PROPOSALS TO PROMOTE SOCIAL INCLUSION: AN ANALYSIS BASED ON THE EXPERIENCES OF USERS OF SOCIAL SERVICES IN NAVARRA

Abstract

Introduction. The adaptation of inclusion policies to the realities of socially vulnerable people is on the political agenda. The issues addressed by these policies include: Labour market barriers, the trajectories of the long-term unemployed, the combination of economic benefits with inclusion resources and labour market integration. Methodology. A qualitative study was performed by means of semi-structured interviews. The latter aimed at studying subjective experiences and delving into the particular meanings these experiences had for social service users. A total of 17 users living on a minimum income and social insertion resources participated. The interview fell into two thematic blocks: Understanding the users' experiences of access and coverage of needs by social benefits; and the intervention itself, based on employment access programmes. The diversity of profiles, encompassing type of family, origin, and other circumstances, allowed to obtain complementary discourses, offering a broader vision of the object of study. Results. The discourse analysis results revealed both the value of the minimum income benefits and other gaps or points of improvement. It was thus possible to determine some key elements that would improve policy design and coordination. Discussion. The results led to five possible recommendations on how to improve interventions via inclusion policies: Adapting benefits to the real cost of living; facilitating access to housing; adapting insertion mechanisms to realities; coordinating social and employment services; and lastly, improving the Primary Care Social Services. Conclusions. The study identified the potentially inclusive nature of minimum income programmes. It also determined however, within the inclusion framework, the major potentialities, limitations, and current challenges of both minimum income and social inclusion programmes regarding the quality of social interventions. The results allow reflecting on a number of key design points of social inclusion policies to improve the interventions directed towards these sectors of the population. The present study performed a qualitative assessment of the social policies based on the voices and concrete experiences of social service users themselves.