Acceptance conditions

Referral and accommodation procedure

The main organizers of social services are local governments. Therefore, the applicant, one of the adult members of their family or their caretaker must apply by written request to local government for provision of social services. The local governments are responsible for providing social services to the residents of their territory as well as planning, organizing and quality of social services.

Having received an application, social workers appointed in procedure established by local government determine the individual need for social services based on the level of dependence of the person. The assessment of dependence is complex and takes into account the age of the person, functional disorders of the body and other characteristics which affect the person’s ability to take care of their personal life. In assessing the need for social services, the capacities, possibilities and motivation of family members to resolve the social problems in their family and maintain contact with society are taken into account.

Providing social services to older people is especially important, because in Lithuania as well as in the rest of Europe, the population is ageing, which leads to many social and economic problems. It is projected that at the beginning of 2050, every third resident of Lithuania will be elderly. Therefore, social services to elderly persons are provided by creating the conditions for them to live in their own home, stay in the family, participate in social, economic and other activities, and lead an independent life for as long as possible. Social services to persons with severe disability are provided by ensuring a safe and healthy environment, personal assistance combined with personal health care, nursing and permanent care/assistance.

Only in the cases where general social services are insufficient and day social care is not enough, a person is provided with in-patient social care services.

What is the procedure for referral?

Social care home is selected based on availability and personal preferences of the patient. Preference is given to the persons that belong to the target groups of the social care home.

Prior to accommodating in the social care home, the person is referred to the social care home (“Referral”). The referral is issued by the local government, which has decided on appointment of social care, where the founder of the social care home is the local government, or by the Service, if a decision for social care in state social care home had been made. The Referral is submitted/sent to the person/caretaker within 3 business days from its issue. A copy of the Referral is submitted to the social care home, where the person is referred to. A copy of the Referral issued by the Service is submitted to the local government, which had made the decision for providing social care to the person. The Referral is valid for 30 calendar days from the day of presenting it to the person. The institution which had issued the Referral may extend its term, if the person presents written undisputed objective reasons for not being able to be accommodated in the social care home within the time period specified.

If a person fails to be accommodated in the social care home within the time period of Referral validity, the decision to provide social care shall become null and void.

Payment for in-patient social care

• Payment for short-term social care shall not exceed 80 percent of the person’s income.
• The amount of payment for long-term social care shall be determined taking into account the income and property of the person.
• If the value of person’s property is lower than the standard property value established in their residential municipality, the amount of payment for long-term social care shall not exceed 80 percent of the person’s income.
• If the value of the property of an adult person is higher than the standard property value established in their residential municipality, the amount of payment for long-term social care per month shall increase by one percent of the property value exceeding the standard.

The need for social services and the financial capacity to pay for social services shall be assessed by the local government of the place of residence of the person/family. The amount of payment shall be established individually for each person, taking into account the financial possibilities of the person and the type of service provided.

The financial possibilities of the person/family members may not be taken into account, if the person/family agrees to pay the full price of social services.

Example: the price of social care in old-age nursing home is EUR 463.77 (LTL 1,600) and the monthly income of the person applying for social care in the institution is EUR 260.87 (LTL 900) and the value of their property is below the local standard. In this case, the fee will be calculated based on the income of the person and will amount to EUR 208.69 (LTL 700) (80 per cent of the income). The remaining amount (EUR 255.07/LTL 880) shall be paid by the referring municipality.

Persons with severe disability are provided with a state grant for social care, which amounts to 7.2 basic social benefit (BSB) per month, which is EUR 271.30 (LTL 936) at the moment. A special targeted grant from state budged is provided for financing social care of a specific person and depends on the financial possibilities of the person to pay for social services and the price of social care. These funds allocated to persons with severe disabilities are used for covering the difference between the price of social care and the person’s payment for social services.

If you have any questions regarding acceptance to a social care institution, please contact your local government. If you have any concerns about the quality of social services, please contact the Department of Supervision of Social Services under the Ministry of Social Security and Labour.

Information prepared by the Department of Supervision of Social Services under the Ministry of Social Security and Labour