Social Welfare Policy and Social Work in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina

In Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) since the end of the war (1995), in line with the complex setup of the country (two entities and a district), there has been no common concept of social policy, nor is there relevant legislation regulating social policy at the national/state level. Social policy in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FB&H) entity is decentralised and is implemented at three levels of government – entity, cantonal (ten cantons) and municipal. Divided responsibility for social policy between the FB&H and the cantons, prescribed by the Constitution of the FB&H, has created an extremely complex and complicated system of social protection that enables discrimination of beneficiaries in relation to place of residence, but also in relation to benefit amounts, since the exercise of social rights depends on the cantons’ economic capacities. The social protection system in the FB&H has increasingly been facing numerous challenges. Most of them result from insufficient investment in social protection, which prevents broader coverage and reduction of inefficiency in the distribution of resources and in equality. Within such context, professional social work in the FB&H in the field of social protection is in an unenviable position due to the small number of social workers burdened with the number of beneficiaries and administrative work, lack of financial resources, as well as narrowed field of operation.