EVALUATING THE POTENTIAL OF SOCIAL WELFARE IN POLAND

The transformation of the political and social system in 1989, after the dissolution of the Soviet block, led to fundamental changes in the structure of social welfare provision based on the decentralization of the state and... [ view full abstract ]

The transformation of the political and social system in 1989, after the dissolution of the Soviet block, led to fundamental changes in the structure of social welfare provision based on the decentralization of the state and the revival of local governance. The seminal public administration reforms of 1990 and 1999 were crucial in the formation of the new social welfare institutions. The 1990 legislation concerning social welfare and local government resulted in the establishment of welfare institutions with decentralized organizational structures. Communal (local decentralized social welfare agencies) became partners of central and regional state institutions. The second major reform of public administration in 1999 introduced the full-scale decentralization of state welfare, the enhanced autonomy of local communities, the development of self-governance among service users, the privileging of the family as the subject of social policy, and the reconstruction of civic society in order to develop the principle of subsidiarity. Two new tiers of the local –government were introduced and the parameters of the social welfare system expanded by adding care and the welfare of children and young people to the range of activities. The Social Welfare Act of 2004 enacted in 2004 was aimed at building a welfare state through the introduction of community representatives, non – governmental organizations (NGO) and volunteers into the sphere of public social welfare organizations, through stimulating labour market activation for the long term unemployed, and finally, by implementing “contracts” setting out the conditions under which financial aid might be delivered. This was intended to encourage inactive beneficiaries to participate in the process of aiding local communities through voluntary work.
The paper will attempt to judge the effectiveness of these reforms. The fundamental question remains whether the policy changes meet social needs, in particular, have they alleviated poverty and social exclusion.