Abstract
The purposes of social welfare are to provide assistance to persons or families in preventing, eliminating and relieving difficulties in coping, and to assist persons with special social needs in social security, development and integration into society. The principles of social welfare are the observance of human rights, the responsibility of persons for their own and their family members' ability to cope, the obligation to provide assistance if the potential for a person or family to cope is insufficient and the promotion of the ability of persons and families to cope.
1925: The very first Social Welfare Act in Estonia was adopted. According to the Social Welfare Act most of services were provided by local governments. We can find this specificity in the new Social Welfare Act.
1939 – 1991: During the Soviet period in Estonia the range of social welfare services was reduced to a minimum.
1992 – 1997: Transition period. At this moment the social welfare system on state and local level was not developed yet. And it was not a priority for the country.
1997: Breaking point: “The year 1997 marks a breaking point, as within the framework of EU Phare projects (SSCC) foreign experts were engaged by the Estonian state to develop the welfare system.” Estonia began a lot of new reform like Social Benefits for Disabled Persons Act in 2001.
