The development of targeting methods for government social programs has to date experienced favorable progress. However, since the issuance of Law No. 52/2009, there has been a shift from household-based targeting to family-based targeting. This paper offers an alternative method to determine a set of comprehensive criteria for family-based targeting. To establish the criteria, an analysis of locally-specific welfare indicators are undertaken. These indicators are used to determine levels of family welfare categories. The categories are set based on a number of variables which weigh the highest. These main variables may vary among regions.

The levels of family welfare are determined through descriptive analysis and Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The levels defined are used for program recipient targeting based on the budget allocation for a region. The result of the analysis can be used for better targeting based on program clusters, such as education or health, in a given area.