Social Assistance Perception of Social Assistance and Solidarity Foundations (SYDV) employees in Turkey: A mixed method research

Social assistance as a social policy tool has an increasing importance all over the world. The surge in poverty and its emergence in different forms necessitated different approaches in the fight against poverty. In Turkey, social assistance gains importance both in terms of institutional capacity and allocated resources. The aim of this study is to determine the perceptions of the Social Assistance and Solidarity Foundations (SYDV), which is the most authoritative institution in this regard the social assistance system in Turkey. In order to achieve this aim, the exploratory sequential design, one of the mixed research methods, was deployed in the study. First of all, in-depth interviews were conducted with social assistance and investigative officers working in SYDVs to convey their perceptions and experiences regarding social assistance. Thematic codes were created from the qualitative data obtained and the findings were evaluated with descriptive analysis method. In order to examine the factors affecting the social assistance perception of SYDVs at the quantitative stage, a survey was conducted with 358 social assistance and investigative officers selected by stratified sampling method from across Turkey. With the findings obtained from the questionnaire, the measurement tool of the quantitative stage was developed. The analysis was completed by comparing the findings obtained from the developed scale, demographic variables and the findings obtained from qualitative data in terms of social assistance recipients, functioning in social assistance, social assistance and social service, access to public services and institutional capacity. Afterwards, various policy recommendations were developed for regulatory and supervisory institutions on the issue of social assistance. As a result, this study tries to determine the perception of social assistance providers in Turkey towards social assistance and to offer solutions for improvements in this field. The claim is that this study will guide further research on the adoption of a rights-based approach in the provision of social assistance and the improvement of institutional capacity, which are among the main findings of this study.