Social welfare in Poland [experts panel]

The experts panel was organised before an audit currently being prepared by NIK. The auditors will check how effectively social welfare centres diagnose and monitor the so-called social situation. The question is if the methods they use really help to find persons who are in need but find it difficult to admit it. Can social employees each such people?

The following threads were addressed during the debate:

• actions taken by social welfare centres to diagnose the social situation;
• methods used by social welfare employees to identify persons requiring support;
• issues related to the strategy of solving social problems in the areas covered by the centres’ care;
• quality of cooperation with social and non-governmental organisations, churches as well as individuals and legal persons who know of persons requiring support;
• good practices in identifying and supporting persons in need who find it difficult to talk about their problems. 

The problems of social welfare in Poland signalled by experts included the absence of the system for monitoring and identification of issues in local communities. Another problem is the lack of information flow. The institutions which know of persons in need or the ones already covered by social aid cannot communicate effectively. The issue of “burnout” of social workers was also tackled during the meeting. Part of them have not taken part in professional improvement courses for a long time.

Social welfare is an important element of the state social policy. Its task is to satisfy basic needs of citizens who are not able to provide decent living conditions to themselves or their families. This is the responsibility of social welfare centres. Do they pursue their mission properly? This is what the NIK audit is going to verify. Experts say that our system allows cases where aid is provided without rational justification and reaches persons who do not need it and at the same time leaves out the ones who really need help although they cannot talk about it.