a) Access to social services (ensuring, inter alia, protection of the right to health, housing, education, water and access to sanitation), including for migrant children in an irregular situation
The state shall ensure the rights and freedoms
of all children without any discrimination – irrespective of race, nationality,
gender, language, political party alliance,
political or religious convictions, national, ethnic or social origin, place of
residence in the state, property or health status, birth or other circumstances
of the child, or of his or her parents, guardians, or family members
(Protection of the Rights of the Child Law, Section 3, Paragraph 2). This
principle of prohibition of discrimination shall be applied also to migrant
children, inter alia, regarding the right to health and health services, right
to benefit from social security, right to education, child’s right to
protection from all forms of violence etc.
The state provides social services and
social assistance to Latvian citizens and non-citizens and aliens who have
been granted a personal identity number, except for persons who have received a
temporary residence permit.
Additionally certain types of social services
and social assistance are being provided also for persons, who have received
temporary residence permit:
1)
persons, to whom alternative status have been granted and the family
members thereof have the right to receive the services of overnight shelters,
shelters, information and consultation specified and the guaranteed minimum
income benefit (for an adult – 40 LVL
per month; for a child – 45 LVL per
month);
2)
Orphans and children left without parental care who have acquired
alternative status have the right to receive social care services and specific
social rehabilitation services:
-
the social rehabilitation of persons with impaired vision and hearing;
-
the social rehabilitation of children who have suffered from violence;
-
the social rehabilitation in appropriate institutions for children who
have become addicted to narcotic, toxic or other intoxicating substances;
-
technical aid for the persons (persons with continuous or lasting
organism dysfunctions or anatomic defects have the right to receive technical
aids if they have received an opinion of a medical practitioner regarding the
need for the technical aids): 1. Disabled children under the age of 18 years;
2. Children for whom the technical aid is necessary to reduce or eliminate
functional inability; 3. Persons with anatomic defects — a prosthesis or
orthopaedic footwear;
-
the social rehabilitation of victims of the trafficking in human beings;
-
a support programme for children who have not been declared disabled suffering
from coeliac disease;
3)
Victims of the trafficking in human beings, who are not European Union
citizens, and the minor children accompanied by them have a right to social
rehabilitation in the cases specified by the Law On the Residence of Victims of
the Trafficking in Human Beings in the Republic of Latvia; the right to receive
social rehabilitation services is also provided for victims who are EU citizens
as well as for his or her minor children accompanied by the person (according
to the Law on Social Services and Social Assistance).
The procedures by which social services
provided by the local government are received shall be determined by the
binding regulations of the local government. The local government in the
territory of which a person has registered his or her main place of residence
has a duty to provide the person with a possibility to receive social services
and social assistance corresponding to his or her needs. With the
aforementioned exceptions this local government’s duty refers only to Latvian
citizens and non-citizens and aliens who have been granted a personal identity
number.
State social allowances are provided for
Latvian citizens, non-citizens, aliens and stateless persons to whom a personal
identity number has been granted and who permanently reside in the territory of Latvia Latvia
On January 1, 2010
the Cabinet Regulations „On the Procedure how the Expense of the Local
Authorities are Reimbursed from the State Budget for Maintenance of
Unaccompanied Minors in the Day-care Centre and on the amount of these
Expenses” (adopted on December 22, 2009) came into force. The regulations
define the procedure how the expenses of the local authorities for the
maintenance of unaccompanied minor in the day-care centre are reimbursed form
the State budget by the Ministry of Welfare.
Concerning the child’s right to health
services the Medical Treatment Law determines which persons are eligible to
receive health care services provided by the law (the amount of medical
treatment services paid from the State basic budget and from the funds of the
recipient of services):
1) Latvian citizens;
2) Latvian
non-citizens;
3) citizens of Member
States of the European Union, of European Economic Area states and Swiss
Confederation who reside in Latvia in relation to employment or as
self-employed persons, as well as the family members thereof;
4) third-country
nationals who have a permanent residence permit in Latvia
5) refugees and persons
who have been granted alternative status; and
6) persons detained,
arrested and sentenced with deprivation of liberty.
Children of the
aforementioned persons shall have the right to receive free of charge the
medical treatment services. Other persons shall receive medical treatment
services for a fee.
Childbirth allowance, childcare
benefit, care of disabled child benefit, remuneration for the care of an
adopted child, remuneration for adoption, State family allowance, as well as a
supplement to the State family allowance for a disabled child, guardian’s
allowance for a dependent child and remuneration for the fulfilment of
guardian’s duties.
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