December 3 is the International Day of Disabled Persons. In Belarus, people with disabilities are supported at the state level.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection has provided information on the support available to families raising a disabled child.
There are about 500 thousand people with disabilities living in Belarus, of which 40 thousand are children, BELTA reports.
State support
Over the first nine months of this year, the state allocated more than Br3 billion rubles from the republican budget for the payment of disability pensions, benefits, targeted social assistance, social services, as well as technical means of social rehabilitation.
When calculating monthly payments for raising a disabled child in a family, the presence of other children in the family, as well as the need for one of the parents to care for the child, is taken into account.
In figures, this is from almost 2 thousand to 2.5 thousand rubles per month for a child under 3 years of age.
For children aged 3 to 18 years, the amount of payments ranges from Br1.1 thousand to Br1.8 thousand.
It is also worth noting that, starting in 2020, the size of the disability pension has increased by almost 1.8 times.
Substantial support is a guarantee for working parents who are raising children with disabilities.
Parents of disabled children under 18 years of age (as well as parents with many children with three or more children under 16 years of age) are granted the right to one day off or a reduction of the working day by one hour with retention of wages.
Nanny service and social respite (for parents or guardians of disabled children aged 4 to 18 years who require constant care or assistance) are provided.
Leave is provided free of charge for up to 56 calendar days per year.
The costs of purchasing hygiene items are compensated.
