Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis Ministry of Community Development, Culture and Gender Affairs

1. Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis Ministry of Community Development, Culture and Gender Affairs (MOCDCGA) • M.E.N.D. (Mold, Empower, Nurture and Direct) • Families in St. Kitts and Nevis Programme

2. Program Overview • The M.E.N.D. Families St. Kitts and Nevis Programme is: • Local adaptation of the Chilean Puente Programme • Social Cash Transfer Programme that aims at protecting and promoting the wellbeing of the poorest and most vulnerable households in St. Kitts and Nevis. • Experimental learning programme designed also to impart knowledge and skills to the most vulnerable households.

3. Program Overview • Offers an array of wrap around services to empower households to become more confident, resilient, empathetic, independent and cooperative citizens. • Consolidation of four (4) existing social safety net programs presently administered by the Department of Social Services and Community Development. • The M.E.N.D. Families St. Kitts and Nevis Programme initiative is part of the National Social Protection Strategy and Reform Process adopted in March 2012 and will benefit extreme poor households with children, elderly and disabled persons.

4. Program Objectives • There are two (2) fundamental objectives of the Programme. • To build and strengthen the resilience of the indigent population thereby enabling them to benefit from investments in human capital development • To provide streamlined, effective and efficient wrap-around services to the indigent population

5. Program Status Implementation of pilot targeting twenty-one (21) households in the three parishes where for two (2) consecutive reporting cycles of the Country Poverty Assessment, has been ranked as the top three. Program Impact The long-term impact of the M.E.N.D. Families SKN Programme is to eradicate indigence in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis

6. Sustainability Following the evaluation results of the M.E.N.D. Families SKN Programme, the intent is to scale up over the next three (3) years to cover all indigent households. * Financial support is centrally from the Federal budget with support from regional and international entities. Human Resource and infrastructural capacity for sustainability is incorporated in the Capacity Building Plan for the National Social Protection Strategy. * Based on the 2007/2008 Country Poverty Assessment

7. Innovative Elements/Components • Community Based Targeting Tool • Psycho-Social Assessment Tool Kit (St. Lucia) • Multi-sectoral collaborations – Memorandum of Understanding with key agencies critical to the Co-Responsibility/Conditionalities component of the M.E.N.D. Families SKN Programme. Agencies include, but are not limited to the Department of Labour, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, National Emergency Management Agency, Department of Youth Empowerment and the National Entrepreneurial Development Division.

8. Adaptability, Replication and Potential for Exchange As the M.E.N.D. Families SKN Programme is an adaptation of the Puente Bridge Program, the potential for further adaptation, replication and exchange is possible and will be supported by the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis.

9. THANKS • The Government of St. Kitts and Nevis would like to take this opportunity to formally register our Thanks and appreciation to the following agencies whose sustained support has positively contributed to the strides made thus far in Social Protection Reform. • The 2007/2008 Country Poverty Assessment: • Caribbean Development Bank • The 2010 Social Safety Net Assessment: • UNICEF, UN Women, World Bank • The 2012 National Social Protection Strategy, Plan of Action and Monitoring and Evaluation Framework • European Union, UNICEF, UN Women • Pilot of the M.E.N.D. Families SKN Programme: • Organization of American States