Family Futures

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overty

This programme targets all those Key Programme participants

who are not working or studying, although they are eligi-

ble to do so by virtue of their age. Like the Social Support

Programme, it has a maximum duration of 24 months.

Monetary payments

The Ethical Family Income also includes monetary payments

or bonuses linked to three basic pillars: dignity, duties and

achievements.

The dignity pillar helps the most vulnerable families to have

a minimum income and fills the need for immediate support.

It thus provides ‘respite’ or ‘relief’ for all families living in

a situation of extreme poverty. Three types of payment are

involved: a family bonus, a personal bonus and other mone-

tary subsidies provided by the state such as the Clean Water

Subsidy and the Subsidy for Remaining in School. Families

participating in the programme are entitled to these payments

by virtue of their extreme vulnerability.

Whereas the family bonus is the same for all families partici-

pating in the programme, the amount of the personal bonus

varies. Together with the monetary payments received for

duties, it provides 85 per cent of the income needed by the

family to overcome its situation of extreme poverty. Thus the

amount of the personal bonus depends on the composition of

the household and whether the family receives other subsidies

from the state.

Both the family bonus and the personal bonus decrease over

time and are discontinued when families leave the programme

and stop receiving benefits.

The payments for duties are conditional on fulfilment of

certain specific commitments, particularly in the areas of health

and education, so as to encourage actions to overcome poverty

situations in a structured and permanent manner. In other

words, this type of conditional payment rewards family commit-

ment and accountability and requires health check-ups in the

case of children under six years of age (Well Child Check-up)

and a school attendance record of 85 per cent or higher in the

case of children 6-18 years of age (School Attendance Bonus).

Lastly, payments for achievements are monetary payments

to the most vulnerable people for important achievements in

various areas. They reward effort and attainment of targets for

permanently overcoming poverty in fundamental areas such

as education and employment. They include the Bonus for

School Achievement, awarded for children under 18 years of

age in the fourth and fifth grades of secondary school who are

in the top-performing 30 per cent in their class. In addition, the

Female Employment Bonus recognizes and rewards the efforts

of women and female heads of household of the most vulner-

able families in Chile who enter the formal labour market.

As stated above, the Ethical Family Income is a programme

for families living in extreme poverty in Chile, who represent

about 2.8 per cent of the population. However, the payments

for achievements are being extended to reach the most vulner-

able 30 per cent of the population, so that those who are

covered are eligible for the Female Employment Bonus and

the Bonus for School Achievement.

The extended coverage of these two benefits will include

a borderline group of people at serious risk of falling into

poverty, who are penalized for their social and economic

advances by no longer receiving benefits because they are

not considered to be poor. These bonuses give recognition

to these families and motivate them to continue their efforts.

They also reward their success, since good performance at

school requires effort from the entire family and the incor-

A recipient of the Female Employment Bonus, which rewards the efforts of women from the most vulnerable families who enter the labour market

Image: Ministry of Social Development