The Ministry of Labor is “betting” a lot on… nannies in the neighborhood, in order to build an institution that will be able to actively support both the family and working women.

The new institution of “neighborhood nannies” is introduced in our country by an order of the Ministry of Labor that is expected to be submitted to Parliament in the coming days,

Essentially, parents will be able to choose a caregiver for their baby, up to 2.5 years old, through a platform, with financial support from the state, while the option of babysitting in the family home will be given.

The aim of the program, among other things, is to help especially the category of single parents and self-employed people who face increased needs for safe care of their children due to the special conditions of their daily life.

The “Neighborhood Nanny” program concerns the care of infants aged from two months to 2.5 years and provides financial support for working parents (mainly) and caregivers for the care of their child or children by accredited caretakers. either at the child’s home or at the caregiver’s home. The pilot implementation of the program, which will be co-financed by the NSRF, will begin in February 2022 in municipalities of the country, while immediately afterwards it will be gradually implemented nationwide.

Changes

It is noted that the provision that will be submitted as an amendment to the bill of the Ministry of Labor for social protection, the discussion of which has already begun in the competent committee of the Parliament, regulates for the first time the framework of providing home care services for infants and children up to 2.5 years old while offering the opportunity to parents to use the services of certified providers that will offer them reliability and safety during the care of their children.

The goal of the program is twofold, according to the Ministry of Labor. It aims on the one hand to support and facilitate women mothers and guardians, in order after to achieve their full reintegration into the labor market and the continuation of their professional career and on the other hand to reduce undeclared work by encouraging unemployed, mainly women , upon certification, to work as educators-caregivers.

In fact, the choice of the guardian, the “nanny”, will be made by the parent or the person who has custody of the child through an integrated information system that will lead to the conclusion of a cooperation agreement between them in a way and at a time will serve the parents.

The program will operate with a voucher to the family, which will be redeemed for hiring babysitters, depending on the hours of babysitting. The certification process will be carried out through the Municipalities. The participants will go through a training process through special seminars, in order to then join a special platform, through which the selection will be made.