SKA Director General Maret Maripuu noted that the agency has already permanently shuttered its Türi and Põlva service offices this year, and its Kohtla-Järve office is likewise scheduled to close in the latter half of next year. The hours of operation at their remaining locations have been reduced as well.

According to Maripuu, their clients are increasingly moving online, and the locations being closed are mainly those located in relatively close proximity to other service offices. For example, Põlva residents can take a bus to visit the SKA office in either Tartu or Võru, Türi residents to Paide and Kohtla-Järve residents the service office in Jõhvi.

SKA is also planning on cutting €146,000 in funding to be allocated for the provision of foster care-related support services next year. These services are intended to support foster families or adoptive parents, as well as employees of children's homes and foster homes, in caring for children born to other families. Families are offered services such as psychological counseling, mentoring or the option of a family support worker who regularly monitors how a family is doing.

In recent years, the state has conducted several campaigns encouraging people to become foster parents. This summer, ETV news broadcast "Aktuaalne kaamera" reported that more than 700 people live in children's homes in Estonia, and more children had arrived in recent months. While hopes of finding a new family are slim for even able-bodied kids, for disabled children, they're closer to none.

According to Maripuu, funding for these support services can be reduced because there haven't been as many new foster families as originally anticipated.

"In the first half of this year, we've seen that the number of foster and guardianship families hasn't increased, which gives us the chance to reduce the amount of training," she explained. "We're constantly encouraging people on social media to find the strength to become foster or guardianship families, but unfortunately, not as many people are coming forward as we need. Ideally, all kids should be growing up in families. If no people come forward, then there's no one for us to train either."

Family mediators could end up with wait times

SKA also intends to slash €200,000 from funding earmarked for family mediation services. The director general noted that €1.1 million has been budgeted for family mediation next year, around 15 percent less than previously planned.

Family mediation is a free service for parents who have ended their cohabitation, i.e. separated, or are planning to do so. Family mediators help separating parents reach and conclude agreements out of court focused on their child's best interests.

SKA intends to primarily scale back family mediation-related development and awareness activities. For instance, training for family mediators will be reduced, and the agency will be canceling a planned family mediation-related awareness campaign.

"Right now, everyone who wants to access family mediation has the opportunity to do so," Maripuu stressed. "There is no waiting list, but it could happen that cuts will now mean that we may end up with a wait time."

One of the goals of family mediation services has been to reach child-centered agreements out of court. Even so, the SKA chief doesn't believe that scaling back on these services will increase the burden on the court system.

"If we had made such steep cuts that we'd already be predicting long wait times, then that could lead to that outcome, but right now I don't see that happening," she confirmed.

Quarter of jobs cut over past year

Maripuu said that the Social Insurance Board has laid off a total of 45 people this year, which is nearly 6 percent of its staff. In the first half of 2024, SKA employed 662 people.

Compared to last year, however, the number of jobs at the agency has actually decreased by nearly a quarter – from 922 positions last year to 719 this year.

How many more people are planned to be laid off, she was unable to say.

"We're taking a close look at our processes," Maripuu said. "We're reviewing our activities in all departments in order to be there for people and provide the necessary support. But how we can do our work more efficiently, flexibly or meaningfully – that's what we've been working on all year. We've reorganized SKA. Starting next year, we'll also have one less department, meaning we are very seriously rethinking our processes."

The collective layoff of nearly 80 employees happened in 2023 already. According to the director general, this was due to the fact that fewer war refugees – whom the agency had been supporting – were arriving in the country from Ukraine.

Even bigger budget cut targets loom ahead

While this year, SKA has to achieve budget savings of €840,000, its budget cut savings for 2026 and 2027 are several times higher. In 2026, the agency is expected to cut €1.4 million from its budget, and in 2027, €2 million.

According to the director general, the budget from which cuts can even be made next year is €106 million. The rest of SKA's budget is tied to pensions or benefits, the utilization of which is regulated by law.

As for what cuts exactly the agency may be facing in the coming years, she said it's still too early to talk about it, as those analyses are yet to come.

"We have to review all [of our] services to determine whether they fulfill their purpose as provided by us," Maripuu acknowledged. "What are the services we can't do without, and which ones are the ones that we say are indeed important, but that in a difficult situation where we don't have the money, we just can't provide them?"

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