📋 Tender Overview
At the beginning of next year the responsibility for organizing social and health care will be transferred to the welfare areas. For this reason mainly technical amendments are proposed to the two laws. The submissions to the consultation would also make it possible to reimburse the costs of integration to the welfare areas and define the responsibility for arranging the housing of unaccompanied children.At the beginning of 2023 the responsibility for organizing social and health care will be transferred from the municipalities to the welfare areas. The Act on the Multidisciplinary Joint Service for Employment TYP Act and the Act on the Promotion of Integration hereinafter the Integration Act therefore need to be amended. The TYP Act provides for a co-operation model the actors of which are the Employment and Economic Development Office the municipality and the Social Insurance Institution. The actors involved in the co-operation model co-ordinate the public employment services and social health and rehabilitation services for which they are responsible according to the needs of the unemployed. The municipality is the authority responsible for social and health services in the multidisciplinary joint service promoting employment. According to the proposal the TYP Act would be amended when the responsibility for organizing was transferred so that the welfare area would become the body responsible for social and health services in the co-operation model. Municipalities would continue to nominate the persons leading the organization of the multidisciplinary joint service. Technical amendments are also being proposed to the Integration Act to clarify the role of welfare areas.Compensation for integration in addition to municipalities for welfare areasAccording to the Integration Act the state reimburses the municipality for the costs incurred in promoting integration as defined by law. The municipality incurs costs for among other things the social and health care services provided by the municipality. The proposal proposes to amend the Act on the Promotion of Integration so as to allow welfare areas to claim compensation for the costs of organizing social and health care referred to in Chapter 6 of the Act from 2023 onwards. However by the end of 2022 municipalities could apply for compensation for the sote costs incurred by them retrospectively during 2023 and 2024 as provided by law. In addition municipalities could continue to be reimbursed for the statutory costs they would incur in promoting integration.A new task for welfare areas to organize family group home activitiesAccording to the Integration Act the care upbringing and upbringing of a child or young person who has moved to the country without a guardian is provided in a family group home through supported family placement or in another appropriate manner. In addition the law provides for the appointment of a representative of an unaccompanied minor. The operation of family group homes is based on the Integration Act and thus there is currently no social welfare. In terms of content however family group home activities are quite close to social welfare. The bill therefore proposes that the responsibility for supporting a child and young person who has entered the country unaccompanied as a minor and for arranging housing for example in family group homes be transferred from municipalities to welfare areas. There are currently family group homes in about ten municipalities so the task is not expected to significantly increase the tasks of welfare areas. The welfare state would receive full compensation from the state for the costs incurred by it in these tasks. In addition the law would provide for access to information and the transfer of contracts and personnel. Proposals for amendments will be submitted for consultationOpinions on the proposed amendments to the law may be issued until April 5 2022. The governments proposal is scheduled to be submitted to Parliament in May 2022. The amendments are expected to take effect from the beginning of 2023. At the same time comprehensive reforms of both laws are being prepared which are due to come to a round of opinions later in the spring of 2022. These laws are due to be submitted to Parliament in the autumn of 2022 and are due to enter into force in 2024.
