The set of articles in this collection was created as a publication space for contributions related to this topic, which were presented at conferences organized by the Institute of Social Sciences of the Faculty of Education of the Catholic University in 2009 and 2010 in connection with poverty and marriage. Their goal is to discuss the very close connection between real poverty and the family, mainly in the Slovak population, but also in the population of the Czech Republic and the Republic of Poland. Introduction

The set of articles in this collection was created as a publication space for contributions related to this topic, which were presented at conferences organized by the Institute of Social Sciences of the Faculty of Education of the Catholic University in 2009 and 2010 in connection with poverty and marriage. Their goal is to discuss the very close connection between real poverty and the family, mainly in the Slovak population, but also in the population of the Czech Republic and the Republic of Poland.

It is clear from the research that single-parent families with children (26%) and families with three or more children (26%) are at the greatest risk of poverty in Slovakia. A look at poverty according to the age of the poor also indicates that it is children and young people under the age of 17 (17%) who are significantly most at risk of poverty in the Slovak Republic.

In connection with poverty, one of the very problematic elements is its reproduction from generation to generation. Children's lives are significantly influenced by the circumstances of their parents' lives, such as their education and income. The results of PISA (2003) showed in Slovakia a highly significant relationship between the results of a child at school and the socio-economic environment from which he comes. The most significant factor determining the risk of poverty in the Slovak Republic is unemployment (45.1%), while unemployed men (50.7%) are slightly more at risk than women (40.9%).

The basic goal of the social policy of the Slovak Republic is to create such a legislative and institutional framework for the inhabitants and to adopt and implement measures that ensure the maintenance and development of human, economic, social and cultural rights and resources aimed at ensuring a decent standard of living for every person, promoting gender equality, ensuring equal opportunities and eliminating any form of discrimination. The intention is to emphasize the mutual connection of social protection and social inclusion strategies towards ensuring the fulfillment of the goal of growth, employment and social cohesion.

Support for social cohesion is also ensured through the Slovak system of assistance in material need. Based on the income of citizens assessed in the wider context of the entire family, the state provides assistance to the applicant and his entire family to ensure basic living conditions. At the same time, it helps citizens in supporting their active participation where possible. The Slovak system provides families with not only basic assistance in material need, but also specific allowances for health care, housing and protective allowance (for those who cannot work) and an allowance supporting the activation of citizens in material need.

Other tools are subsidies provided for food and school supplies to support education for children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds, or families in financial need. One of these tools is conditional on fulfilling compulsory school attendance. In addition to assistance in material need, other state benefits for supporting children and families are also aimed at supporting families and children. Especially in the case of the most vulnerable in the family - children - it is necessary to focus not only on solving acute emergencies, but also on preventive action, which means ensuring living conditions and supporting education, which in the future provide them with greater chances to avoid the risks of poverty. It is necessary that the activation elements in the system of aid in material need should aim at supporting the philosophy of active inclusion. The goal of promoting employment and social inclusion focuses on four key aspects, namely: promoting employment growth, strengthening unemployment reduction, creating tools for social inclusion and investing in capacity building. On the one hand, its main goals focus on supporting employment growth and reducing unemployment, and on the other hand, they aim to support social inclusion and increase the employability of people threatened by social exclusion from the labor market. For Slovakia, the holistic approach of the policy of active social inclusion is a key tool for supporting growth and employment. (processed according to: National Report on Social Protection and Social Inclusion Strategies for 2008-2010)

In the social field in the Slovak Republic, a policy is implemented and will continue to be implemented that is in line with traditional European values (individual responsibility, equal opportunities, the role of the family and community in caring for problem groups of people, maximizing opportunities for individual employment, society's responsibility in the fight against poverty) and emphasis is and will be placed on: - joint responsibility of the individual and his family for solving their own situation and for creating an adequate social and economic background, - balanced public support in all phases of an individual's and family's life, - individual motivation for activity and creative activity through social policy, reduction of absolute poverty through tools that will make it easier for people to solve their difficult social situation, - maintaining an effective social network and creating an environment for the most suitable own solutions of municipalities and self-governing regions, - maintaining a flexible labor market as a basic prerequisite for the creation of new job opportunities, stable work, and thereby creating space for reducing the costs of the social system. (National report on social protection and social inclusion strategies for the years 2008-2010. Slovak Republic. 2008.)

The articles in this collection present some theoretical views, connections and conclusions in the mentioned areas of social policy of the Slovak Republic, Poland and the Czech Republic, but also methodologies and work methods and the results of practical social work activities and research or survey findings of social reality in the area of poverty and the family.

Editors Contents

SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONTEXTS OF POVERTY The idea of social injustice (Ciprian Turčan) Poverty as a social problem (Janka Bursová) Current aspects of poverty in Slovak society (Slavomír Laca) Poverty, material need, unfavorable social situation and crisis social situation as an object of interest of social security law and related legal aspects (Peter Demek) Selected aspects of social work with families of rent debtors (Eva Mydlíková) Poverty and social exclusion of the elderly (Gálisová Ľubica) Analysis and expected trends in the development of aid in material need in the district (Čadca Eleonóra Nekorancová). EU aid in Ghana (Ľubica Malíková, Eva Igariová, Petr Sobek)

SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONTEXTS OF POVERTY FROM THE ASPECT OF DIFFERENT TARGET GROUPS Social groups at risk of poverty (Zuzana Budayová) The consequences of unemployment on the individual and the family (Jana Topoliová) Survey of the subjective perception of poverty in selected districts of the Košice region (Lýdia Lešková) Ubóstwo jako problem społecny i jego konsekwencje dla polskich rodzin (Grażyna Kałamaga, Izabela Zaborowska) Value orientation of young people and their attitudes in relation to poverty (Zuzana Machajová) A comparative survey of Catholic University students' attitudes toward poverty (Janka Šolcová, Anna Paločková) Characteristics of young homeless people and alternative strategies of help in the context of social work (Lenka Dzurillová) Child poverty as a global problem (Vladimíra Antolová) The relationship between crime and poverty (Tatiana Tomčíková) Poverty in the context of the Roma ethnic minority (Katarína Kotradyová) Mniejszość romska - ekonomiczne aspekti wykluczenia (Marta Smolińska) Social problems and poverty of the Roma population (Beáta Hrebenárová) Poverty and the possibilities of eliminating problems in the education of Roma children (Viera Šilonová, Vladimír Klein) Is the abuse of addictive substances a cause or a consequence of the social exclusion of addicts (Ľuba Pavelová, Petra Balážiová, Milan Tomka) Poverty of people working in the sex business - reality or fiction? (Andrea Hugáňová, Milan Tomka, Katarína Chovancová) Sport and poverty (Bohuslav Stupák) Comparison of vacancies offered by labor, social and family offices and commercial providers (Daniel Markovič)

SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND EDUCATIONAL CONTEXT OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY Marriage and family status and their importance in demography (Roman Bartoš) Love - the basis of marriage (Gabriela Šarníková) Education for marriage from the point of view of a school social worker (Zuzana Sirotiaková) The influence of the family on the formation of the child's personality (Katarína Majcherová) Managing a family with the problem of pathological gambling (Marta Vaverčáková - Zuzana Polakovičová) Let's raise children for God (Ľudmila Krajčíriková - Beáta Akimjaková) The role of the conflict guardian in the divorce process in the social protection system for children (Zuzana Gejdošová) Rodzina – jej prawa i zagorżenia (Barbara Makieła) Social aspects of homelessness, orphanhood and poor families (Alicja Kłos – Katarzyna Tomaszewska) Activities of the network of maternity centers and their contribution to contemporary society in the area of state family policy (Lenka Haburajová Ilavská) The influence of the sexual revolution on the contemporary family (Richard Kucharčík) Patriarchal elements in marriages and partner relationships in traditional Roma culture (with a focus on Olaš communities) (Denisa Selická, Lýdia Lehoczká) Quality of life through the relationship between family and society (Miroslav Hrnčiar, Gabriela Saxová) European Development Days in Stockholm October 22-24, 2009 (Ľubica Malíková) Birth rate and marriage rate in Slovakia after 1990 (Veronika Žilová) Dom pomocy spolecznej as a form of pomocy instytucjonalnej osobom olderszym w Polsce (Teresa Zbyrad)

Compilers Prof. PhDr. Anna Žilová, PhD. Doc. PhDr. Alena Novotná, PhD.

VERBUM – publishing house of the Catholic University in Ružomberok ISBN 978-80-8084-751-7