Slovenia's parliament has amended legislation on social transfers to reduce truancy rates among Roma children as part of broader efforts to improve the integration of often marginalised Roma communities.

Under the changes passed in a cross-partisan vote on 7 May, if a school inspector finds a child had been missing school without a justifiable reason, the family would temporarily get child benefits in kind instead of cash.

Many Roma families rely on welfare and the move is seen as key to making sure school attendance improves.

The changes apply not just to the Roma but to all parents, but they are specifically targeted at the Roma.

The legislation has been long in the making. It was originally part of a broader package of bills proposed by a dozen mayors from municipalities in south Slovenia where there are sizeable Roma communities but was rejected outright.

The conservative New Slovenia (NSi) resubmitted the bills in 2024 but was likewise rebuffed, but since then a number of security incidents involving members of the Roma community have shifted the angle of debate and the coalition parties came on board.

In years past the focus had been on the poor living conditions of south Slovenian Roma, since last year the debate has revolved more around the resistance of the Roma to integration.

Problems with Roma families in south Slovenia are well known and the children there do not attend school, NSi lawmaker Vida Čadonič Špelič said.

"Individuals without primary school cannot get a job and keep returning to a spiral of criminality, which undermines security."

The bill is just one of the measures targeting the Roma.

Additional funding has recently been secured for infrastructure projects such as water and electricity in informal Roma villages. Policing has been stepped up in areas with high rates of Roma crime.

The government is currently working on ways to get more Roma kids into kindergarten, employment incentives, and stronger cooperation between institutions dealing with the Roma, such as schools and social work centres.

Non-governmental organisations have, however, been warning that more needs to be done to improve living conditions in the informal Roma villages where most of the Slovenian Roma population live, many of which lack running water and electricity.