A new fund in Albania to support the labour market integration of people with disabilities and recent developments in the Maltese childcare services sector

Two new Flash Reports prepared by the European Social Policy Network (ESPN) are now available and provide information on the new Albanian Employment Social Fund and recent initiatives in Malta to improve childcare service provision.

• In March 2019, the Albanian parliament approved a new Employment Promotion law. The law requires the establishment of a national Employment Social Fund to support the integration of people with disabilities into the labour market. The fund, which should be operational by mid-2020, will be managed by the newly created National Agency on Employment and Skills. A recent law on social assistance (July 2019) will provide an additional incentive for boosting the employment of people with disabilities.
• Over the past twelve months, a number of important social policy initiatives have been concluded in Malta in the childcare services sector. The two most important are the promulgation of Act XXIII of 2019, specifically designed to provide protection of minors deprived of parental care, and the publication of a National Strategy for Adoption. The new initiatives provide for more autonomy, more professionalism and more checks and balances. Both initiatives recognise the continued need for residential care, but are a clear statement that bringing up a child in a family environment should take precedence in all cases.