Renovating your home, getting your permit, setting up your own business… In France, there are more than a hundred national grants (and even more local grants) to give you a hand in difficult times. But too often, you do not take advantage of these benefits, even though you would be entitled to them. This phenomenon has a name: non-recourse. And, for several years, the government and associations have been multiplying initiatives to put an end to it.
Every year more than 10 billion euros social assistance would not be claimed by their potential beneficiary, according to a study. The reasons? The complexity of the administrative procedures, the fear of being stigmatized or, quite simply, a lack of knowledge of the existing systems, explains Joseph Terzikhan, founder of the mes-allocs.fr platform.
I was missing a lot of papers, I was blocked for everything. I found myself wandering from service to service, until I was exhausted and gave up, summarizes Karim, a Catholic Relief Services volunteer in a situation of non-recourse. He is not the only one. The procedures require time and of theenergy, two resources of which the most precarious, who are struggling to keep their heads above water, are often lacking, confirms David Verger, head of studies and research at Secours Catholique. However, solutions exist.
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Online simulators
For a long time, the state felt little concern by non-recourse, considering that it was up to the recipient to know and assert his rights. However, mentalities are changing and, in recent years, the government has changed its tune. If benefits have been created in the service of strategic objectives, such as the reduction of poverty, the fact that these benefits do not reach their target (…) is a obstacle policy, notes Emmanuelle Nauze-Fichet in a report by the Department of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics (DREES).
Among the avenues explored by the public authorities to fight against non-recourse, the creation of free simulatorsthe best known of which, accessible on the website mesdroitssociaux.gouv.frallows citizens to check their eligibility 58 assists in less than 15 minutes. More recently, the simulator of1jeune1solution.gouv.fr help them under 30 find the social benefits to which they are entitled, whether it is housing, buying an electric bike or getting their licence.
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In total, the device identifies more than 400 helpers national and local. We work daily on adding new helpers, explains Charlotte, a member of the team working on the simulator. The difficulty is that today there is a lot of aid, made available at different levels by a multiplicity of actors. One administrative mille-feuille in which rights holders sometimes find it difficult to find their way.
At least until now, since with 80000 visits monthly, the 1jeune1solution.gouv.fr simulator seems to have found its audience. And the first results are there. According to a survey conducted by the platform, 65% Internet users would have taken steps at the end of their simulation and, for 43% of them, the request would have resulted in obtaining a social benefit.
Local counters
However, the simulators prove incapable of curbing non-take-up on their own. Steps are increasingly taken online, observes David Verger. However, if the digital has advantages, it involves having electronic messaging and knowing how to use it to connect and update your file. As much barriers for those who do not master computer tools.
To fight against digital exclusion and put people back at the heart of the process, the Macron government announced, in April 2019, the creation of houses France Services. The principle? One-stop local counters giving access, in the same place, to the main public service organizations (Ple emploi, Retirement insurance, Family allowance fund, etc.). In total, 2055 counters were opened to facilitate administrative procedures throughout the country, particularly in rural areas and priority neighbourhoods.
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This is real progress, recognizes David Verger. But it would be possible to go even further in the fight against non-recourse, by establishing, for example, a single referrer who would be in charge of coordinating the whole file of the recipients.
Among the other proposals made by Secours Catholique: theautomating the payment of certain aid, as is already the case with the energy check, and the implementation of repayment schedules in the event of undue payments. Today, when the CAF make a mistake, they can request immediate reimbursement of the overpayment, explains David Verger. Very often, however, recipients have already spent the sums receivedand find themselves in an even more precarious financial situation.
The fear of having to repay aid received in error is also a factor in non-recourse, confirms Joseph Terzikhan. To support rights holders in their procedures, the founder of mes-allocs.fr relies on a hybrid strategy. We have developed a simulator which identifies more than 1200 helpers and allows everyone to have a quick and free estimate of all their rights. Once the simulation is over, those who wish can benefit from remote administrative support from a dedicated adviser, he explains. The platform, which offers its services at the price of 30 euros per quarter, claims an average saving of 3200 euros per year. Since its creation, it has supported 23,000 beneficiaries.