Migrant Empowerment from State-Funded Financial Support
Migrant Empowerment from State-Funded Financial Support

The Experiences of Filipino Families Assisted by Poland’s “Rodzina 500 Plus” Program

Author(s): Norhainah C. Abdul Aziz
Subject(s): Pedagogy
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: “Rodzina 500 plus” program; financial programs; migration; empowerment-oriented social work
Summary/Abstract: Contemporary social policies and programs increasingly favor financial support due to its cost-effectiveness and reported positive effects towards program beneficiaries, including their empowerment. Empowerment as a focal concept in social work highlighted in its newest global definition is considered useful to test the effectiveness of social interventions making up for deficiencies of evaluation tools. Whilst there is a strong literature on the impact of various financial programs, the relation of empowerment and the use of cash were not widely discussed. Moreover, the existing research is confined to general impact evaluations of poverty, income, and gender discussions on the beneficiaries considered as vulnerable. There is an absence of literature on the effects of financial programs addressed to specific population groups that are non-vulnerable yet equally exposed to risks and marginalization in society. This is a qualitative study using the “Rodzina 500 plus” program in Poland as a case to investigate the relation of the use of cash in financial programs to the perceived empowerment of migrant families of Filipino and Mixed Filipino-Polish beneficiaries. The findings of this study demonstrate that empowerment is strongly affected by the use of cash, however various factors related to the subjects’ distinct identity as migrants defined their overall empowerment experience. This study aims to promote empowerment-oriented social work practice while elevating the voice of the marginalized social groups, such as migrant families.

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