Protecting individuals from economic bankruptcy. A challenge for social services in Spain

Abstract

Excessive borrowing by Spanish families linked to the massive job losses in the last three years, and all within a context of severe economic recession, is leading to an exponential increase in the risk situations of social exclusion for economic reasons. This can lead to the breakdown of social cohesion and harmony. These new processes of exclusion of obvious economic etiology have highlighted the lack of legal protection of citizens against the phenomenon of distress in our country, especially in relation to the mortgage debt. This article includes a brief review of the latest data from the economic crisis and its impact on citizens. It then analyses some of the over–indebtedness protection systems used by some countries in the OECD area in order to glimpse what might be the most suitable in the Spanish context and what role might play the public system of social services in this context. Economic insolvency situations are one of the obvious causes of exclusion to be addressed proactively, instead of just putting in place some remediation policy. The article is extracted from an open debate being conducted by the State Association of Directors and Managers of Social Services; it aims to be a contribution to reach the challenge that are facing the authorities in Spain regarding the problems of indebtedness for the next decade: a new challenge for social service.