budgets?
Reference budgets are priced baskets of goods and services, representing a socially acceptable standard of living
Why we need reference budgets?
5Reference budgets
Reference budgets can be/are used for:
1. Contextualizing poverty lines; 2. Measuring the adequacy of minimum incomes;3. Determining supplementary income support, settling income
maintenance, debt rescheduling;4. Financial education/debt prevention;5. Encouraging politicians to work towards a socially inclusive society6. …
HOW can reference budgets be used in local social welfare offices?
6Reference budgets
• Request from local Social Welfare Offices (SWO) to develop reference budgets
• Core mission SWO: set up actions that empower vulnerable people, so that they are able to live a decent life
• Instruments SWO:• Material support (e.g. food vouchers, (transit) housing,
vouchers for social and cultural activities)
• Immaterial support (e.g. psychosocial counseling, legal advice and assistance, job-seeking)
• Financial support (social assistance + additional income support)
HOW can reference budgets be used in local social welfare offices?
7Reference budgets
• SWO mission:• Material support • Immaterial support • Financial support
• Social assistance income• Eligibility criteria, level of support, criteria for means testing are
regulated at a national level• Additional income support
• Eligibility criteria, level of support, criteria for means testing are regulated at the local level
• No norm or criterion to objectify what a decent income should entail
• Result: big differences between SWO’s and within SWO’s in the amount of supplementary financial support for clients with the same living conditions
• Request for the development of reference budgets that can be used as a benchmark to evaluate the income situation of clients in the light of human dignity
HOW can reference budgets be used in local social welfare offices?
8Reference budgets
• Key choices for the development of reference budgets:• Standardization of targeted living standard:
• Minimum resources required for adequate social participation
• Standardization of target population:• Children and persons at active age in good health, without disabilities, and with
normal competences, living in an urban environment
• Standardization of model families:• Single (woman, man - active age)• Couple (male and female - active age)• Single woman (active age) + 1 and 2 child (2, 4, 6 & 15 years old)• Couple (male and female - active age) + 1 and 2 children (2, 4, 6 & 15 years old)
• Standardization of geographical scope: Flanders (city, country side accessible by public transport)
• All long-term RBs: access to a targeted living standard for an undetermined period of time
HOW can reference budgets be used in local social welfare offices?
• Question: how can standardized reference budgets be adapted for personal living circumstances of people?
• Answer: REMI
- Online web application with RBs adapted for personal situation of client (it compares necessary costs (medical costs, housing costs, school costs in secondary and higher education, …) with family income)
- Developed together with user group- Provides insight into which efforts
should be delivered by clients and SWO to enable a decent life
- Systematic and well structured gathering of income components and necessary expenses give more transparency
REMI Output
• Overview of an adequate personalized family budget, grouped into:– Fixed costs– Living costs– Reservation expenses
• Provides politicians of SWO board an insight into the necessary efforts to ensure clients a dignified income
Reference budgets11
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