Panel II Promoting the access of vulnerable groups to social services covering basic needs

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Panel II - Promoting the access of vulnerable
groups to social services covering basic needs

• A synthesis of discussions
• Hugh Frazer

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Panel Themes

• Introduction why social services are essential
• Who are the vulnerable groups and what are their
  basic needs
• Defining the range and types of social services
  needed
• Who is responsible for providing social services
• Effective delivery how to ensure social services
  are accessible and appropriate

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Why social services?

• Social exclusion is multi-dimensional - about
  more than poverty or having a job
• Meet basic needs and enable participation in
  society
• Support access to employment and an adequate
  income
• Create employment
• Underpin sustainable economic development
• Promote personal growth and self-reliance
• Prevention and alleviation
• Expression of social solidarity
• Support adaptation to change
• Enhance democracy

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Wide range of needs

• Basic Needs are multi-dimensional
• work and basic income (panel 1)
• decent accommodation clean water and sanitation
  safe sustainable environment health and social
  care education training (incl. ICT)
• day care transport legal services cultural,
  sporting, and recreational opportunities access
  to credit
• supportive family social networks
• Unmet basic needs both cause and are a result of
  poverty and social exclusion

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Exacerbating factors

• Gender inequality
• Migration
• Discrimination and racism
• Violence, trafficking, and displacement
• Spatial segregation
• Disability
• Poor health
• HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis
• Demographic change (e.g. ageing populations)
• Weakening family and social solidarity systems
• Addiction

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Main vulnerable groups at risk of not having
basic needs met

• Main groups
• Long-term unemployed and jobless households
• People in poor and insecure employment
• grey economy
• subsistence agriculture
• Children
• large families and lone parent families
• People with disabilities and poor physical or
  mental health
• Extreme situations
• homeless victims of violence and displaced
  people some ethnic minorities (e.g. Roma)
  illiterate living in institution, victim of
  violence

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Types of social services - 1

• 1. Mainline services
• - social housing, health care, personal family
  services,
• education training,
• - transport, legal services, cultural, sporting
  and
• recreational services
• Purpose
• promote social inclusion prevent poverty and
  social exclusion
• complement informal family and social systems
• Key task
• ensure their affordability, accessibility and
  adequacy for all

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Types of social services - 2

• 2.Targeted/differentiated services to overcome
  particular disadvantages
• Help with immediate crises
• loss of job, homelessness, indebtedness,
  displacement due to violence and intimidation,
  family breakdown, drug addiction
• Personal development and empowerment
• build skills and self-confidence for social and
  employment integration
• language training, community education, community
  arts, occupational development and reintegration
  programmes

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Types of social services - 3

• 3. Services for social solidarity
• Compensate for disadvantages that can only be
  partially overcome
• e.g. severe disability or chronic ill-health

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Who provides? - 1

• Take account of economic, social and cultural
  relations in a country
• Innovate and develop new arrangements adapted to
  situation in each country
• Big issue how/whether to balance/integrate
  formal and informal systems?

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Who provides? - 2

• A mix of providers
• government agencies (national or local)
• self-help organisations
• co-operatives, trade-unions, community
  organisations
• informal ethnic, religious, social solidarity
  networks
• family networks
• NGOs/international organisations
• private sector
• partnerships
• Governments overall responsibility
• whether as provider or regulator or both
• ensure basic needs are met
• ensure most vulnerable have access
• ensure quality, coordination and integration of
  services

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Ensuring effective delivery 1-5

• Holistic multi-dimensional thus coordination and
  integration
• across social services
• link with income and employment
• mainstreaming
• Decentralised and local
• where people live
• accessible (physically and in terms of
  information)
• Community development approach
• participation of vulnerable groups
• empower people build self-esteem self-reliance
  
• collective action and community organising
  capacity building
• outreach
• Responsive, flexible, tailored - individual plan
• Accountable and transparent monitor and evaluate

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Ensuring effective delivery 6-10

• Quality and continuous improvement
• Open to experimentation and innovation
• Based on respect for rights and dignity
  (equality, non discrimination, avoid stigma)
• Partnership and joint responsibility
• Consistent and sustainable

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5 Conclusions

• Social services
• Secure basic needs and fundamental rights
• meet the MDGs
• expression of social solidarity
• Combine with employment and social security to
  ensure active inclusion in society
• Enhance political legitimacy and reinforce
  democracy
• Help people to adapt to globalisation change
• Investment in sustainable economic and social
  development create a virtuous cycle