A Critical Study on “The Three Types of Self―reliance” in the Public Assistance System

Abstract

“The three types of self-reliance” refers to financial and social self-reliance, and self-reliance in daily life. The “self-support program for public assistance” has been implemented in welfare offices since 2005, with a proposal by the policy deliberation council on public assistance serving as the starting point. The proposal included the three types of self-reliance and three types of self-support. It is said that “the three types of self-reliance” have changed the traditional idea that “self-reliance=leaving welfare,” creating a major influence on the public assistance system, policymaking, and casework. In this paper, I begin by reviewing the three types of self-reliance, especially relying on disability studies, and discuss the casework related to the introduction of self-support systems into the public assistance system. Second, I review proposals regarding “the tendency toward expanding self-reliance” by three persons who had pressed the case for self-reliance in welfare studies before the establishment of the expert councils. Finally, I discuss alternatives, including provision of assistance without self-reliance, in the welfare system.