Análisis del impacto de la crisis en los servicios sociales comunitarios en Andalucía (2008-2014)

Resum

The economic crisis that occurred in Spain, in particular, since 2008, has had a major impact on the social protection system of the Community Social Services. The austerity policies implemented by the regional and state governments have resulted in a decrease in the public funds that finance the structure of this social care system. The objectives of our study have focused on knowing how the economic crisis has influenced the Community Social Services in Andalusia by analysing the evolution of financing and spending for each of the benefits. Another aspect has been to link funding and expenditure with the type of benefits developed. We have also analyzed the evolution of the users served by the system and the evolution of the professionals. A quantitative analysis has been used and at two main levels: autonomous and provincial. These analyses have been expanded from a different perspective by differentiating between two different universes: rural (grouped in the provincial councils) and urban (grouped in municipalities with more than 20,000 inhabitants). Finally, we have analyzed the economic benefits of the different social protection systems because we understand that they provide a clear vision of how the crisis has influenced the families who use these social protection systems. In order to carry out our analysis, we have used statistical data from the Community Social Services in Andalusia and the memoirs of the Solidarity Program (Social Salary understood as a minimum income program) which are published on the website of the Ministry of Equality and Social Policies of the Junta de Andalucía, to the Concerted Plan memoirs published on the website of the Ministry of Health, Consumer Affairs and Social Welfare and to the statistical data published on the website of the National Social Security Institute. This study shows how the behaviour in the Andalusian Community Social Services is similar to that in other parts of Spain, that is to say, a reduction in funding and expenditure on each of the benefits, and decrease in the professionals of the system. We note, however, that the number of users served by this social protection system has been maintained rather than increased.