For each child born in Armenia, parents receive state-provided monetary assistance from 50.000 up to 1.5 million drams (more than US$ 104 – about US$ 3132). Half of the money is transferred to the bank account opened in the name of the child. Parents cannot use it until the child turns 18 years old. And the other half of the money is given to the parents to care for their newborn baby, though according to the RA Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, the full amount may be given to the parents if they are in poor social conditions and apply for the full amount.
On the initiative of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs the amount allocated to the first and second child will be doubled to 300.000 drams (more than US$ 626) from July 1, 2020.
From July 1, 2020, the monthly 18.000 drams (about US$ 38) benefits for caring for a child will increase up to 25.500 drams (more than US$ 53) for two years.
In rural areas this amount will be given to both working and non-working mothers, and in urban areas – only to working mothers.
Mothers who have taken a leave up to 3 years for caring for a child may also receive up to 55.000 drams (about US$ 115) from the state for hiring a babysitter or paying for a private kindergarten if they want to return to work by the time the child will turn 2 years old. The aim of this program is to help mothers with children up to 2 years old to return to work earlier and not lose their working skills.
For hiring a babysitter or paying the fee of a private kindergarten, the state provides 50% of the babysitter’s salary or the kindergarten’s fee, but with the maximum limit is the minimum wage of the RA. E.g, if the babysitter’s salary is 90.000 drams (about US$ 188), the state provides 45.000 drams (about US$ 94), but if it is 140.000 drams (more than US$ 292), the state allocates 55.000 drams (about US$ 115). By the way, anyone who does not live with the mother under the same roof, may be considered a babysitter, including the beneficiary’s relatives.
If mothers want to make use of this program, they should apply for it before returning to work. Mothers may receive a financial support for the babysitter until the child turns 2 years old.
If more than one child was born in the family, or there is another child under the age of 2 years, each child may have their own babysitter, as the state pays on this principle: one child – one babysitter.
In addition to this allowance, there is also a maternity allowance: working mothers receive it from their employer, while the non-working mothers are paid by the state. In the latter case 50% of the minimum wage is divided by 30.4 (average calendar days per month) and multiplied by 140. In case of premature birth the allowance is given for 70 days, that is, it is multiplied by 70.
While in case of working mothers, their average salary is divided by 30.4 and multiplied by the number of the days calculated as pregnancy and maternity leave` 140-180 days, depending on the childbirth.
Translated by Mary Grigoryan
Ampop Media
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First Published: 12/12/2019
