Developing a Holistic Social
Protection Strategy
INTEGRATION OF THE BRIDGE JAMAICA
PROGRAMME IN THE SOCIAL SAFETY NET
PATH Objective
The overall objective of PATH is to
provide the poorest populations with
targeted social safety net
programmes to enable them to break
the cycle of intergenerational poverty
What is PATH
 PATH is a programme of assistance to the lowest
quintile of poor families in Jamaica, which uses
conditional payments to improve attainments in
Health and Education Statistics
 PATH is the replacement programme for three (3)
Social Assistance Programmes. Namely:
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Old Age and Incapacity Programme
Food Stamp Programme
Outdoor Poor Relief Programme
 PATH is a Government of Jamaica Programme with
partial financing from the World Bank and the IADB
What Does PATH Do?
 Using a Beneficiary Identification System, identify
the poorest households in the society
 Pool all identified poor households into a
Management Information System for cross sector
targeting
 Provides Conditional Cash Transfers and other
benefits to PATH Households with conditions in
Health and Education
Objectives of the Bridge Jamaica Pilot
 It aims to provide integral psychosocial support to 10
PATH families over a two year period through the
use of state and private resources along with the
capabilities of the households to facilitate a
transformation from extreme poverty.
 To ensure that the families live with dignity through
benefits from existing social programmes and
amenities being delivered under the project.
Bridge Pillars
 The Social Worker encourages and supports the
family in strengthening the seven categories of
“support pillars” of family life:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
personal identification,
health,
education,
family dynamics
housing conditions
employment
income.
Social Protection Network of the Bridge
 The Social Protection network currently consists of a range of
social services providers in Jamaica including:
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Ministry of Labour and Social Security : Conditional Cash Transfers
(CCT), grants, skills development
HEART/NTA – skills training, certification
Registrar’s General Department- civil registration documents, civil
ceremonies
Bureau of Women’s Affairs - capacity building, counselling
Jamaica Foundation for Lifelong Learning (JFLL) – remedial education
Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM)
– disaster management
Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) – small business
management
Ministry of Health – primary health care
Victims Support Unit - counseling
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Clinic – counselling,
Beneficiaries
Community
# of Family
Total # of beneficiaries
Passmore Town
3
15
Tawes Meadows
2
15
Knollis
1
7
Jones Town
2
10
Craig Town
2
21
TOTAL
10
68
Achievement to Date
 Beneficiaries – a total of 10 families (70 beneficiaries) are
currently on the programme.
 100% of retention of families on the programme since
inception of programme in September 2009.
 100% of families are on target to complete the
programme by December 2011.
 100% of families are compliant with the terms and
conditions of the government’s social safety net
programme PATH.
Achievement to Date Cont’d
 Increased institutional collaboration to fight poverty – The Social
Protection Network has been formed and now consists of over 10 social
services providers. This collaboration allows for integration of the
resources in an effort to improve the quality of life for the 10 families.
 Collective efficacy of participants- participants have demonstrated
increased efficacy to deal with the risks such as illness, accidents and
unemployment.
 Building social capital across families – opportunities such as workshops
and field visits have supported the building of networks across families
 Extension of programme to rural communities – the success of the initial 2
–year pilot has resulted in the incorporation of the programme into the
Jamaica Community Investment Programme (JCIP) which is funded by the
Caribbean Development Bank
 Development of culturally relevant Bridge Jamaica Material and Family
tools and products based on the Chile Puente Programme.
Cultural Applications – Making the Programme
Jamaican
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Examining the Pillars
Examining the Minimum Standards
Reshaping the SPN
Making the tools culturally appropriate – Game
Board
Infusing best practices from the Jamaica Social
Intervention Experience – Teen Clubs (behaviour
modification interventions)
Using the Bridge Jamaica Game Board
Bridge Game Board
CHALLENGES
 Limited human, financial, institutional resources of
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partners constrains the provision of services to
beneficiaries
Helping participants to develop a culture of
responsibility for their own success
Values and expectations promoted by project sometimes
conflict with that of participants
De-territorialisation / competition with the different
social service providers
Breaking the cycle of inter-generational poverty
Building overall capacity of families for self -reliance
versus dependency on government safety net provisions
Lessons Learnt
 Programme success depends on the institutional
coordination
 The Family Contracts are crucial to ensure that each
families takes ownership of the project results
 Psycho-social support ensures that the intervention
remains relevant to the needs of each family
 Information sharing across agencies is essential for
comprehensive case management of beneficiaries
and long term follow-up
Way Forward
 Financing identified through the Caribbean
Development Bank for the expansion of the Pilot to
rural communities based on the dynamics between
rural and urban poverty.

30 rural families were earmarked however based on the
experience with the urban families this number will have to be
reviewed.
 Consultant hired to assess the effectiveness of the
intervention on the existing urban families
 Examination of the expansion of the number of
pillars to 8. The 8th being Social Capital (Bonding
Capital)