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Funded by: UNICEF
Time period: December 2009-April 2010
 This analytical study is the product of a wide analysis at central and local governing levels about the public expenditures for children target group under the framework of knowing and respecting the children rights. This analysis provides a comparative basis with objective criteria as scrutinizing the funds allocation, public services provision under the legal framework and efficiency and effectiveness requirements.
This study is carried out by bringing together two components:
Component 1. Qualitative and quantitative assessment of the information taken from different studies and researches together with self evaluation of the data collected from published articles, different meetings with actors of interest etc
Component 2. Collecting on side information regarding the services provided from the funds allocated and assessment of the services provided for children in terms of efficiency and effectiveness in the fields of education, health and social protection.
The study report is combined of 3 main sections and the structure is as follows:
Section 1: Analysis of Public Expenditures, funds and public services at Central Governing level
Analysis is focused on Public Expenditure Budget review for the last three years 2007, 2008, 2009 at national level to point out on comparable basis the budget allocated for children versus the public expenditures incurred.
Due to the reference to national level, the analysis involves two components: strategic documents (National Strategy for Development and Integration, National Strategy for Children Rights, Government Program and The National Plan for the Implementation of the Stabilization and Association Agreement 2007 - 2012) and the funds allocation according to Medium Term Budgeting Plan 2007-2009. At the end of analysis the attention is focused on commenting the structure of the funds, the tendency of the budget allocation in general and for children particularly. In this section is pointed out the strategic point of view for children, the policies and the action plans at national level in order to understand the tendency and behavior of the policy and decision maker towards this target group. Analyzing the strategic documents helps to understand how are the best international experiences translated and transformed in the strategic priorities for Albania.
Section 2: Analysis and comment of the Public Expenditure Budget Review at regional level.
This analysis is concentrated on the budget structure for the time period 2007-2009 from the point of view of the ratio of central funds against local funds under the decentralization framework and the expenditures for fulfilling the needs and the demand for the children target group. Regional disparities are pointed out and specific cases are analyzed in more details to assess the overall capabilities and roles of regions as a local governing unit in terms of managing the resources and providing public services for children that increase the coverage and benefit from economies of scale.
Section 3: Analysis of the Public Expenditures at local level (municipalities) and two pilot municipalities are scrutinized in more details.
Assessment of the own incomes of the municipalities, trends and structures, 2007-2009 and of respective incomes from institutions related to children target group together with analytical report of the services, investments and activities that have been undertaken from the pilot local units with regard to children. Special focus is given to assessment of the legal competencies and the way they are used from municipalities in the decentralization framework to get more autonomy and to act more efficiently while serving to children target group and whole community at their best.
At the end, recommendations based on the analytical analysis of planned policies and implemented ones, are provided. The main goal in this study report is to give a clear picture of what is being planned versus what is actually invested in the practice to fulfill the needs and demands of children target group.
Cover+preview of final report here
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