Review of administrative data systems on children with disabilities

Highlights

While there have been significant advances made in Kosovo with regard to the realization of children’s rights, the overall situation has not been uniform. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development calls for an investment in all children and young people with the aim of ‘leaving no one behind’. Investing in all children and young people is central to Kosovo’s commitment to making progress towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). One major challenge remains; the institutional capacity to generate reliable data that are internationally comparable and can be used to monitor progress toward SDGs and inform decision-making and policy formulation.

The purpose of this work was to conduct a review of administrative data systems that collect data on children with disabilities and child protection-related issues. The main focus was on the administrative data systems of the Ministry of Finance, Labour and Transfers (MFLT), Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), Ministry of Health (MoH) and other relevant sectors, including data disseminated by the Kosovo Agency of Statistics (KAS). This review explored where opportunities exist to strengthen data collection, link and harmonize administrative data systems and strengthen reporting on children with disabilities and child protection-related indicators. Findings from this review led to evidence-based recommendations that aim to inform the next steps and follow-up interventions. This important analysis is part of a broader project that UNICEF Kosovo has with EU Kosovo to support children from marginalized communities.

Findings from this review indicate that administrative data on children with disabilities and child protection-related issues are fragmented across and within ministries and sectors. Data tends to exist in silos in part because data management systems have been established separately by MFLT, MESTI and other ministries/agencies. Data flow challenges are a reality in most ministries/agencies because of the dual data management systems and broken channels of data sharing across ministries and sectors. As a result, the ability of social and family services to provide integrated and coordinated services to children with disabilities and children in need of protection is considerably limited.