Regarding the Problem of Non-take-up of Cash Social Assistance in Lithuania

Abstract

Sometimes social assistance is not taken, even though it is legally due. Potential recipients do not apply or are simply unaware of the social assistance available. The results of the research „Causes, extent, and identification methodology of social assistance benefits non-take-up in municipalities of Lithuania, and nationwide“, which was carried under the project in 2021-2022 by a group of researchers from Mykolas Romeris University, Vilnius, Lithuania, led by assoc. prof. Vida Česnuitytė (the other members of the group - lect. Dainius Bernotas, Ingrida Grincevičiūtė, prof. Arvydas Guogis), have appeared in several media articles, as well as TV and radio programmes in Lithuania. The project was related to the following monetary social assistance benefits in Lithuania: social benefits in case of poverty, heating compensation, cold and hot water tax compensation and home loan interest coverage. The project presented a review of foreign literature on the topic, which did not appear to be extensive, and a combination of quantitative and qualitative research was conducted: observation, a representative quantitative survey of the Lithuanian population, focus groups with experts in Lithuanian regions (rajonai), and a Delphi survey of experts. The results of the research confirm to great extent the earlier findings of Reijnders, the main reasons of social assistance non-take-up are: 1) social-psychological, 2) social-informational, 3) socio-cultural (also known as socio-normative reasons), and 4) public administration reasons, which include bureaucratic-organisational obstacles. In this article the author presents some of the results obtained during the project and suggests the recommendations for overcoming the problem of non-take-up of cash social assistance in Lithuania.