Joint Circular No. 13/2004/TTLT/BLDTBXH-BTC guiding on the responsibility for contributions and allowance regimes for prostitutes and drug addicts.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines on responsibilities for contributions and benefits for persons engaged in prostitution and drug addicts

for prostitutes, drug addicts

Pursuant to Decree No. 86/2002/NĐ-CP dated November 5, 2002 of the Government stipulating functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of ministries and ministerial-level agencies;

Pursuant to Decree No. 56/2002/NĐ-CP dated May 15, 2002 of the Government on organizing detoxification at home and in the community;

Pursuant to Decree No. 135/2004/NĐ-CP dated June 10, 2004 of the Government stipulating the application of measures for compulsory hospitalization, organization of activities of hospitals under the Law on Handling Administrative Violations and regulations applicable to minors and voluntary patients;

Based on the opinions of the Ministry of Health expressed in Circular No. 7228/YT-PC dated September 27, 2004, the Joint Ministries of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and Finance hereby issue guidelines on responsibilities for contributions and benefits for persons engaged in prostitution and drug addicts undergoing treatment and detoxification at the Rehabilitation-Correction-Labor Center (hereinafter referred to as the Center) and at home and in the community as follows:

I- GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. SCOPE AND APPLICABILITY

a) Persons engaged in prostitution and drug addicts undergoing compulsory treatment and detoxification at the Center.

b) Minors engaged in prostitution and drug addicts who are admitted to the Center pursuant to the Law on Prevention and Control of Drugs and the Law on Handling Administrative Violations.

c) Persons engaged in prostitution and drug addicts undergoing voluntary treatment and detoxification at the Center.

d) Persons engaged in prostitution and drug addicts undergoing treatment and detoxification at home and in the community.

2. Persons engaged in prostitution and drug addicts undergoing compulsory and voluntary treatment and detoxification at the Center and at home and in the community shall be responsible for contributing certain expenses and shall be entitled to state benefits as prescribed in this Circular.

II- SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

A/Responsibilities for Contributions

1. Persons engaged in prostitution and drug addicts who are compulsorily admitted to the Center must contribute towards their food costs according to the Center's regulations during the period they are not entitled to food allowances.

2. For drug addicts undergoing voluntary treatment and detoxification at the Center, the following contributions are required:

Food costs.

Costs of medication for treatment, drugs to support withdrawal from addiction, and other common medications.

Costs of testing for narcotics and other tests.

Cultural and sports activity costs.

Educational and vocational training costs (if the individual requests such services).

Electricity, water, and sanitation costs.

Contributions towards the construction of facilities. Service and management costs.

The Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs shall coordinate with the Department of Finance to submit to the People's Committee of the province or centrally governed city for determination of contribution levels based on ensuring sufficient funding.

3. For drug addicts undergoing treatment and detoxification at home and in the community, including those subject to administrative education measures at the commune, ward, or town level (hereinafter referred to as the commune), the following contributions are required:

Costs of medication for treatment and drugs to support withdrawal from addiction.

Costs of organizing treatment and detoxification at home and in the community.

Specific contribution levels shall be determined by the Commune People's Committee and submitted to the People's Council at the same level for approval based on the principle of ensuring sufficient funding and being appropriate to the actual conditions of each locality.

B/Benefits

1. Persons engaged in prostitution and drug addicts (including minors) who are compulsorily admitted to the Center shall be entitled to food allowances, educational and treatment costs, detoxification, vocational training, and social reintegration as follows:

a) Food allowance: 140,000 VND/person/month.

For persons engaged in prostitution: Entitled to a food allowance for 9 months.

For drug addicts: Entitled to a food allowance for 12 months.

Any remaining time to execute the decision, persons engaged in prostitution and drug addicts must pay for food according to the Center's regulations.

Persons engaged in prostitution and drug addicts infected with HIV/AIDS who are unable to work, and minors engaged in prostitution and drug addiction are entitled to a food allowance of 140,000 VND/person/month throughout the execution period of the decision.

b) Medication costs:

150,000 VND/person/execution period for persons engaged in prostitution, including: medication for sexually transmitted diseases, general medications, testing, and other related costs.

250,000 VND/person/execution period for drug addicts, including: drugs to support withdrawal from addiction, emergency care, testing costs, and medication for opportunistic diseases.

In cases where a person engaged in prostitution is also a drug addict, they will be entitled to a medication allowance of 400,000 VND/person/execution period.

c) Medical expenses:

During the execution period, if a person engaged in prostitution or a drug addict falls seriously ill or contracts a critical illness beyond the treatment capacity of the Center and is transferred to a state hospital for treatment, the cost of hospitalization will be borne by the individual or their family. However, individuals who are policy beneficiaries or whose families are in extreme financial hardship, confirmed by the Commune People's Committee, may have up to 50% or the full cost of treatment covered by the Center Director, but not exceeding 1,000,000 VND (one million VND)/person/treatment.

Persons engaged in prostitution and drug addicts injured in workplace accidents will receive prompt first aid and emergency care until stable. Funding for this will come from the annual budget and revenue of the Center.

d) Purchase of essential personal items: 100,000 VND/person/execution period.

Specifically, for minors engaged in prostitution and drug addiction, personal items will be provided in kind as follows: They will be assigned a separate bed or wooden floor with a mat and mosquito net. Southern facilities will provide each person with a blanket. Northern facilities will provide each person with a two-kilogram cotton quilt and a warm jacket. Annually, each person will receive two mats, two sets of long pants, one set of uniform, two sets of underwear, two towels, two pairs of plastic sandals, two toothbrushes, one raincoat, and one hard hat. Quarterly, each person will receive a tube of toothpaste weighing 90 grams and one kilogram of soap.

e) Cultural and sports activities: 20,000 VND/person/execution period.

g) Literacy education: in accordance with the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training under the illiteracy eradication program and primary education popularization program.

h) Vocational training: Prostitutes and drug addicts who have not yet acquired a profession and have a need for vocational training shall be eligible for financial support from the Center Director at a rate of 360,000 dong per person. This funding is only provided to individuals for the first time and not for those entering the Center for the second time. Based on their level, needs, budget, and specific circumstances, the Center Director will decide on the appropriate form of vocational training.

i) Female hygiene: 10,000 dong per person per month.

k) Travel allowance: After completing the Administrative Violation Handling Decision at the Center, prostitutes and drug addicts, if they are in difficult circumstances or have no income from labor results at the Center and their residential address is clearly defined, upon returning home, they will be provided with a travel allowance of 10,000 dong per person per day, with a maximum duration of five days; transportation costs will be subsidized according to the standard rates set by the state for ordinary means of transport, but not exceeding 500,000 dong per person. If the Center has the capacity to purchase tickets, it will provide them in the form of tickets.

l) Community reintegration subsidy: After completing the Administrative Violation Handling Decision, prostitutes and drug addicts who return to their place of origin and show significant progress, commit to not repeating offenses, and are unemployed, with themselves or their families being in difficult conditions, may be considered for community reintegration subsidies by the People's Committee of the district, with a minimum amount of 500,000 dong per person to create employment and stabilize their lives. This subsidy is only provided for the first execution of the decision and not for subsequent executions. Prostitutes and drug addicts who complete the decision while still under the age of adulthood will not be eligible for this subsidy.

m) Prostitutes and drug addicts infected with HIV/AIDS will receive additional subsidies for medication, purchasing items to prevent HIV transmission, and other supporting expenses (excluding food and detoxification treatment costs) as stipulated in Circular Jointly Issued by the Ministry of Finance and Health No. 51/2002/TTLT/BTC-BYT dated June 3, 2002, guiding the content and levels of expenditure under the National Target Program for Preventing Certain Social Diseases, Dangerous Epidemics, and HIV/AIDS.

2. In cases where prostitutes and drug addicts undergoing detoxification treatment die at the Center without relatives or with relatives unable to arrive in time, or due to work-related accidents, the Center is responsible for burial arrangements. The burial expenses are determined by the People's Committee of the province or centrally administered city. In cases requiring forensic examination to confirm the cause of death, the Center will cover these costs according to current state regulations.

3. Exemption and reduction of treatment and detoxification costs:

a) Eligibility for exemption and reduction: Prostitutes and drug addicts undergoing compulsory or voluntary treatment and detoxification at the Center and in the community may be eligible for partial reduction or full exemption of treatment and detoxification costs in the following situations:

Individuals under the age of adulthood, elderly individuals living alone, policy families, and households classified as poor according to the poverty standard defined by the Minister of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs.

Individuals belonging to social assistance categories as currently defined by the Government.

Individuals without a fixed residence and who personally cannot contribute or whose relatives or guardians cannot be identified.

Individuals infected with HIV/AIDS who are no longer capable of working.

b) The level of exemption and reduction, as well as procedures for applying for such exemptions and reductions, are determined by the People's Committee of the province or centrally administered city.

4. Subsidy levels: food, vocational training, personal item purchases, cultural and sports activities, and community reintegration subsidies as specified in this Circular are the minimum levels. Depending on specific conditions, localities may establish higher levels, which must be reported by the Department of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs in conjunction with the Department of Finance to the People's Committee of the province or centrally administered city for submission to the People's Council at the same level for consideration and decision.

III. IMPLEMENTATION

1. Funding for subsidies for the subjects as prescribed in this Circular shall be allocated within the annual social security budget of the local government in accordance with the State Budget Law and related implementing regulations.

2. This Circular takes effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette. Circulars jointly issued by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Finance Nos. 22/TTLB dated July 21, 1994, No. 12/TTLB-LDTBXH-TC dated June 7, 1996, and points 1.4; 1.10 of Section II of Circular No. 39/TT/LB dated May 15, 1995 are hereby repealed.

3. Any difficulties encountered during implementation should be reported to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Finance for resolution./.