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Social Work vocabulary · Welfare and Benefits

Eligibility

Meaning in social work, with examples

/ˌelɪdʒəˈbɪləti/nounCore term

In social work, eligibility means: Meeting the conditions, such as age, income, need or residence, that are required to receive a service or payment.

In Turkish: uygunluk, hak sahipliği, yararlanma koşullarını karşılama

How it is used

Services set eligibility criteria, and workers check or assess eligibility. The adjective is common: be eligible for a benefit, eligible to apply. The opposite is ineligible or not eligible.

Example sentences

  1. Eligibility for the grant depends on household income.

  2. She didn't meet the eligibility criteria, so we signposted her to a local charity.

Common collocations

  • eligibility criteria
  • check eligibility
  • meet the eligibility criteria
  • eligibility rules
  • entitlementSomething, such as a payment or service, that a person has a legal right to receive if they meet the conditions.
  • means testA check of a person's or household's income and savings to decide whether they can receive financial help, and how much.
  • needs assessmentAn assessment that identifies what support a person, family or community needs, and which of those needs are not being met.
  • benefitsMoney or other support paid by the state to people who are unemployed, ill, disabled, caring for someone or on a low income.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Welfare and Benefits

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