Governance 

Main actors 

The main national authorities responsible for social inclusion (including the social inclusion of youth as an integral part) are:

• Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs (Ministarstvo za rad, zapošljavanje, boračka i socijalna pitanja)
• Ministry of Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialog (Ministarstvo za ljudska i manjinska prava i društveni dijalog)
• Ministry of Tourism and Youth (Ministarstvo turizma i omladine)
• Ministry of Education (Ministarstvo prosvete)

Additional national actors with advisory or monitoring role include:

• Ombudsman (Zaštitnik građana)
• Commissioner for Protection of Equality (Poverenik za zaštitu ravnopravnosti)
• Roma National Council (Romski nacionalni savet) 
• Office for Inclusion of Roma Men and Women of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina (Kancelarija za inkluziju Roma) 

The main actors include:

• Institute for Social Protection (Zavod za socijalnu zaštitu)
• Chamber of Social Protection (Komora socijalne zaštite)
• Centres for Social Work (Centri za socijalni rad)
• Institutions for the Education and Care of Children and Youth (Ustanove za vaspitanje dece i omladine)
• Other licensed providers of social services

Based on the Report on Local Social Services for 2024 (Izveštaj o uslugama socijalne zaštite na lokalnom nivou koje pružaju licencirani pružaoci usluga u 2024. godini), the total number of licensed social service providers in Serbia exceeds 300. The services they provide can be classified as follows:

• Daily Community Services (Day Care, Home Assistance, Child’s Personal Assistant, Drop‑in Centre)
• Supported Living Services (Personal Assistance, Supported Housing)
• Counselling, Therapeutic and Socio‑Educational Services (SOS hotline)
• Residential Services (Shelters)

General distribution of responsibilities

The ministries listed above are responsible for social inclusion within their respective fields of work. Their role is to recommend policy development and to govern and monitor actions and services related to social inclusion among others. The Ombudsman and the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality pay special attention to the rights of vulnerable groups and to potential discrimination against them in the exercise of those rights. The Roma National Council and the Office for Roma Inclusion focus on various aspects of the social inclusion of the Roma population.

The main actors support social inclusion from within their own areas of competence. At the ground level, the primary actors ensure social inclusion through a set of support actions for vulnerable groups, with particular attention to youth.

The Republic Institute for Social Protection has a special role in developmental, advisory, research, and other professional tasks within the field of social protection. The Chamber of Social Protection is an independent, non‑profit, and professional organisation of employed social work professionals and associates, united by their shared professional interests.

Cross-sectoral cooperation 

Although the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs has the main role in governing social protection issues, other ministries contribute to social inclusion within their own domains. Mechanisms such as cross‑sectoral working groups are the main means of ensuring cooperation in the process of policy development, while at the ground level institutions from different sectors (schools, youth organisations, centres for social work) cooperate to provide meaningful support to individuals and groups.