Exploring European Social Support:Staffing Issues, Digitization & Best Practices
Published on
30/09/2025
About this challenge
Poland
Challenge description
Warsaw has been developing a local social services system for many years, responding to the needs of residents in the areas of family support, seniors, and people with disabilities. Despite existing solutions, the system faces significant challenges. We want to draw inspiration from best practices from other European cities to improve the quality and effectiveness of social support in the capital.
Challenges:
• Staffing and Assistance Services
A persistent challenge remains the recruitment and retention of personnel such as family assistants, assistants for persons with disabilities, and caregivers for the elderly. There is a growing need to explore effective strategies to attract, motivate, and retain professionals in these roles. This includes improving working conditions, recognition, and professional development opportunities.
• Digitization and Simplification of Documentation in Family Assistance Work
A key issue is the excessive amount of time spent on paperwork, which reduces the time assistants can dedicate directly to families. Therefore, there is a clear need to streamline administrative processes and introduce digital tools that support real-time documentation and reduce the bureaucratic burden.
Examples include the use of electronic notes, mobile access to case files, and integrated systems that facilitate data entry and reporting during fieldwork.
• Learning from International Best Practices
An important objective is to understand how social services are delivered and granted in other EU countries, with particular focus on the systems supporting assistants for persons with disabilities, family assistants, and care services for the elderly.
Challenges:
• Staffing and Assistance Services
A persistent challenge remains the recruitment and retention of personnel such as family assistants, assistants for persons with disabilities, and caregivers for the elderly. There is a growing need to explore effective strategies to attract, motivate, and retain professionals in these roles. This includes improving working conditions, recognition, and professional development opportunities.
• Digitization and Simplification of Documentation in Family Assistance Work
A key issue is the excessive amount of time spent on paperwork, which reduces the time assistants can dedicate directly to families. Therefore, there is a clear need to streamline administrative processes and introduce digital tools that support real-time documentation and reduce the bureaucratic burden.
Examples include the use of electronic notes, mobile access to case files, and integrated systems that facilitate data entry and reporting during fieldwork.
• Learning from International Best Practices
An important objective is to understand how social services are delivered and granted in other EU countries, with particular focus on the systems supporting assistants for persons with disabilities, family assistants, and care services for the elderly.
This city is looking for
We aim to explore European approaches to the provision and allocation of social services. Moreover we are focusing on systems supporting assistants for persons with disabilities, family assistants, and home caregivers. We are especially interested in learning from other countries’ experiences in addressing staffing shortages. How do they motivate their employees? What methods do they use to make these professions more attractive? Additionally, we are very interested in digital solutions implemented in European countries to support the work of family assistants (e.g., electronic notes, real-time documentation). This knowledge will help us improve the efficiency and quality of social service delivery in Warsaw.
City size
Large city (500k to 1M inhabitants)
Author
Wiktoria Ziomko
Poland
Junior Clerk
City of Warsaw
