The theory or practice of providing economic security and social welfare for the poor, vulnerable, disabled and elderly through government programs maintained by moneys from public taxation.

Requests for monthly assistance are made at the Ministry of Social Transformation, Local Government and Community Empowerment  in the following ways:

1. Persons come to the Division to request assistance for themselves and or another person.
2. An Intake form is then filled out by individuals with the assistance of a Welfare officer .
3. The Administrative Welfare Officer then runs the information through the targeting SL-NET  programme. A score is then produced therefore determining  the classification of vulnerability. Individuals can either be poor or Indigent . Representations are also made to Welfare Officers during their normal duties. This could occur when an Officer is paying monthly assistance, or investigating other requests. Persons may also approach the Village Clerk or the Sub-Accountant through whom assistance is paid in the particular area. The next step would be Social Investigation.

For every request, an investigation is conducted into the social and economic circumstances of the potential beneficiary. This enquiry usually takes the form of a social investigation, which must include a visit to the home of the client. This visit is necessary because in some cases, the appearance and contents of the place of abode may indicate a situation, which might not be revealed by the applicant nor envisaged by the Welfare Officer. Nevertheless, the possibility of discovering from an office interview whether or not an individual is in need is not ruled out.