COMMUNITY SOCIAL WORK ABROAD: HISTORY AND MODERN DEVELOPMENT TRENDS

Abstract

For Ukraine, which is in the process of establishing social work in the community in connection with the implementation of the reform of decentralization and the transfer of a significant part of the powers from the «center to the local place», the study of foreign historical and contemporary experience of this process is extremely relevant. The history of developing community social work in the world goes back to the end of XIX century and is associated: with the settlement centers creation firstly in England, latterly in the USA for providing of a variety of social services to different categories of community residents due to their needs; employment of community workers; separation of community social work as a third method of social work; appearance of various movements standing up for the socially oppressed people; transferring of social work to local level and increasing the number of services social workers provide at the community level. The last events change community-based social work into individually oriented. As a result of all transformation that was going on in the process of community social work development abroad a number of European (Great Britain, Germany, France, Poland, Czech Republic, etc.), North America (Canada, USA) and Asia (India) countries have got a significant and long-standing experience of social work at the local level. It is characterized as a period of globalization and “McDonaldization” of social work as a field of professional activity. The principles of McDonald’s construction as a network of fast food establishments are laid as basic in the development of the society of the 21st century, and the relationships in it. Social work as a profession is no exception. In this process, we can highlight the positive steps that should be taken into consideration by domestic researchers and practitioners involved in the identified issues, as well as the steps that should be avoided in Ukraine and the ways of decentralizing social work as a system for providing social services at the place of residence of recipients. Studying foreign experience will allow highlighting positive ideas that can and should be implemented in Ukraine, taking into account national realities and avoiding mistakes.