Eligibility Criteria for Cash Assistance for Older and Disabled People in Hungary: A Model for Countries in Passage from a Planned to a Market Economy

Abstract

The political and economic changes presently taking place in the Central and Eastern European countries are accompanied by profound social changes for which, in terms of personal well-being, older and disabled people pay the highest price. Having lost the security of a minimum standard of living, many are exposed to poverty in its broadest sense. The collapse of governmental arrangements to provide for the minimum needs of this population led to the establishment of non-govemmental voluntary social agencies. Unfortunately, these are characterized by limited resources on the one hand, and lack of trained and skilled social work staff on the other. Based on the experience of a Hungarian non-govemmental social agency, a model for eligibility criteria for cash assistance under these circumstances, taking vulnerability as a key concept, is suggested for the benefit and dignity of those most in need.