Gov’t revamps PATH to speed up social protection benefits for vulnerable families

The Government has revamped the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH) to speed up the delivery of social protection benefits to vulnerable families.

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Pearnel Charles Jr. said the changes undertaken have reduced the excessive bureaucracy resulting in faster processing of applications and support to those in need.

He explained that getting onto PATH required three steps: a preliminary assessment using the Beneficiary Management Information System (BMIS) social workers going into the field to do verification and asking applicants to participate in an orientation and training session.

Mr. Charles Jr. said a review established that steps two and three could be delayed for months, leaving applicants in a state of uncertainty even though they have received preliminary approval.

He noted that the most recent data found that for those who did the preliminary assessment, more than 80% of them after being provisionally approved would be verified.

Furthermore, he said that the ministry is now strengthening the re-certification framework to ensure that household updates are processed more efficiently, status changes are reflected more quickly and eligible beneficiaries receive the appropriate level of support for which they are entitled.

The benefits under path are geared towards supporting vulnerable families, strengthening human capital and helping to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty.

In the last financial year, PATH delivered more than $9.1 billion in direct cash grants to over 240,000 Jamaicans.