Polish family policy in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic : results of pilot studies

Family policy in Poland has undergone a number of changes over the last few decades. The authorities are constantly modifying the law and instruments, implementing new programs and projects which are supposed to lead to the implementation of specific goals and to improve the functioning of families and the whole society. The unprecedented situation and outbreak of the epidemic has highlighted new challenges and problems, also for family policy. The aim of the article is to show the challenges faced by Polish family policy after the outbreak of the COVID - 19 pandemic and to indicate the directions of solving new problems

Participatory democracy to the contemporary problems of Polish social policy

Socio-economic development, which is seen around the world today, has contributed to the emergence of new problems of a social nature. Different political, historical, geographical or economic conditions cause that, in addition to global issues of social policy such as an aging population, unemployment, migration, countries, regions, there are also specific new problems that require diagnosis, individualized approach and efficient, planned solutions. These should include, among others, digital addiction, peer violence, obesity among children, the problem of ‘legal highs’, stress, depression, diseases associated with environmental pollution etc. The central authorities, selected most often with the tools specific to representative democracy, that is, the general election, for many reasons, inter alia, organizational, communication, are not able to effectively diagnose their intensity, territorial distribution, and thus to effectively fight them. This article aims to show how in Poland, citizens influence solving problems related to the broader social policy implemented at the local government level and indicates the possibilities of improving those solutions. The conclusions of theoretical analysis have been supported by empirical studies, which tested the use of instruments of participatory democracy in the planning and creation of communal strategies for solving social problems in one of the Polish voivodeships

Legitymizacja systemu emerytalnego : potrzeba czy konieczność?

System emerytalny w swoim funkcjonowaniu i działalności powinien cechować się legitymizacją jako faktycznym warunkiem w wykonywaniu określonych zadań zgodnych z ogólnymi wymogami i oczekiwaniami przypisywanymi systemowi emerytalnemu. W opracowaniu legitymizacja rozumiana jest jako "wywołanie przekonania, że struktury, procedury, działania, decyzje, kierunki polityki, urzędnicy i przywódcy mają cechy słuszności (ang. rightness), właściwości, wartości moralne i że winne być akceptowane ze względu na te właściwości" (Dahl, 1963, p.19). Ponadto legitymizacja łączona jest z uznaniem i odczuciem, że "ludzie identyfikują się z instytucjami i procesami , które oddziałują na ich życie- uznają je za właściwe i postrzegają jako swoje" (Banchoff, 1999, p.184). W przypadku instytucji systemu emerytalnego, legitymizacja powinna dotyczyć zarówno samej organizacji systemu zapewniającego realizację podstawowych zadań, np. zapewnienie bezpieczeństwa działania systemu, gwarantowanie wypłacalności określonych świadczeń itp., jak też organizacji na poziomie poszczególnych instytucji (publicznych i prywatnych). Celem artykułu jest analiza zagadnienia legitymizacji systemu emerytalnego z punktu widzenia instytucji działających w systemie emerytalnym. Artykuł ma charakter teoretyczny i przedstawia model umożliwiający zrozumienie istotny problemu legitymizacji na tle funkcjonujących instytucji emerytalnych. W literaturze można znaleźć opracowania dotyczące legitymizacji systemu politycznego czy instytucji (organów) władzy, jednak brak jest opracowań dotyczących legitymizacji systemu emerytalnego Artykuł przedstawia przystosowanie aparatu pojęciowego (znaczeniowego) do analizy legitymizacji systemu emerytalnego.The pension system in its functioning and activity should be legitimized as an actual condition in performing specific tasks in accordance with the general requirements and expectations attributed to the pension system. In the case of institutions of the pension system, legitimacy should concern both the organization of the system itself ensuring the implementation of basic tasks, e.g. ensuring system security, guaranteeing the solvency of certain benefits, etc., as well as organizations at the level of individual institutions (public and private). The aim of the article is to analyze the issue of legitimizing the pension system from the point of view of institutions operating in the pension system. The article is teoretical and presents a model enabling understanding of the significant problem of legitimization against the background of functioning pension institutions. The study presents the adaptation of the conceptual (semantic) apparatus to the analysis of the legitimacy of the pension system

Polish pension system as a response to the problems of an aging society

The pension system is an important element of social security. Its main objective is to provide citizens with a beyond retirement age standard of living. The realization of this purpose in the modern world faces increasingly difficulties, because on the whole world is observed adverse events, which may include, inter alia, an aging population and a decline in fertility. These developments, combined with permanently lengthening the life expectancy, caused a number of problems affecting the socio-economic and forced the governing changes in retirement systems. The aim of the paper is to show how authorities in Poland, trying to respond to the problem of an aging population, submit modifications to this area of social policy. In addition, in the study, primarily using descriptive and comparative method, there tried to rate the Polish pension system and there tried to show the directions and possibilities of its improvement. The conclusions and recommendations of this article can be also helpful for those responsible for the operation of pension systems in different countries

Universities of the Third Age and their role in activating older people in Poland

Lifelong education, permanent development of interests, maintaining social contacts, or participation in voluntary work are a chance for aging people to stay active for as long as possible. For societies, however, it is a series of benefits derived from the experience, knowledge, skills and time that older people have and which ones often seniors want to share with others. The aim of the article is to present the role and influence on the activation of older people of Universities of the Third Age in Poland. These are institutions that respond in a comprehensive way to the needs of seniors in the social, cultural and educational aspects

"Young family" as the subject of Polish social policy : fiction or real support?

Social policy is designed to study the changes that are taking place in the social structure under the influence of purposeful activities of public authorities and NGOs. It should also indicate directions and ways of solving contemporary social problems and evaluate the results. In today's world one of the major problems is the stability and proper functioning of the family, especially a young family. This is due to the fact that all the dysfunctions in this area involve long-term adverse socio-economic impacts on society as a whole. The purpose of this article is to analyze and evaluate the Polish activities of public authorities to ensure the development and support for young families in particular in the fields of employment, social security, housing and institutional care for children

Young people in the labor market as a challenge for social policy in selected Polish voivodoships

Osoby w wieku poniżej 25 roku życia należą do tzw. grupy osób znajdujących się w "szczególnej sytuacji" na rynku pracy. Oznacza to, że mają one poważne trudności z wejściem i utrzymaniem się na tym rynku. Powoduje to określone konsekwencje społeczno-ekonomiczne – zarówno dla tych osób, jak i dla całego społeczeństwa, które ponosi koszty zabezpieczenia społecznego. W warunkach nasilającego się zjawiska starzenia się społeczeństwa, koniecznością wydaje się podjęcie określonych działań, które pozwolą na zagospodarowanie wolnych obecnie zasobów siły roboczej – tak na szczeblu międzynarodowym, krajowym, jak i regionalnym. Celem niniejszego artykułu jest analiza i ocena dokumentów strategicznych wybranych województw z punktu widzenia zainteresowania poruszaną problematyką i proponowanych rozwiązań.People under the age of 25 years old belong to the so-called group of people at a "special situation" on the labor market. This means that they have severe difficulties in entering and operating on this market. This results in acertain socioeconomic consequences – both for individuals and for society as a whole, which will bear the cost of social security. Under the conditions of the growing phenomenon of an aging population, there seems to be a need to take specific actions that will allow for the development of currently available labor resources – both at the international, national, and regional levels. The purpose of this article is to analyze and rate the strategic documents of selected regions of interest from the point of view discussed problems and proposed solutions

Saving "for old age" : the capital forms of saving for retirement in the Polish social security system

In the times of demographic crisis, we should give particular attention to the issue of security in old age. State authorities offer different solutions to be both mandatory and voluntary. This article aims to identify the role of the capital forms of saving for retirement in the Polish social security system and show the attitude of Poles to save for retirement

Family policy as a postulate in the Polish presidential election in 2015

Istotnym elementem istnienia każdego państwa jest dbałość o właściwe funkcjonowanie rodziny. W efekcie polityka rodzinna staje się ważnym elementem polityki społecznej realizowanej przez władze publiczne na wszystkich szczeblach organizacyjnych, a zapewnienie odpowiednich warunków funkcjonowania, modyfikacje istniejących rozwiązań, i postulaty zmian w tym obszarze są elementem wielu programów wyborczych, także na urząd Prezydenta RP. Celem niniejszego opracowania jest ocena stopnia zainteresowania problematyką rodzinną wszystkich kandydatów w wyborach prezydenckich 2015 roku w oparciu o analizę zarówno dokumentów programowych dostępnych na stronach internetowych kandydatów, jak i danych pozyskanych z innych źródeł, m.in. danych Komisji Europejskiej, a także danych ze stron rządowych.An important element of the existence of each country is caring for the proper functioning of the family. As a result, family policy becomes an important element of the social policy pursued by the public authorities at all levels of the organization, and providing adequate conditions for the operation, modification of existing solutions, and demands for changes in this area are part of many election programs, also for the office of the President of the Republic of Poland. The aim of this study is to assess the degree of interest in family issues of all candidates in the presidential elections 2015 based on an analysis of program documents, which are available on the websites of all candidates, as well as on data obtained from other sources including European Commission data, as well as government websites