In the Vitebsk region, more than 1.5 thousand families have been granted maternity capital

Recently, women in the Vitebsk region have become more willing to have a second and subsequent child. Families with many children, in which the youngest were born after January 1, 2015, have been somewhat luckier. Presidential Decree of the Republic of Belarus No. 572 "On Additional Measures of State Support for Families Raising Children" established a one-time provision of non-cash funds in the amount of 10,000 US dollars upon the birth, adoption of a third or subsequent child. The so-called family capital is intended for parents of large families for a child born from the beginning of 2015 to the end of 2019. Some mothers and fathers have already applied for this new type of support for Belarus.

According to the Committee for Labor, Employment and Social Protection of the Regional Executive Committee, during the period of the decree, more than 1.5 thousand residents of the region have used the right to receive family capital, of which almost 400 were in the first quarter of 2016.

 We remind you that recipients will be able to use the accrued non-cash funds upon reaching the age of majority of the child and only for specific purposes (education, housing, health, social needs).

This innovation is an additional measure to support families raising children. Traditionally, state targeted social assistance is provided not only to parents of large families.  
– In 2015, more than 2,000 single-parent families (the largest part of the total number of appointments, namely 32%), over 1,900 families with many children, and almost 800 families with one or two minor children received monthly and one-time social benefits in the region, which is slightly more compared to 2014, – says Elena Kharkevich, chief specialist of the department for social support of the population of the Committee for Labor, Employment and Social Protection of the Regional Executive Committee.

Elena SYS, "Vitebskiye Vesti". Photo by the author.