Regional differences of demand for social welfare homes in Poland in 2010-2018

Abstract

<b>Aim:</b> The aim of the article was to assess the satisfaction of the needs for social welfare homes in voivodeships in 2010-2018. An additional aspect was the visibility of the principles of functioning of social welfare homes in Poland on the basis of applicable legal acts. <br><b>Material and methods:</b> Assessment of the satisfaction of the needs for social welfare homes in voivodeships in 2010-2018 was based on two measures. The first was the ratio of meeting the needs of people waiting for placement in social welfare homes. The second indicator is the demand indicator for social welfare homes. The data needed for the calculations was taken from the reports of the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy. In addition, analysis of the literature and collected materials enabled insightful describe activities of social welfare homes in Poland. <br><b>Results and conclusions:</b> Considering the area of Poland as a whole, positive tendencies have been observed in the years 2010-2018 to meet the needs of social welfare homes. Considering individual voivodships, some areas can be identified which are characterized by a better and worse level of satisfaction for these houses. The greatest satisfaction of the needs for social welfare homes occurs in the south-eastern part of Poland in the Podkarpackie and Lubelskie Voivodeship. The smallest degree of satisfying the needs for social welfare homes occurs in the Śląskie Voivodeship. A relatively low degree of satisfaction of needs occurs in the western and northern Poland. Therefore, it is necessary to introduce solutions that will result in a proportional development of the number of social welfare homes. The lack of places in public social welfare homes may increase the time needed to locate people who need support in these entities. It can also cause the appearance of people in need of assistance in other places that are not designed for this.