The results of the Long Term Development Study on Poverty Reduction and Social Development in Trinidad and Tobago lend support to the need for developing an effective mechanism to rationalize and target social service delivery and address the issue of poverty alleviation. The Bank is therefore engaged in preliminary discussions with the Government on a possible loan operation to finance Government’s next phase of this program. 4.43
Social safety net initiative. A study on the social safety net will include a diagnostic on its status, and will also identify the major gaps in the provision of a safety net. A key issue to be analyzed will be the transformation of current social programs, via consolidation, into a counter-cyclical safety net focusing on targeting of programs to the poor. For this reason, the study will also provide an overview of successful conditional cash transfers used in other countries.
4.44
Regulatory framework of the social sector initiative. The study will focus on the current regulatory framework in the social sector, and how it may complement the preparation of the road map. The study will also address the prioritizing process in the social sector, its link to the budgetary process, and the current decision making process that results in balancing short-term needs, current spending and long-term investment.
4.45
Citizen security initiative. A program may be developed to improve citizen security through the prevention and reduction of violence and the strengthening of crime management capabilities of the Ministry of National Security (MNS). The program would elaborate an integrated national crime and prevention strategy. Moreover, the program would enhance the capacity of the MNS to coordinate projects related to violence prevention and to monitor trends in crime and violence. Finally, the program would support community action to prevent violence by mitigating and controlling principal risk factors.
4.46
Early childhood initiative. Preliminary ideas to be included in this initiative have the objective of facilitating the development and implementation of a strategy to: (i) implement the new Standards for Regulating Early Childhood Services (ECS), approved by Parliament in 2003; (ii) monitor and upgrade sector performance; (iii) development of a special program for children with disabilities; (iv) development of an adequate curriculum for early childhood education, including for children with disabilities; and, (v) development of an education media production using cultural expressions for stimulation. Possible lines of action include: governance activities that would provide stability and coherence by establishing a single body regulating ECS, clarifying institutional roles, and operationalizing an inter-ministerial framework for monitoring and supporting early childhood services; professional development activities to enhance the capacity of ECS specialists; technical assistance for strategic planning and financial management; and developing a birth-to-five strategy, including activities designed for ECS in Tobago.
4.47
Potable water and sanitation initiative. WASA should be modernized to address the following issues: (i) increasing revenues to improve the current ratio of operating revenues covering less than 50% of operating expenses; (ii) reducing the ratio of staff to
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