In September, ERR reported that the Ministry of Social Affairs is reducing funding for various nonprofit organizations. These organizations focus on issues such as suicide and addiction prevention, as well as supporting children and families.

Support for nonprofits that promote children's and families' well-being or children's rights is being cut by 20 percent. Combined, annual funding for such organizations under two programs will decrease by approximately €166,000, or 22 percent.

Anniki Lai, deputy secretary general at the Ministry of Social Affairs, stated that she does not believe this reduction will have a significant negative impact, as additional funding for the sector will come from external sources, such as the European Union.

"Since we are bringing in additional external funding for these areas, the impact is not significant. In fact, when looking at the overall picture, the sector will receive more funding and nonprofit organizations working in this field will certainly be able to participate in activities supported by external funds," Lai said.

Liisa-Lotta Raag, head of the Ministry of Social Affairs' department of children and families, added that between 2021 and 2027, the European Social Fund+ will allocate a total of €35.5 million to the children and families sector. This amount will be supplemented by additional national co-financing.

Association: Cuts should consider recent years' price increases

Under the Strategic Partnership program, organizations like the Estonian Association of Large Families have received an average of €200,000 annually from the Ministry of Social Affairs over the past three years.

The union's president, Aage Õunap, stated that considering the price increases in Estonia over the past two years, a 20 percent cut in funding for the sector is still significant.

"This budget is smaller compared to 2021. If you factor in how much more expensive life has become over these three years and the additional taxes families are now facing, we're not just talking about a 22 percent reduction – indirectly, the cut is much larger," Õunap explained.

The union also applied for state funding this year, primarily to support networking activities in Estonian regions. "Our goal is to work with local governments to map out and define the profile of a family-friendly municipality, so we can better support families at the regional level. Additionally, we still aim to support families through training and counseling, as life is quite challenging and families are struggling to cope. We don't want them to feel left alone," Õunap said.

The Ministry of Social Affairs typically receives more project funding applications than it can approve. For example, in 2022, several nonprofits' funding requests went unmet simply because the ministry's budget could not accommodate them.

One such case was the foundation Tartu Perekodu Käopesa, whose proposed project aimed to develop a model to address challenging behaviors in children and youth. Similarly, projects by organizations such as MTÜ Suunatuli, MTÜ Lapsele Vanemad and SA Väärtustades Elu also went unfunded.

NGO gives up because of too much red tape

Not all nonprofit organizations are necessarily interested in project funding distributed under the Strategic Partnership program. For the past two years, the nonprofit Igale Lapsele Pere (A Family for Every Child) has received €25,000 annually from the state to provide trauma training for professionals and families working with children who have experienced neglect, trauma or disrupted attachment relationships.

However, Jane Snaith, the head of Igale Lapsele Pere, stated that they will not participate in the next round of funding applications. Instead of relying on the state, the organization finds it much easier to approach businesses for financial support, she noted.

"First, the application process is already very bureaucratic, and even then, nothing is guaranteed. You prepare your project, think through all the plans – our team's time goes into this – and later, it turns out that funding is either not granted or is provided sparingly, leaving you to figure out what to do with the limited resources," Snaith said.

Over the past two years, the organization has offered trauma training for specialists at locations such as Maarjamaa Hariduskolleegium in Tapa and Kaagvere, Tallinn Children's Shelter and Tilsi Children's Home. According to Snaith, similar training is urgently needed in other institutions working with children, such as foster homes, caregiving families, schools and kindergartens.

Two years ago, the organization aimed to expand its training programs nationwide, but the state lacked the funding to support it at the time.

Snaith explained that while the organization will no longer seek targeted state funding to offer free training, it will continue to provide training to institutions on a paid basis. This means that organizations capable of ordering such trauma training will still have access to it in the future.

However, the discontinuation of free training implies that fewer specialists will have access to it next year.

"This is a fairly extensive training program, and institutions are facing budget cuts, so the scope will undoubtedly decrease. When I asked the Social Insurance Board, which has commissioned these trainings for substitute care, about their plans, they said they wouldn't order any during the first half of the year. In June, they'll review their budget to see if anything is left for the second half of the year," Snaith explained.

Union for Child Welfare unsure of next year's funding

Last year, the Estonian Union for Child Welfare received €450,000 from the Ministry of Social Affairs for the two-year project "Working Together for the Benefit of Children and Families!"

The union's director, Varje Ojala, stated that the organization plans to apply for project funding from both the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Education and Research. Since decisions on these applications have not yet been made, it remains uncertain whether and to what extent the union's funding will decrease next year.

"We all understand the world we live in and the current situation in Estonia. We have to make reasonable decisions, sometimes even painful ones, but I hope that such difficult decisions will not be made at the expense of children, or will be made in minimal capacity," Ojala said.

As in previous years, the union has submitted a funding application for its program promoting children's rights and inclusion.

"The goal is to advance the rights and inclusion of children, including those in vulnerable situations. We also aim to further develop child protection and advocacy. Additionally, one focus of the program is promoting safe internet use among children," Ojala explained.

Suicide prevention funding cut softened

Although the Ministry of Social Affairs initially planned to reduce funding for suicide prevention activities by 20 percent, it has now been confirmed that the reduction will be smaller – 10 percent, amounting to €20,000.

"Since suicide prevention places significant emphasis on children, we were able to strike a balance between the children's well-being program and the suicide prevention program, allowing us to allocate slightly more funds to suicide prevention," said Anniki Lai.

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