This profile was developed with the available information between 26/04/2022 and 13/06/2022, as a supplement to the overarching briefing paper Humanitarian Assistance and Social Protection Linkages: Strengthening shock-responsiveness of social protection systems in the Ukraine crisis.

Some key messages:

• Poland operates a social assistance program with a strong inclination towards family transfers and less so on guaranteed minimum income schemes, whilst making over thirty different schemes available nationally and locally. In response to the influx of refugees, the government makes the Big Four family package (Family 500+, Dobry Start, Family Care Capital, and the Nursery Benefit) available to all individuals enrolled. It is unclear how systematic the allocation of all other social assistance transfers of the national social protection system has been, partly due to uneven understanding of entitlements at the municipal level.  The value of the family packages is not intended to meet the minimum income threshold and this gap is partly covered through the support provided by aid agencies for most vulnerable families. Aid agencies reported providing targeted assistance both using “severity of need” and vulnerability criteria, although not necessarily with an explicit objective to complement government support.
• Families will need to rely on a wider package of services provided by the third sector, which is robust in Poland, and by municipal centres for social work. These local social assistance institutions face many structural issues, and, overall, the system is not fit-for-purpose to address chronic or acute poverty or a sudden surge of beneficiaries. The government will be stretched to respond to the increased needs. Although the Polish system has demonstrated a great political willingness and capacity to adapt to the refugee “shock”, there will be many medium-term challenges. As refugees settle in, localised cash and non-cash social assistance services will need to be effectively planned, sourced and delivered to refugees. This needs to be addressed through high-level political dialogue on refugee policy and strategy whilst providing surge support on the ground.