Ukrainian Social Policy Ministry to extend support for some IDPs in 2024

Housing payments to certain categories of internally displaced persons (IDPs) will be extended in 2024, the Ukrainian Social Policy Ministry announced its draft resolution on Dec. 11.

Which IDP categories will continue to receive payments?

The resolution aims to provide continued assistance to IDPs who received payments before Aug. 1 and whose payment period ends in January 2024.

Not all IDPs have been able to integrate into host communities since their displacement, and families with children, persons with disabilities, and those living in the area of active or potential hostilities are unable to send their children to kindergarten. Schools in these regions are mostly online only, which severely limits the ability of able-bodied family members to find employment.

Therefore, the draft resolution proposes to continue payments to the following IDP categories:

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- IDPs of retirement age

- IDPs who are unable to find employment due to objective circumstances, while combining this with the provision of essential social services (primarily childcare services, such as "municipal nannies")

- Unemployed IDPs, encouraging able-bodied members of such families to look for work, apply for grants to start their own businesses, undergo retraining, etc.

In this way, the payment mechanism will be combined with other support mechanisms for families to help them get back on their feet after the displacement and integrate into new communities.

The resolution also proposes a major revision of the low-income allowance to make it more accessible to families at risk of poverty.

Which IDPs will continue to receive payments in 2024 without additional application?

Cabinet Resolution No. 332, allows certain categories of IDPs to receive payments for a second six-month period without additional application. However, this applies only to those who first applied for payments after Aug. 1. Thus, payments to certain categories of IDPs will be automatically extended for an additional six months beginning on Feb. 1, 2024, as the first six-month period ends on Jan. 31, 2024.

Previously, it was decided that from Dec. 1 payments to certain categories of IDPs will be extended for a second six-month period without additional application. This change is provided for by the Cabinet's Resolution No. 1226 of Nov. 21.

The family allowance will be automatically extended for a further six months if:

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- The average total monthly income per beneficiary does not exceed 4 times the subsistence minimum for persons who have lost the ability to work

- the family includes persons of working age who take care of children under the age of 6 (inclusive) or seriously ill children; persons with disabilities of group I or II; citizens raising three or more children under the age of 18; citizens taking care of persons with disabilities of group I or minor children with disabilities; persons with disabilities of group I or II due to mental disorders; or persons who have reached the age of 80

- as well as persons who provide social services and receive compensation for doing so; students enrolled in full-time or dual form in general secondary schools, vocational (vocational-technical) schools, vocational pre-university schools, higher education institutions, whose place of residence is not declarable/registered in a dormitory

- the family includes an able-bodied person who, during the first 6 months of receiving the IDP benefit, has contributed to their economic independence (found a job, started a business as an individual entrepreneur or received a business subsidy/study voucher, etc.) and whose average monthly income does not exceed 3 times the subsistence minimum for persons who have lost the ability to work.

This means a monthly state housing allowance of about $80 (UAH 3000) for people with disabilities and children, and $55 (UAH 2000) for all other displaced persons.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine