The role of the Ministry of Social Welfare and Family of the Government of Catalonia is to administer policy on social services, women's issues, youth, the elderly, families, childhood and adolescence, immigration and support for Catalan migration, gay, lesbian and transsexual people, fostering and adoption and people with disabilities and dependency. The Ministry is also responsible for managing the care facilities of the public network of social services and to establish social inclusion policies. Furthermore, the Ministry of Social Welfare and Family also drives community action, coordinates and manages the network of civic and social facilities, encourages the civic and social consciousness as well as supports social organizations and volunteerism.

One of the main areas defined in the 2011-2014 Government Plan, which sets out the principal goals and actions that the Government aims to implement during its term of office, involves strengthening the welfare state in order to achieve a more just and cohesive society. With this in mind, the Government of Catalonia has set the following objectives:

• Make social services accessible to all citizens.
  
• Strengthen family, children's and adolescents' support policies, adapting them to new social needs.
  
• Help young people to gain independence, particularly in the areas of employment and housing, and strengthen their involvement in society.
  
• Advance towards a new social contract between men and women, guaranteeing equal opportunities and eradicating gender-based violence, and acknowledging and reclaiming women's contributions to the construction of our society.
  
• Promote citizenship policies to encourage the integration of recent arrivals in a cohesive society.
  
• Move towards a fully inclusive society, working together with other organisations and bodies.