Migrant Family in the Social Welfare System

Abstract

The migrant family as a family type has not been often considered eligible for being granted support by welfare institutions due to their stable financial position and the ability to provide relatively satisfactory care to minor children by migrant parents. Nevertheless, the subject literature and research reports explicitly indicate that the situation of migrant families and that of the children raised by them requires a considerable involvement on the part of social services, primarily for prevention purposes, which constitutes a significant aspect of the Polish social policy documents discussed in this article. Further forms of assistance and support to migrant families should be organised within the following structures: schools and other education and care establishments, large-scale social assistance as well as family legislation and the judicial system. It is only the co-operation and complementarity of these components that can assure the effectiveness of compliance with the current needs. The effective operation of the social services and support system is only possible if based on detailed cross-sectional studies enabling a reliable diagnosis of the phenomenon and of the problems that emerge. Therefore, what is an absolute necessity is co-operation accompanied by provision of a coherent support programme to migrant families. Moreover, another requirement for comprehensive support programme is also the necessity to disseminate knowledge on abandoning children by their parents and criminal responsibility that parents face for committing this offence. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness of this responsibility affects adversely the child’s position and that of the parents themselves, who often neglect the procedure of assigning custody of minor children to other people in a situation of the parents’ long-term stay abroad.