Abstract:

Benefits from the social assistance system in Poland at the local level may be paid in cash or non-cash forms. The purpose of the article is to present selected benefits in the social assistance system and identify trends in changes occurring in the provision of social assistance benefits in 2012-2018. In the analysed period in Poland there was an increase in employment in the social assistance sector, with a simultaneous decrease in the employment of social workers. During 2012-2018, a negative trend was also observed, consisting in an increase in the number of recipients of benefits in the form of cash, with a decrease in the number of persons covered by non-cash support. In Poland the number of benefits in the social assistance system granted due to health dysfunction and disability has increased, while the number of benefits due to unemployment and poverty has decreased. The analyses carried out for the purposes of the article indicate that in Poland public policy in the area of social assistance consisting in the activation and strengthening of social assistance beneficiaries and the abandonment of redistribution of funds to those in need is only declarative.

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