Towards a New Welfare Mix for the Most Vulnerable: Reforming Social Services in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia

Social services reform in countries in transition, striving for a new welfare mix, is driven by three broad principles, sometimes described as the “3Ds” of reform, namely deinstitutionalisation (the move away from an over-reliance on long-term care in residential institutions towards more humane and cost effective community-based services); diversification (the promotion of a renewed welfare mix of state and non-state providers including NGOs and the private sector); and decentralisation (the transfer of rights, duties and responsibilities as close as possible to local populations). Based on evidence of actual and proposed reforms in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia, the paper suggests that the three principles have tended to be treated separately rather than as inter-linked. Hence, reforms have often been blocked, or had unintended consequences, as a result of an excessive legalism, and a lack of concern with equity, economies of scale, incentives for new providers, safeguards regarding standards, and creative ways of overcoming resistance to change. In addition, external assistance efforts have often been uncoordinated and contradictory. The paper argues that more emphasis needs to be placed on the development and implementation of a meso-level “zonal” planning framework, within a whole systems approach, to reorder existing services and establish alternative, community-based and family-centred services.