The nearly 150 users of the Association of Caminemos Juntos (Ascaju), in Cartago, could be left unattended, due to the imminent closure of the institution over the lack of financial resources for its operation.
According to Víctor Cisneros, president of the 24-year-old association, this could be the last month that it operates , after that, they will have to see how they liquidate the eight officials (specialists), who work in the place.
The problem arises because they received the economic auspices of the Social Protection Board (JPS) until last year, when that institution agreed that to provide monetary support (which this year was just over ¢36 million) they had to sign a agreement with the Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS).
What is happening is that, normally every year, we sign a cooperation agreement with the Social Protection Board, which gives us resources, public funds, from the profits of the instant lottery… But this year the Legal Department of the Board made a recommendation that funds should not be given to such organizations if they have not had a cooperation agreement with the Fund,”
explained Cisneros.
Marcela Sánchez, Legal Adviser of the JPS, explained that they have not eliminated the distribution of resources to the Association and that it is still part of the payroll in the form of Management Support.
We want to make clear that the resources that the JPS allocates to these programs support the management of the organization, but they do not cover all the operation and sustainability of the program. In addition, the medical and palliative care provided by the organization to its users is a responsibility of the health area and not of the JPS,”
said Sánchez.
She added that she has already coordinated with the Medical Management of the CCSS to sign the agreement expeditiously. Once the organization complies with the signing of the agreement, the resources will be released.