ABSTRACT
The social welfare system in Greece has failed so far to meet the demand for new social services, and it remains almost entirely restricted to the provision of traditional welfare services. Even today, and although certain positive steps have been taken by the state during the last decade, public provision of welfare and social services in Greece is dominated by monetary benefits and care in institutions, while facilities and programmes for open social care and protection are still limited. Besides, social welfare provision is still characterised by poor planning or even lack of planning. Consequently, in many sectors, needs remain unmet, while in other sectors there is a serious overlap in provision by multiple public or semi-public bodies (KEPE 1989; Kermalis 1990; Karantinos et al. 1993; Kavounidis 1996).
