The Assembly of Brčko District adopted in the second reading the Law on Amendments to the Law on Child Protection, which introduced the right to child allowance for every child in Brčko District, from birth to eighteen years of age, regardless of the financial and social status of the family.
This made Brčko District the first in Bosnia and Herzegovina to establish this form of child protection.
The law establishes a minimum amount of child allowance of 50 convertible marks, while the Brčko District Government is obliged to make a decision within 60 days on the exact amount of child allowance, which cannot be less than the prescribed minimum, as well as on the amount of special child allowance.
The implementation of the law will begin on May 1, 2026, from when every child in Brčko District will be entitled to child allowance. The only obligation for children of school age, in accordance with the regulations on education, is to submit a certificate of regular attendance at classes between the ages of seven and fifteen.
According to the records of the Sub-Department for Social Protection, this law grants the right to child allowance to around 11,000 new beneficiaries, while around 6,000 beneficiaries who previously exercised the right to special child allowance will continue to exercise that right in the existing amount, without the possibility of exercising the right twice.
The special child allowance still applies to children from particularly vulnerable social categories, including children with developmental disabilities.
The estimated budgetary implications for the child allowance on an annual basis amount to between six and seven million convertible marks, while the previous allocations for child and special child allowances amounted to around five million BAM.
The President of the Brčko District Assembly, Damir Bulčević, pointed out the importance of the adopted amendments to the Law on Child Protection.
“Today we adopted amendments to the Law on Child Protection, thus enabling every child in the Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina, from birth to the age of eighteen, to have the right to a child allowance. We have thus become the first community in Bosnia and Herzegovina to introduce this child allowance. The law also established the minimum amount of the allowance of 50 convertible marks, while the Government will make a decision on its exact amount in the next 60 days,” said Bulčević.
He emphasized that this is part of their clear and committed pro-natal policy.
“We have already previously introduced a one-time financial assistance of 1,000 BAM for each newborn child, and with today’s law we are making an additional step towards strengthening the social security of families and creating better living conditions for children in the Brčko District of BiH,” said Bulčević.
