Empowering social service model in the context of social welfare policy

The aim of this article is to present and discuss a developed conceptual model of empowering social service in the context of social welfare policy. During the research the qualitative and quantitative research methodologies were combined. The data presented in the paper reveals and summarizes social service providers' and recipients' assessments of their experiences in participation in the social service system. Social service recipients and providers express some of the principles of expectations, such as the importance of state funding and the regulatory role, minimum assurance of the social service needs (social democratic ideology), assignment of responsibility to the family and community, subsidiarity (the conservative ideology), all of this complementing and enhancing on the basis of non-discrimination and equal opportunities (feminist ideology).