The Minimum Income Scheme in Serbia is targeting the poorest among the poor. This scheme in Serbia is called financial social assistance (FSA) and it aims at providing legally guaranteed level of social security. The main aim of this study was to analyze the situation and develop a road map for adequate and accessible minimum income scheme.
Coverage of FSA has been a week point of this program for the past decade and more. In spite of the fact that the coverage has increased by applying methods of adjustment of eligibility threshold (it is adjusted to the consumer price growth every six months), a high number of poor households and individuals are not covered by this scheme. Main barriers are property census, complex administrative procedures, and discretionary power of social workers. Based on focus group discussions and desk research on FSA, recommendations for improving adequacy, coverage and take-up of FSA were formulated. Research results and recommendations are given in a country report, which was presented at the Conference held in September 2014.
The country report was also presented to other partners in the program during two conferences in Paris (2013/2014). In this way barriers for adequate and accessible FSA program were identified, but also examples of good practice from different countries were shared. This contributed to establishing common definition and criteria of FSA and strengthened cooperation framework at EU level.