Decree on Payment of Aid to Mothers for Newborn Child Adopted

(Patria) The Government of the Federation of BiH, at today's session in Sarajevo, upon the proposal of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, adopted the Decree on the payment of financial aid to mothers for a newborn child in FBiH.

This decree regulates the procedure for paying financial aid to mothers for a newborn child, beneficiaries and conditions under which the aid is granted, the procedure for approving the aid, as well as other issues of significance for the approval of financial aid to mothers for a newborn child in the Federation.
Let us remind you, this is a one-time aid for a newborn child in the amount of 1,000 KM per child.

The Federal Government directed this pronatality policy model towards ensuring the long-term socio-economic empowerment of families with children, and thus, as explained by the relevant ministry, increasing the chances of mitigating the consequences of negative demographic trends. The estimated number of beneficiaries is 16,000, and the amount of 16 million KM for the payment of aid for a newborn child has been secured in the FBiH Budget for 2024, under the item Current transfers to individuals - One-time financial aid for a newborn child.

Under the conditions established by the decree adopted today, this financial aid can be granted to a mother who gave birth in the period from January 1 to December 31 of the calendar year in which the payment is made from the Federation's budget for that year based on this decree. It is specified that financial aid for a newborn child can also be granted to a mother in the case of a stillborn child or if the child dies during the period within which applications for financial aid are submitted based on this decree.

In the event of the mother's death or the mother's temporary inability to care for the child due to illness or serving a prison sentence, or if the mother's parental rights are revoked, the father of the child born in the aforementioned period can receive this aid.

As stated in the Decree, parents of a child whose parental rights have been revoked, or a child placed in a foster family or social protection institution by a decision of the competent center for social work or municipal social protection service during the period within which applications for financial aid are submitted based on this decree, cannot receive this aid.

In this regard, the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Policy will verify the facts through the official records of the competent centers and municipal services.

If it is determined that during the period within which applications for financial aid are submitted based on this decree, the parents' parental rights have been revoked or the child has been placed in a foster family or social protection institution, the parent of the child to whom the financial aid for the newborn child has been paid is obliged to return the funds.

Among the conditions for granting financial aid for a newborn child, it is emphasized that the mother must be a citizen of BiH and FBiH with registered residence in the territory of the Federation for at least nine months prior to the child's birth. The child must be born in BiH in the period from January 1 to December 31 of the calendar year in which the payment is made from the federal budget for that year based on this decree.

If the child's father is a citizen of BiH and FBiH with registered residence in the territory of the Federation for at least nine months prior to the child's birth, then a mother who is not a citizen of BiH can be granted this aid.

Also, a mother of a child not born in BiH can be granted this aid if she stayed in another country at the time of birth for health reasons. The Decree stipulates that the application for approval of aid is submitted through an electronic application that will be available on the official website of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Policy.

After the registration process and submission of the application for financial aid through the electronic application, the Ministry will verify the entered data through the official database of the Agency for Identification Documents, Records and Data Exchange of BiH (IDDEEA).

The period for submitting applications for financial aid for a newborn child, including any supplements, runs from January 1 of the calendar year in which the payment is made from the Federation's budget for that year based on this decree until January 15 of the following calendar year.