Children's Day in Estonia overshadowed by threat of cuts to social services
This year, Children's Day marked the 15th anniversary of Estonia's Child Helpline service. Casting a gloom over the day, however, were the more than €1 million in cuts the social sector is now facing, which among other things will put the development of the country's children's services on hold.
The Child Helpline service first began as a hotline in 2009. Since then, the service has expanded to include online consultations as well as sign-language counselling, among other things, meaning they have been able to offer more and more help.
"In 2009, around 5,000 people turned to us for help; in 2023, the number of people to turn to us had reached 17,000 already," said Maret Maripuu, director general of the Social Insurance Board (SKA).
This year, however, there is a bitter side to Children's Day. While child protection has seen rapid development to date, any progress will now be stalled for some time, as the SKA has to make cuts totaling €1.27 million, and these savings look to come at the expense of children's services.
"Last year, the SKA had a surplus of €10 million and even then some," noted Minister of Social Protection Signe Riisalo (Reform). "This savings of €1.27 million can be drawn from those funds."
"I hope that the quality of services won't worsen this year now," Maripuu said. "But if we're saving on anything, we may not be able to implement certain developments as quickly as we'd like, meaning that the next so-called developmental leap may be slower in coming than originally planned."
Precisely what cuts will be made is yet unclear. Under one plan, Maripuu plans on closing some of the 18 SKA offices currently operating across Estonia. Also to be reviewed are the offices' hours of operation, and how many days a week they are open will be reduced as well.
"Our first choice, of course, would be to save on business costs, but if we can't manage that, if that isn't enough, then it's possible we may have to cut jobs too," the director general admitted.
According to the minister of social protection, most in need of development in Estonia right now are mental health and disabled children's services. Even this funding, however, may end up on the chopping block.
Which services will be hit by impending budget cuts should become clear sometime during the week ahead.
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Editor: Mait Ots, Aili Vahtla
