INTEGRATION OF THE BRIDGE JAMAICA PROGRAMME IN THE SOCIAL SAFETY NET

Developing a Holistic Social Protection Strategy

The overall objective of PATH is to provide the poorest

populations with targeted social safety net programmes to

enable them to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty

PATH Objective

What is PATHPATH is a programme of assistance to the lowest

quintile of poor families in Jamaica, which uses conditional payments to improve attainments in Health and Education Statistics

PATH is the replacement programme for three (3) Social Assistance Programmes. Namely: Old Age and Incapacity Programme Food Stamp Programme Outdoor Poor Relief Programme

PATH is a Government of Jamaica Programme with partial financing from the World Bank and the IADB

What Does PATH Do?

Using a Beneficiary Identification System, identify the poorest households in the society

Pool all identified poor households into a Management Information System for cross sector targeting

Provides Conditional Cash Transfers and other benefits to PATH Households with conditions in Health and Education

Objectives of the Bridge Jamaica Pilot

It aims to provide integral psychosocial support to 10 PATH families over a two year period through the use of state and private resources along with the capabilities of the households to facilitate a transformation from extreme poverty.

To ensure that the families live with dignity through benefits from existing social programmes and amenities being delivered under the project.

Bridge Pillars

The Social Worker encourages and supports the family in strengthening the seven categories of “support pillars” of family life:

1. personal identification,2. health, 3. education, 4. family dynamics5. housing conditions6. employment7. income.

Social Protection Network of the Bridge

The Social Protection network currently consists of a range of social services providers in Jamaica including: Ministry of Labour and Social Security : Conditional Cash Transfers (CCT),

grants, skills development HEART/NTA – skills training, certification Registrar’s General Department- civil registration documents, civil

ceremonies Bureau of Women’s Affairs - capacity building, counselling Jamaica Foundation for Lifelong Learning (JFLL) – remedial education Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) –

disaster management Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) – small business

management Ministry of Health – primary health care Victims Support Unit - counseling Child and Adolescent Mental Health Clinic – counselling,

Beneficiaries

Community # of Family Total # of beneficiaries

Passmore Town 3 15

Tawes Meadows 2 15

Knollis 1 7

Jones Town 2 10

Craig Town 2 21

TOTAL 10 68

Achievement to Date

Beneficiaries – a total of 10 families (70 beneficiaries) are currently on the programme.

100% of retention of families on the programme since inception of programme in September 2009.

100% of families are on target to complete the programme by December 2011.

100% of families are compliant with the terms and conditions of the government’s social safety net programme PATH.

Achievement to Date Cont’d

Increased institutional collaboration to fight poverty – The Social Protection Network has been formed and now consists of over 10 social services providers. This collaboration allows for integration of the resources in an effort to improve the quality of life for the 10 families.

Collective efficacy of participants- participants have demonstrated increased efficacy to deal with the risks such as illness, accidents and unemployment.

Building social capital across families – opportunities such as workshops and field visits have supported the building of networks across families

Extension of programme to rural communities – the success of the initial 2 –year pilot has resulted in the incorporation of the programme into the Jamaica Community Investment Programme (JCIP) which is funded by the Caribbean Development Bank

Development of culturally relevant Bridge Jamaica Material and Family tools and products based on the Chile Puente Programme.

Cultural Applications – Making the Programme Jamaican

1. Examining the Pillars2. Examining the Minimum Standards3. Reshaping the SPN4. Making the tools culturally appropriate –

Game Board5. Infusing best practices from the Jamaica

Social Intervention Experience – Teen Clubs (behaviour modification interventions)

Using the Bridge Jamaica Game Board

Bridge Game Board

CHALLENGES

Limited human, financial, institutional resources of partners constrains the provision of services to beneficiaries

Helping participants to develop a culture of responsibility for their own success

Values and expectations promoted by project sometimes conflict with that of participants

De-territorialisation / competition with the different social service providers

Breaking the cycle of inter-generational povertyBuilding overall capacity of families for self -reliance

versus dependency on government safety net provisions

Lessons Learnt

Programme success depends on the institutional coordination

The Family Contracts are crucial to ensure that each families takes ownership of the project results

Psycho-social support ensures that the intervention remains relevant to the needs of each family

Information sharing across agencies is essential for comprehensive case management of beneficiaries and long term follow-up

Way Forward

Financing identified through the Caribbean Development Bank for the expansion of the Pilot to rural communities based on the dynamics between rural and urban poverty. 30 rural families were earmarked however based on the

experience with the urban families this number will have to be reviewed.

Consultant hired to assess the effectiveness of the intervention on the existing urban families

Examination of the expansion of the number of pillars to 8. The 8th being Social Capital (Bonding Capital)