Detection and prevention of risks of public and national social policies

Abstract

The present research effort attempts to achieve the detection of issues involved in the exercise of public/national social policy in the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace in Greece. The data was collected in May–October 2019, through the Community Centers of the social services of the region’s municipalities. The main method of analysis was clustering (two-step cluster analysis). The survey will also attempt to monitor the coverage of the needs not only of vulnerable population groups but also of the general population in need of social policy services (Center for Healthy Aging, 2004). Social welfare in the countries of Southern Europe appears, as far as funding is concerned, as a neglected pillar of social protection. It is a commitment of the state to meet the needs of all population groups. These needs are not standardized, do not have a defined problem framework and have a high degree of differentiation. New social risks cannot be dealt with by passive forms of intervention. These risks create enough insecurity and uncertainty in maintaining a minimum level of decent living (Velte, 2023). The exercise of social policy means all statutory measures and applied policies or informal practices aimed at preventing and addressing the needs not only of vulnerable population groups but also of the general population of the territory, both at the reception stage with the state services and at the stage of integration or “rehabilitation” of individuals.