Merita M Poni

This article provides an analysis of social policy regarding social protection of vulnerable groups in Albania, by screening whether the welfare state has responded to the varying needs of socially excluded citizens. The scope is to explore how the consecutive reforms of social policy have addressed the social effects of poverty and social exclusion. The analysis delves into the welfare policy official documents to discover how the vulnerable groups needs are addressed and what is the impact of policymakers, service providers, and service users on social policy shape. Social policy reforms developed after the totalitarian regime and have promoted familialism and gender regime, which have reinforced gender stereotypes of women as primary caregivers and have denied them equal access and full participation in the free labour market. During the transition period, the reforms faced conceptual barriers delaying their application. The minimalist approach of social policy offered insufficie...