No. 07-00-76/2024-02    date: 24.6.2024.

OPINION

The opinion was issued in the proceedings regarding the complaint of AA, submitted on behalf of her minor daughter BB, against the Secretariat for Social Protection of the City of Belgrade and the City Center for Social Work in Belgrade, Voždovac Department, due to discrimination based on health status. The complaint states that the Intersectoral Commission for Assessing the Needs for Providing Additional Educational, Health, and Social Support to a Child/Student/Adult issued a joint opinion in which, among other things, it recommended the enrollment of minor BB in the School for Secondary Education of Students with Developmental Difficulties and Disabilities, with dormitory accommodation in Novi Sad. The Commission also determined that the family already uses some services that remain necessary, including a personal assistant, all in accordance with BB’s developmental needs and the need for additional support in daily functioning to provide her with comprehensive social protection and developmental support. Furthermore, the complaint states that the City Center for Social Work Belgrade, Voždovac Department, issued a decision rejecting the request for recognizing the right to the personal assistant service for minor BB. The reasoning of the decision indicates that the fact that the school is located in Novi Sad is considered problematic for acquiring the right to this service. Additionally, the complaint notes that, acting upon the appeal against the mentioned decision, the Secretariat for Social Protection of the City of Belgrade did not address the substantive reasons but upheld the appeal on formal grounds, which were not part of the appeal request, and hence their approval of the appeal has no bearing on a different resolution of the specific case. The decision on the appeal clearly indicates that the Secretariat, as the second-instance and supervisory body, provides instructions to the Center on how to resolve such cases, namely, to deny the right to social protection—the personal assistant service provided outside Belgrade—even though there is no legal basis for this in the Decision on Rights and Services in Social Protection of the City of Belgrade. In its response, the Secretariat for Social Protection of the City of Belgrade states that the service of a personal assistant for children in the City of Belgrade is systematically organized and defined by the Law on Social Protection, the Rulebook on Closer Conditions and Standards for Providing Social Protection Services, the Rulebook on Licensing Organizations for Social Protection, as well as the Decision on Rights and Services in Social Protection. The Secretariat further states that they find questionable the interpretation that the City of Belgrade is obliged to provide, in this specific case, the personal assistant service to a user who acquired it under the Decision of the City of Belgrade but resides (attends school) in the territory of another local self-government unit. This is despite the fact that the Decision of the City of Belgrade stipulates that this service can be granted to persons who have permanent residence in the territory of the City of Belgrade, which, by definition, implies that this is where their center of life activities is and where they have settled with the intention of permanently living there. They believe that such and similar cases should not be resolved on an individual basis and that changes to regulations should not be left to each local self-government to address on a case-by-case basis, as only a uniform systemic solution can adequately respond to the needs of users. In its response, the City Center for Social Work Belgrade states that it is the intention of the legislator that each local self-government, in accordance with the needs of its residents, develops appropriate services. Accordingly, there are no examples of providing social protection services developed by the City of Belgrade in the territories of other local self-governments. They further state that in the City of Belgrade, the personal assistant service is provided by a licensed service provider selected by the City of Belgrade through a competition and applies to providing the personal assistant service in the territory of the City of Belgrade to individuals with permanent residence in the City of Belgrade. Therefore, they believe that since minor BB is attending school in Novi Sad, she cannot be covered by the personal assistant service, which is intended for children residing in the City of Belgrade. They also point out that in practice, there are ambiguities regarding the exercise of the personal assistant service for children who have permanent residence in the City of Belgrade but attend school in another local self-government unit. During the proceedings, it was determined that the City of Belgrade, by the Decision on Rights and Services in Social Protection, has stipulated the personal assistant service as a social protection service provided by the city. The joint opinion of the Intersectoral Commission established that minor BB needs additional support from a personal assistant in daily functioning to provide her with comprehensive social protection and developmental support. Although she is attending school in Novi Sad, she has permanent residence in Belgrade, where she returns on weekends, holidays, and during school breaks and where she will return after completing her education. Additionally, it was established that the child’s mother, the complainant, approached the City Center for Social Work in Belgrade, Voždovac Department, with a request for the provision of a personal assistant service, which was denied. The Secretariat for Social Protection and the City Center for Social Work did not provide any evidence that they had taken steps to address the identified issues in practice regarding this and similar cases. Instead, they chose not to provide the personal assistant service and shifted the entire burden onto the family of minor BB. The Commissioner emphasizes that the local self-government unit has an obligation to provide support services for independent living in accordance with Article 45 of the Law on Social Protection. Furthermore, according to the Decision on Rights and Services in Social Protection of the City of Belgrade, one of the conditions for exercising the right to a personal assistant service is the user’s permanent residence, which is met in this case. The ambiguities faced by the Secretariat for Social Protection of the City of Belgrade and the City Center for Social Work Belgrade, Voždovac Department, regarding the exercise of the personal assistant service for children residing in the City of Belgrade but attending school in another local self-government unit in the Republic of Serbia do not diminish their responsibility for failing to provide this form of additional support to BB. The provision of the personal assistant service should be equally accessible to every child for whom the need for additional support has been established by the competent authority. It is not enough to merely stipulate this form of support through a local self-government decision; it must also be fully implemented so that every child who needs this support is covered by the service. Only in this way does the local self-government unit fulfill its legal obligation in terms of providing this service. Finally, the Commissioner emphasizes that there is no legal or any other obligation to attend school in the place of residence. This is why the law clearly distinguishes between the institutes of permanent residence and temporary residence, allowing a person to move and be educated outside their place of residence freely. In light of all the above, the Commissioner issued an opinion that by failing to provide additional support through a personal assistant for BB, who needs this form of support, the Secretariat for Social Protection of the City of Belgrade and the City Center for Social Work, Voždovac Department, prevented BB from receiving the necessary additional educational support, thereby violating the provisions of the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination. The Commissioner recommended that the Secretariat for Social Protection of the City of Belgrade and the City Center for Social Work in Belgrade, Voždovac Department, take all necessary actions and measures to ensure the engagement of a personal assistant for BB, a student at the School for Secondary Education in Novi Sad, and to refrain from violating anti-discrimination regulations in the future within the scope of their jurisdiction.

COMMISSIONER FOR THE PROTECTION OF EQUALITY
Brankica Janković