What CPAS de Forest does

CPAS de Forest (Centre Public d'Action Sociale / Openbaar Centrum voor Maatschappelijk Welzijn) is a Belgian public social welfare institution established in 1976 under the Organic Law of 8 July 1976, serving the Forest (Vorst) commune within the Brussels-Capital Region. Mandated by federal and regional law, it delivers a statutory social safety net to Forest residents whose own resources are insufficient to live with dignity. The institution employs over 200 staff across social workers, insertion agents, administrative personnel, and financial/care staff, and is governed by a 13-member Conseil de l'Action Sociale elected by the municipal council every six years. Leadership comprises President Séverine de Laveleye, Secretary-General Gert De Ceukelaire, and Treasurer Yoann Tournay.

The service portfolio comprises nine core aid pillars: Revenu d'intégration (statutory integration income at fixed monthly rates, e.g., €1,314.20 for isolated persons), Santé (health aid including urgent medical care for undocumented migrants), Jeunesse & Famille (youth 18-25 and single-parent support), Seniors (home maintenance, +60 support, care placement), Energie (water/gas/electricity bill assistance and social-tariff negotiation), Logement & Sans-abrisme (housing and homelessness prevention), Insertion Socioprofessionnelle (Article 60§7 employment and vocational integration), Participation Sociale et Culturelle (Art27 tickets and cultural outings), and Médiation de dettes (debt restructuring). Specialized facilities include the Maison de repos Le Val des Roses, a nursing home with five Cantou dementia-care units of 15 residents each, and the Unis-Vers Diogène research-action project on hoarding syndrome (2021 Federal Poverty-Fighting Prize laureate). Cross-cutting coordination is delivered through the Coordination Sociale de Forest and the CLSS Bas Forest local social-health contract.

The business model is non-commercial: CPAS de Forest is funded by public budgets — municipal allocations from the Commune de Forest, regional subsidies via the Commission Communautaire Commune (COCOM), and federal social welfare grants. Services are provided free or subsidized to eligible residents based on social-investigation need assessment. Distribution is direct to residents via walk-in reception at Rue du Curé 35, four satellite offices across Forest, a mobile CLSS outreach team, and partner referrals through ~20 coordination-network organizations. The firm has no proprietary technology stack, no AI/ML capabilities, no commercial pricing, and no expansion beyond the Forest commune boundary; its growth potential is bounded by statutory mandate and municipal funding decisions rather than market opportunity.

Name

CPAS de Forest

Legal name

CPAS de Forest

Website

https://cpasforest.irisnet.be

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

CPAS de Forest is a Belgian public social welfare center established in 1976 under the Organic Law of 8 July 1976, delivering nine statutory social aid pillars — integration income, health, housing, energy, debt mediation, youth/family, seniors, employment insertion, and cultural participation — plus the Val des Roses nursing home, to Forest commune residents facing poverty or social exclusion.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Social Welfare Services

NAICS

Continuing Care Retirement Communities (623311), Community Housing Services (62422)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Life Plan / Entrance-Fee CCRCs (HLADAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Emergency Shelter, Camp Coordination & Camp Management (CCCM) (BPADADAB)

Keywords

• Public social welfare
• Social assistance services
• Income integration support
• Elderly care services
• Debt mediation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Forest

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Public Funding: As a public institution (CPAS/Openbaar Centrum voor Maatschappelijk Welzijn), CPAS de Forest is funded by public budgets including municipal funds, government subsidies, and social welfare allocations. The organization does not generate commercial revenue but receives taxpayer-funded allocations to provide social services to residents in need.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CPAS de Forest is a Belgian public social welfare center (Centre Public d'Action Sociale / OCMW) that delivers statutory social assistance services to residents of the Forest municipality in Brussels. Its portfolio spans income integration payments, health aid, youth and family support, senior home care, energy bill assistance, housing and homelessness prevention, vocational integration via Article 60§7 contracts, debt mediation, and socio-cultural participation. It also operates the Maison de repos le Val des Roses nursing home with specialized dementia (Cantou) units.

Product overview

CPAS de Forest operates as a public social welfare center (Centre Public d'Action Sociale) governed by the organic law of July 8, 1976, offering a broad portfolio of social assistance services to residents of Forest, Brussels. The core portfolio consists of nine coordinated aid services covering income support (Revenu d'intégration), health assistance, youth and family services, senior/elderly care, energy assistance, housing and homelessness prevention, vocational integration, social and cultural participation, and debt mediation. These services are complemented by two specialized facilities: the Maison de repos le Val des Roses care home with Cantou dementia-care units, and the Unis-Vers Diogène research-action project for hoarding syndrome. Cross-cutting coordination is delivered through the Coordination Sociale de Forest (CSF) working groups and the CLSS Bas Forest local social-health contract. The organization also recruits social workers and operates an Article 60 employment program. The product ecosystem is primarily a public-service delivery model, not a software product, and no AI, API, or third-party integrations are offered.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Revenu d'intégration (Integration Income) Financial income support providing monthly payments to eligible Forest residents whose own resources are insufficient, assessed through a social investigation of the applicant's personal situation.
• Santé (Health Aid) Health assistance covering medical consultations at INAMI conventioned rates and medications, including urgent medical aid for undocumented migrants, coordinated through the IRIS hospital network.
• Jeunesse & Famille (Youth & Family) Dedicated service for young people aged 18-25 and single-parent families, providing guidance and social assistance tailored to youth and family needs.
• Seniors (Elderly Care) Senior services combining home maintenance, +60 support, and care placement, offering family helpers, homemakers, pedicure services, and home nursing care to help elderly residents maintain independence.
• Energie (Energy Assistance) Energy support service helping residents pay water, electricity, gas, and heating oil bills, negotiating social tariffs and payment plans, and providing energy advice through a dedicated office.
• Logement & Sans-abrisme (Housing & Homelessness) Housing service preventing homelessness through information on tenant/landlord rights, financial aid, temporary housing solutions, and coordination with housing partners including social housing agencies and the municipal housing office.
• Insertion Socioprofessionnelle (Vocational Integration) Professional integration service helping CPAS beneficiaries develop career projects through qualifications, job search tools, and Article 60§7 work contracts, plus other employment measures such as Activa and interim placements.
• Participation Sociale et Culturelle (Social & Cultural Participation) Socio-cultural participation service organizing free group cultural outings, distributing Art27 tickets for reduced-cost cultural activities, and operating the Collectif Pantographe cultural committee for CPAS beneficiaries.
• Médiation de dettes (Debt Mediation) Debt mediation service for Forest residents in over-indebtedness, establishing lists of income/expenses/debts and negotiating friendly payment plans with creditors while ensuring a dignified standard of living.
• Maison de repos le Val des Roses (Val des Roses Care Home) Residential and care home featuring five small family-style Cantou units for disoriented residents (15 persons each), multisensory Snoezelen spaces, and comprehensive medical/paramedical teams.
• Unis-Vers Diogène (Diogenes Project) Research-action project providing interdisciplinary support for persons suffering from Diogenes syndrome (severe hoarding), developed in partnership with ULB, L'Adret mental health center, and Entraide & Culture, offering practical tools, a follow-up network, and good practice guidelines.
• Coordination Sociale de Forest (CSF) (Social Coordination) Social coordination body bringing together associations and psycho-medico-social, educational, and cultural services to identify, coordinate, and prevent poverty and social exclusion in Forest, supported by working groups on mental health, STIs, disability, housing, early childhood, and seniors.
• CLSS Bas Forest (Local Social Health Contract) Local Social Health Contract initiative covering the Lower Forest area (Charroi, Primeurs, St Antoine, Pont de Luttre, Monténégro neighborhoods), operating mobile ASSAP teams, a Social-Health Consortium, the Midis du Delta community meal, and housing eviction prevention projects.
• Carte Forest Social (Forest Social Map) Interactive online directory map of social, health, cultural, educational, housing, and employment services available in Forest, categorized by theme including immigration, housing, culture, youth, training, disability, and health.
• Article 60 Employment Program (Offres d'emploi Article 60) Article 60§7 employment positions including kitchen assistant, building worker, delivery driver, administrative agent, and cleaning agent, providing work experience and integration pathways for CPAS beneficiaries.

Quantifiable outcome

• 20 persons with Diogenes syndrome have been accompanied since the Unis-Vers Diogene project began in 2021
• +1 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) - Ecole de Santé PubliquecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Partnership for the Unis-Vers Diogene research-action project. ULB provides research expertise through a dedicated researcher who works on the action-research component studying how to improve interdisciplinary support for Diogenes syndrome patients while encouraging their involvement. The project developed a guide of best practices for other municipalities.
• L'Adret (Centre de Santé Mentale)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMental health center providing social and administrative support to persons suffering from Diogenes syndrome as part of the Unis-Vers Diogene project. Mobilizes several social workers for accompaniment.
• Entraide & Culture ASBLcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation providing field accompaniment support for Diogenes syndrome persons through two workers and a home helper who reinforce the on-site support provided by the project coordinator.
• CLSS Consortium (Social-Santé actors)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork of approximately 20 actors including social-health associations, residents, municipality, and CPAS working together since 2022 to improve access to social and health rights for Bas de Forest residents. Partners include Maison Médicale des Primeurs, L'Adret, La Maison des Parents solos, and various neighborhood organizations.
• Maison Médicale des PrimeursminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the CLSS consortium, implementing 'Le Nid' project for perinatal accompaniment of single mothers and future single mothers.
• La Maison des Parents solosminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the CLSS consortium, organizing support groups for single parents and psychological support for single-parent families.
• Commune de ForestcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerForest municipality partners with CPAS through the Coordination Sociale de Forest (CSF) and CLSS initiatives. The commune provides co-funding and participates in governance through 4 members of the Coordination Sociale and CLSS steering committee.
• Commission Communautaire Commune (COCOM)coreOthersJoint Community Commission that finances the social coordinations (CSF) within CPAS structures across Brussels.
• ONE (Office de la Naissance et de l'Enfance)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerChild welfare office partnering with CPAS for early childhood services including the consultation location at Avenue Van Volxem 6 for the Petit Mercredi parent-child meeting place.
• SibelgaminorOthersBrussels natural gas and electricity distribution system operator. CPAS works with Sibelga for energy-related assistance including protected client status and energy advice.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• OCMW Antwerpen: Largest public social welfare center in Belgium, serving the city of Antwerp. Broader incumbent offering the same statutory mandate but at significantly larger scale with broader service portfolio and regional influence.
• CCAS de la Ville de Bruxelles: Public social welfare center for the City of Brussels (Brussels-Capital Region). Broader incumbent peer in the same Brussels ecosystem, larger in scale and serving the capital's core population.

Direct peers

• CPAS d'Ixelles: Public social welfare center for Ixelles, a central Brussels municipality. Direct peer under the Belgian Organic Law offering comparable services including integration income, debt mediation, housing assistance, and elder care.
• CPAS de Saint-Gilles: Public social welfare center for the adjacent Saint-Gilles municipality in Brussels, operating under the same Belgian Organic Law of 1976. Direct peer offering identical portfolio of social services (income integration, housing, health, seniors) to its residents with the same statutory mandate.
• CPAS de Schaerbeek: Public social welfare center for Schaerbeek, one of Brussels' most densely populated municipalities with significant poverty challenges. Direct peer delivering the same nine-service portfolio under identical Belgian legal framework.
• CPAS d'Etterbeek: Public social welfare center for Etterbeek in Brussels. Direct peer operating under the same Belgian Organic Law with parallel service portfolio including elder care, housing support, and integration income programs.
• CPAS d'Uccle: Public social welfare center for Uccle, a Brussels municipality. Direct peer offering the same statutory social welfare services under the same federal legal framework as CPAS de Forest.
• CPAS de Molenbeek-Saint-Jean: Public social welfare center for Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, a Brussels municipality with high social service demand. Direct peer operating identical statutory mandate with parallel service structure to CPAS de Forest.
• CPAS d'Anderlecht: Public social welfare center for Anderlecht, a large Brussels municipality neighboring Forest. Direct peer operating the same statutory model with comparable service portfolio including integration income, housing assistance, and elder care.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/centre-public-d'action-sociale-de-forest

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CPAS de Forest