Legal mechanism for ensuring the obligation of compliance with state standards of social services

The article examines legislative and law enforcement issues related to the provision of social services to individuals and families in Ukraine in accordance with state standards. The study explores the challenges associated with establishing an effective legal mechanism to ensure compliance with relevant regulations by socially obligated entities within social security legal relations. It is argued that the content and procedure for performing actions constituting the duty of a specially authorised socially obligated entity, as well as its legal responsibility for failure, improper, or incomplete fulfilment of its obligations in the sphere of realising an individual’s or family’s right to social services, require comprehensive legislative regulation as an integral component of the legal mechanism for ensuring the rights of vulnerable population groups to social services. It is emphasised that state standards establish uniform requirements for public, municipal, and private providers of social services. A critical analysis is conducted on the provisions of the Law of Ukraine «On State Social Standards and State Social Guarantees» from the perspective of defining the concept, content, and system of state standards in the field of social service provision. The study highlights the necessity of legislatively defining the term «norms and standards for the provision of social services.» It is substantiated that the definition of consumption norms does not characterise the relevant concept as an element of the legal mechanism for realising an individual’s right to social services. Consequently, it cannot be interpreted as an indicator for state control in the field of social service provision, nor as an element of the legal protection mechanism for an individual’s or family’s right to social services. The failure to comply with such a norm is difficult to identify as a violation of legislation in the sphere of social service provision or social protection, as well as a lawful basis for holding the violator (whether a local government official or a specialist providing social services) legally accountable. Furthermore, the article analyses the content of the State Standard for Social Support of Families (Individuals) in Difficult Life Circumstances from the perspective of identifying its constituent elements, the violation of which during service provision should entail the application of legal liability measures. It is stressed that there is a need to define criteria for the proper quality of social services and to expand the requirements concerning the content of the concept of «accessibility of social services».