Integration Of Social Services Research Articles

INTEGRATED SOCIAL SERVICES AT SOCIAL WELFARE CENTER IN LEBAK SILIWANGI COBLONG DISTRICT BANDUNG CITY

This research aims to describe in depth the integration of social services in the social assistance program carried out by Puskesos Kelurahan Lebak Siliwangi Coblong Kota Bandung with the use of an integrative social services approach, i.e., coordination of services, cooperation, collaboration, and interprofessional. The results of the research obtained show that Puskesos Lebak Siliwangi has integrated social services into the social assistance program with the Social Services Office of Bandung City, the National Amil Zakat Agency (Baznas) of the city of Bandung, and the Rumah Amal Salman. The integration of services in the social assistance program carried out by Puskesos with the relevant parties has been done well, but there are obstacles experienced, such as inaccuracy of information of the recipients of assistance when communicating with the related parties, lack of special appreciation by the service provider, and no brainstorming in the collaboration carried on. All these problems lie on one focus of the problem, which is the lack of joint evaluation of the service process that has been ongoing.

"More than just checking the box": community-based organizations on their role in Medicaid redesigns.

New York and Massachusetts 1115 Medicaid demonstration waivers aimed to prioritize social determinants of health and engage community-based organizations to improve health outcomes. This is an evaluation of community-based organizations' public comments regarding their participation in social services delivery within the 1115 waivers. Both states solicited public comments on waiver implementation to date and potential improvements. The research team extracted all publicly available comments (n = 359) made by direct service providers between November 2016 and April 2019. The sample was then limited to only comments that discussed social service provision and health care-social service partnerships (n = 58). Findings are presented in 2 stages: (1) concerns regarding delivery system reform incentive payments funding levels, timing, and flow and (2) perspectives on how states and Medicaid administrators could improve health care-community organization relationships. Resource-dependent, community-based organizations protested insufficient funding. Additional comments identified specific design, structure, and implementation aspects of the 1115 waiver that could improve partnerships. Despite 1115 waivers prioritizing social service integration, community-based organizations still feel underfunded and disenfranchised. Aligning with health care standards requires significant time and effort. Given resource constraints, the state must facilitate these investments. Community organizations' feedback can also offer guidance on waiver strategies in other states.

Organizational and community resilience for COVID-19 and beyond: Leveraging a system for health and social services integration.

To examine how a preexisting initiative to align health care, public health, and social services influenced COVID-19 pandemic response. In-depth interviews with administrators and frontline staff in health care, public health, and social services in Contra Costa County, California from October, 2020, to May, 2021. Qualitative, semi-structured interviews examined how COVID-19 response used resources developed for system alignment prior to the pandemic. We interviewed 31 informants including 14 managers in public health, health care, or social services and 17 social needs case managers who coordinated services across these sectors on behalf of patients. An inductive-deductive qualitative coding approach was used to systematically identify recurrent themes. We identified four distinct components of the county's system alignment capabilities that supported COVID-19 response, including (1) an organizational culture of adaptability fostered through earlier system alignment efforts, which included the ability and willingness to rapidly implement new organizational processes, (2) trusting relationships among organizations based on prior, positive experiences of cross-sector collaboration, (3) capacity to monitor population health of historically marginalized community members, including information infrastructures, data analytics, and population monitoring and outreach, and (4) frontline staff with flexible skills to support health and social care who had built relationships with the highest risk community members. Prior investments in aligning systems provided unanticipated benefits for organizational and community resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our results illustrate a pathway for investment in system alignment efforts that build capacity within organizations and relationships between organizations to enhance resilience to crisis. Our findings suggest the usefulness of an integrated concept of organizational and community resilience that understands the resilience of systems of care as a vital resource for community resilience during crisis.

Integration on the Frontlines of Medicaid Accountable Care Organizations and Associations With Perceived Care Quality, Health Equity, and Satisfaction.

Amid enthusiasm about accountable care organizations (ACOs) in Medicaid, little is known about the primary care practices engaging in them. We leverage a survey of administrators within a random sample (stratified by ACO) of 225 practices joining Massachusetts Medicaid ACOs (64% response rate; 225 responses). We measure the integration of processes with distinct entities: consulting clinicians, eye specialists for diabetes care, mental/behavioral care providers, and long-term and social services agencies. Using multivariable regression, we examine organizational correlates of integration and assess integration's relationships with care quality improvement, health equity, and satisfaction with the ACO. Integration varied across practices. Clinical integration was positively associated with perceived care quality improvement; social service integration was positively associated with addressing equity; and mental/behavioral and long-term service integration were positively associated with ACO satisfaction (all p < .05). Understanding differences in integration at the practice level is vital for sharpening policy, setting expectations, and supporting improvement in Medicaid ACOs.

Community Wellness Bus: A Partner-Led Initiative to Improve Service Integration and Address Unmet Needs of Underserved Populations in Algoma District, Ontario.

Launched at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Community Wellness Bus (CWB) is an evidence-based mobile health clinic that serves high-needs populations living in Sault Ste. Marie, ON. As an Algoma Ontario Health Team partner-led initiative that works to improve health and social service integration, the CWB program is an effective, collaborative approach to address the unmet needs of individuals who are underhoused or living with a mental illness and/or addictions in the community. This article aims to identify successes, challenges and opportunities for the expansion of this program to re-engage individuals with the local health system.

Case Analysis of Platform Development for Integrated Support of Social Services Using Public Rental Housing

As the demand for social services is expanding due to the increase in the socially vulnerable class, LH Corporation has been promoting pilot projects that provide integrated social services based on public rental housing, which will be expanded nationwide in the future. Therefore, in this study, the characteristics of LH Corporation’s pilot projects for social service integration support based on public rental housing are comprehensively analyzed. In this study, 36 pilot projects conducted from 2019 to 2020 were selected and the cases were analyzed. As a result, the pilot projects had many services for the general public, and at the same time, many cases of linking social welfare services for specific groups such as elderly care were observed. In the pilot projects, there were many cases in which service spaces were newly built using vacant land in public rental housing, and in many cases, living SOC complex projects or community integrated care projects were connected to create the service spaces. The results of this study can be used as basic data for planning various business models that integrate consumer-centered social services by using spatial resources of public rental housing.

General practitioners' perception of integrated care using communication technologies: a secondary analysis of a focus group of the Horizon 2020 funded project POLYCARE

Integrated healthcare models (IC) have the objective of reducing the costs of an increased use of health service as well as the strong sectoral fragmentation of the German health care system. However, no national approach has been implemented in primary care to date. Ten GPs from the Cologne/Bonn district (60% male; Ø age = 52 years [35-65]) were invited to a focus group in 2016. The interview was part of the Horizon 2020 funded POLYCARE study. A semi-structured guideline was used to assess feasibility of the POLYCARE study protocol. GPs also provided information about previous experience with and attitudes toward IC models and the relevant information and communication technologies (ICT), such as home-monitoring or communication software. This information was analyzed using a transcending secondary analysis to evaluate conditions for their successful implementation. Participants reported little experience with IC and ICT. However, they reported being open to both and seeing potential for time savings, better networking opportunities, and increased quality of care for their patients. The integration of social services was considered as a chance of alleviating the burden of socio-medical tasks. Barriers to the introduction of IC and ICT were seen in the initial time investment, the lack of legal structures, the concern about overabundant data, and the susceptibility to failure. The nationwide expansion of social services as well as ICT that is easy to use, less susceptible to failure, and compatible with existing structures show great potential for relieving GPs. Future research should address the concerns - such as financial and time expenses of introducing IC and ICT - of GPs by systematic investigation in long-term studies. The provision of an additional legal basis that is regulating the respective remuneration models as well as the rights and obligations of all parties, IC and ICT can play a greater role in future patient care.

Canadian case studies the influence of public policies in driving health and social services integration for older adult populations

The International Journal of Integrated Care (IJIC) is an online, open-access, peer-reviewed scientific journal that publishes original articles in the field of integrated care on a continuous basis.IJIC has an Impact Factor of 5.120 (2020 JCR, received in June 2021)The IJIC 20th Anniversary Issue was published in 2021.

Seizing the opportunity: the emergence of shared leadership during the deployment of an integrated performance management system

BackgroundPerformance management systems have been introduced in health and social services institutions to improve organizational performance, supporting the emergence of new management behaviors that are more rooted in collaborative management practices. This study aims to understand how different leadership styles emerge through the implementation of a performance management system and its related tools, and how these can foster distributed leadership.MethodsOver two years, the implementation of an integrated performance management system supporting the integration of social services for children, youth, and families was studied at a recently merged Canadian healthcare organization. Qualitative analysis of data collected from 15 interviews, 3 focus groups, and over 350 h of non-participant observation was conducted.ResultsThe results show that leadership evolved to adapt to the context of organizational integration and was no longer confined to a single manager. Transformational leadership was needed to encourage the emergence of a new integrated performance management system and new behaviors among middle managers and team members. Transactional leadership was legitimized through the use of a status sheet when the integration project did not deliver the expected results. Both transformational and transactional leadership paved the way to distributed leadership, which in turn promoted collaborative practices associated with activities in control rooms and dialogue stemming from the status sheets. Distributed leadership among team members made a difference in the outcome of the integration project, which became a driver of collaboration.ConclusionsThe integrated performance management system and the use of its tools can help renew leadership in health and social service organizations. The results lend credence to the importance of distributed leadership in promoting collaborative practices to improve services for children, youth, and families. The results also highlight how various leadership styles can contribute to the emergence of distributed leadership over time.

Clinical and public policy interventions to address food insecurity among children.

This article describes the impacts of food insecurity (FI) on child health, outlines clinical and public policy interventions to mitigate FI in children, and defines new paradigms in population health to ameliorate the harmful effects of FI in children. Rates of FI among children have dramatically increased with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with particular adverse impact on low-income children. Population health innovations in screening, referral, and social service integration offer new opportunities to address FI. Despite advances in clinical practice and public policy, FI remains a persistent issue for many US children. Clinicians and policymakers have opportunities to leverage clinical and community-based integration to improve service delivery opportunities to ameliorate childhood hunger and racial and socioeconomic inequity in the United States.

Organisation of Social Policy Directed at Integration: A Modelling and Application Approach

Purpose: The aim of the study was to define the model conditions for the integration of social services in the system of social policy, to present a systemic role of the integrator of these services on a local level together with a verification based on the analysis of the integration of such services in Poland through the local government social services centres. Methodology: The authors used a systemic analysis of the organisational environment of the social policy system, extended with a literature review and critical analysis of a case study (the application of the integration of the provision of social services). Findings: It is possible to identify many variants of the realisation of social policy goals, and the choice of the one to be applied in a given country depends on the legislative solutions, the optimalisation in satisfying societal needs requires the appropriate organisation of the provision of social services, the provision of social services will be optimal and effective when it is properly organised, and the necessary condition is the integration of the activities of all the entities involved in the realisation of social services, such as institutions from the public sector, NGOs and the private sector. Practical implications: The study presents an organisational framework of the process of the integration of social services, which appears to be a rational direction for improving the quality of the system of social policy, and is a contribution to further in-depth research. Originality: The paramount aim of social policy remains the support for individuals and increasing social inclusivity of the system. It is justifiable to shape the system of social policy not only on the basis of public sector resources, but also with the support from the market sector and the social animation and citizen participation. Systemic regulation of transforming existing in Poland social welfare centers into centers integrating social services is essentially appropriate. Tthe problem is the degree of advancement of the legislative process, the pace of this transformation and the sufficiency of resources determining the effectiveness and efficiency of the integration process.

Levers of social services integration: performance management system and Lean-related management tools

IMPACT This article provides a novel perspective on the use of Lean-related management approaches in the context of social services integration. While the literature on Lean and performance management systems in public services is growing, little has been published about social services. As the demand for such services is likely to keep increasing, organizations will be under more and more pressure to deliver accessible services. This article shows how organizations providing social services can leverage management systems and their tools to favour integration and improved performance.

Regional approaches for integrating health and social services in Finland

Introduction Government policies in Finland have supported administrative and operative coordination of health and social care to create larger authorities for organising services and to strengthen integration of social services, and primary and specialised care. While nationally the policies have led to attempts to reform and consolidate the service system, in several areas, regional joint health and social care authorities have been established to boost administrative integration and to facilitate the implementation of innovative forms of integrated care (IC). Although the governments’ reform proposals for health and social care system have failed, within the preparation, many regional authorities have drafted new operations for strengthening integration of health and social services. The paper explores and systematises these regional plans to identify feasible models for developing IC in the Finnish context.Methods The study draws on extensive collection of administrative and planning documents on regional health and social services within 20 hospital care authorities in Finland. The documents collected in May-June 2019 included the annual reports of the authorities, service organisation plans and agreements between the authorities and local governments (municipalities), and regional preparatory plans for the health and social care reform. The data were complemented with interviews of regional decision makers and managers. In analysis, we identified conceptual approaches to IC, and operational preconditions and governance models of IC applied regionally.Results The authorities varied substantially in approaches to IC. Some had formed a regional IC authority for managing health and social services or decided to establish such an authority. Administrative integration did not, however, determine directly operational IC approaches, of which we identified four broad categories: 1) designers of IC-preconditions, 2) developers of IC-models, 3) IC-investigators and 4) rookies. While all authorities had established at least some preconditions for integration, such as case management, multi-professional collaboration, and integrated care pathways, the stages of their development varied and in some areas plans to proceed with integration were unspecified.Discussions For policy development, our findings indicate a wide preparedness to implement comprehensive regional IC models in Finnish health and social care. Established tools to improve integration have particularly focused on primary and specialised health care and designated care pathways. IC schemes between health and social services are less frequent, often local and focusing on multi-professional teamwork. Integration has also encompassed services for the elderly, families, and young people drawing on case-manager models and joint facilities with professionals from multiple sectors. More investment is needed for mental health and substance abuse services. ConclusionsWhile the delay of the national health and social care reform has impeded the development of a common IC framework in Finland, local approaches proceeding out of step have emerged requesting collaboration between regional health and social care authorities for identifying good IC practices.Limitations While the study is based on policy and planning documents complemented with interviews, the actual implementation of IC models has not been comprehensively analysed.Suggestions for future research Research on good practices to improve care integration is needed to support the implementation of IC models.

Commonwealth place‐based policies for addressing geographically concentrated disadvantage: A typology and critical analysis

AbstractA suite of ‘place‐based’ Commonwealth policy frameworks to address geographically concentrated socio‐economic disadvantage foreground local knowledge and devolve some decisions to multi‐government and local agent governance bodies. We analyse these policies with reference to Dewey's theory of democratic experimentalism, focussing on how publics are constituted in place and enrolled in processes of deliberation and problematisation, and on how policy success is framed. We categorise ‘place‐based’ policies into three groups. Statutory collaboration policies enable coordinated intergovernmental investment in regional economic regeneration and enact broad publics through a concern with economic growth. Collective impact policies commission for social service integration and figure the users and providers of social services as their publics. Indigenous partnership policies are concerned with ‘self‐reliance’, economic participation, and empowerment among Indigenous people. We find that only the policies in the latter type clearly provide their publics with epistemic or decision‐making power. Further research on the implementation of collective impact policies would be necessary to determine their participatory scope, and statutory collaboration policies provide little opportunity for input from their publics. Our aim is to highlight the democratic significance of who is included in place‐based deliberations and what is deemed to be valuable.

Community-based organizations\u2019 perspectives on improving health and social service integration

BackgroundCollaborations between health systems and community-based organizations (CBOs) are increasingly common mechanisms to address the unmet health-related social needs of high-risk populations. However, there is limited evidence on how to develop, manage, and sustain these partnerships, and implementation rarely incorporates perspectives of community social service organizations. To address these gaps, we elicited CBOs’ perspectives on service delivery for clients, the impact of the Whole Person Care-Los Angeles (WPC-LA) initiative to integrate health and social care, and their suggestions for improving health system partnerships.MethodsUsing stakeholder engaged principles and a qualitative Rapid Assessment Process, we conducted brief surveys and in-depth semi-structured interviews with 65 key informants from 36 CBOs working with WPC-LA.ResultsMajor themes identified by CBOs included: 1) the importance of a holistic, client-centered, continuously engaged approach that is reliant on regional partnerships; 2) benefits of WPC-LA expanding capacity and networks; 3) concerns about communication and redundancy hindering WPC-LA; and 4) a need for more equitable partnerships incorporating their approaches.ConclusionsCBOs value opportunities for integration with health systems, bring critical expertise to these partnerships, and seek to strengthen cross-sector collaborations. Early, equitable, and inclusive participation in the development and implementation of these partnerships may enhance their effectiveness, but requires policy that prioritizes and incentivizes sustainable and mutually beneficial partnerships.

The Study on Social Capital's Function and development that Appears in Social Welfare Law : The Requirements for Establishment of Local Social Security Systems and Community Care

본 연구는 한국의 지역사회보장체계에서 커뮤니티 케어와 사회적 돌봄의 요건이 되는 사회적 자본의 형성과 확충방안 제시를 목적으로 한다. 이를 위하여 사회복지법제에 나타난 사회적 자본의 개념과 주요 요소를 분석한 결과, 사회보장기본법과 사회복지개별 법률 등에서 규정하고 있는 사회적 자본의 개념은 신뢰·연계·참여·협력·호혜적 활동에 의한 사회통합의 노력을 촉구하는 것으로 나타났다. 궁극적으로 사회복지법제에 나타난 사회적 자본의 주요 요소들은 무형의 자본인 사회적 자본의 실현 방안을 촉구하고 있어 기존의 이론을 실현할 수 있는 실천적 근거를 제시하고 있다. 또한 국가와 지방자치단체가 관장하는 지역사회보장체계 구축의 구도는 사회적 돌봄의 전제가 되는 전문직 간 협력 구도와 주민 참여, 민관협력 등 복지거버넌스의 책임이라 할 수 있다. 이에 사회적 자본 구축에 의한 지역사회통합돌봄과 평생사회안전망을 보장하기 위한 광역 연계와 네트워크 등 지역사회보장체계인 지역 복지거버넌스의 사회적 자본 형성과 확충 방안을 제언하고자 한다. 첫째, 지역 공동체성 강화를 위한 사회적 자본 확충을 위하여 지역사회보장협의체의 사회보장기능의 확대가 필요하다. 지역공동체성은 신뢰, 참여, 연계와 네트워크, 협력과 호혜성을 바탕으로 새로운 사회적 자본을 확충할 수도 있으므로 종전의 지역사회복지 및 지역사회보호체계에서 지역사회보장체계로 구축되어야 한다, 둘째, 사회서비스 수요자의 네트워크를 구축하는 ‘복지멤버십’ 추진으로 사회보장정보원을 통한 기초자치단체 간 사회보장정보전달체계의 네트워크 연계와 통합이 필요하다. 서비스 수요자의 수급자격 조사의 자동화와 지자체간 정보공유 절차를 생략하는 전자정부 기능으로 서비스의 분절화를 예방한다. 셋째, 지방자치단체 간 광역 연계와 네트워크 형성에 의한 사회서비스 통합 전달체계 구축으로 복지 자원 네트워크 연계를 강화하여 지역복지와 보건의료 서비스의 간극을 해소하는 사회서비스의 보편화를 촉진한다.This study aims to present plans for the formation and establishment of social capital that is a requirement of social care and the establishment of community social security systems in Korea. For this, it analyzed concepts and major elements of social capital that appear in social welfare law. Research results show that the concepts of social capital that are stipulated by the Framework Act on Social Security and individual social welfare laws demand efforts of social integration through trust, linkage, participation, cooperation, and reciprocal activities. Eventually, the major elements of social capital that appear in social welfare law demand realization plans for social capital, which is intangible capital, providing practical grounds on which existing theories can be realized. Also, establishment structures of community social security systems that control nations and local governments can be considered the responsibility of welfare governances such as cooperative structures among specialized jobs, resident participation, and public-private partnerships, which are prerequisites of community care. At this, proposals were made of social capital establishment plans in local welfare governances such as metropolitan linkages and networks for the securement of lifelong social safety nets and social care for the establishment of social capital. First, the social security functions of local social security councils must be enlarged for social capital expansion that can reinforce local community spirit. Local community spirit can expand new social capital based on trust, participation, connections, networks, cooperation, and reciprocity so local social security systems must be established from existing local social welfare and local social protection systems. Second, network connections and integration are needed in social security information delivery systems among primary local authorities through social security sources with promotions made by welfare memberships that construct networks for social service users. The segmentation of services is prevented with electronic government functions that omit information sharing procedures among local governments and the automation of supply and demand qualification surveys of service users. Third, broad connections and networks must be formed among local governments. With welfare support network connection reinforcements among local governments, proposals can be made for the establishment of social service integration delivery systems that promote the generalization of social services.

Adapting a Complex, Integrated Health and Social Services Intervention in Two Communities

Research ObjectivePoor population health is not randomly distributed but follows a social gradient with adversity clustering in specific communities. Under the Alliance for Determinants of Health program, Intermountain Healthcare is leading a three‐year demonstration project designed to improve population health outcomes through integrating health care and social services. Recent federal policy efforts are testing interventions to address health inequities, yet little is known about how to effectively adapt these complex, highly contextual interventions to local settings.Study DesignA mixed methods analysis was used to adapt and deploy an integrated health and social services solution in two diverse communities using an intervention mapping approach. Specific steps taken to effectively adapt the intervention included the following: a needs assessment using local health needs and actuarial claims data, ethnographic field results, and key informant interviews; definition of change and performance objectives; theory and methods selection; program plan and production; and implementation and evaluation planning.Population StudiedKey national, state, and local government and community leaders, health departments, social service providers, health care providers, police/justice departments, education systems, advocacy organizations, and community members in two regionally and ethnically diverse communities in Utah.Principal FindingsThe needs assessment identified meaningful variation in local needs and available infrastructure across zip‐code‐based areas that guided selection of two communities. Program change objectives were defined, including improved local health and social services integration across sectors involving more than 50 service partners. Given the need for strong local program engagement, a multi‐ecological approach using theory‐informed methods was selected to guide local intervention development. An adapted Accountable Health Communities Model was developed including local community‐led steering committees to provide strategic oversight to local needs. Intermountain provided $6 million in funding to each community distributed by local community‐led finance committees to address local social service gaps. Weekly program huddles with Alliance partners are used to report results and to continuously improve and resolve local barriers. An external team was hired to conduct the evaluation. During the first year, 1321 eligible members underwent initial screening at an Alliance provider location; 139 members were navigated to one or more service partners demonstrating local integration feasibility. The most frequent navigation requests were for transportation (16%), dental care (15%), food (15%), clothing (9%), rent (9%), and mental health care (8%).ConclusionsLocal communities vary considerably in social service needs, capacity, and existing health care infrastructure. Intervention mapping provides a robust methodology for adapting complex integrated health and social services interventions that are responsive to the needs of diverse communities.Implications for Policy or PracticeImplementing programs that integrate health and social services is complex and multifaceted and should be designed with the local implementation in mind. Rigorous implementation science methods may reduce the risk of implementation failure and strengthen the potential generalizability of results.

Integration of Health and Social Services at the Systems Level: A Framework for Addressing Funding and Jurisdictional Silos.

Objectives. To examine spending and resource allocation decision-making to address health and social service integration challenges within and between governments.Methods. We performed a mixed methods case study to examine the integration of health and social services in a large US metropolitan area, including a city and a county government. Analyses incorporated annual budget data from the city and the county from 2009 to 2018 and semistructured interviews with 41 key leaders, including directors, deputies, or finance officers from all health care-, health-, or social service-oriented city and county agencies; lead budget and finance managers; and city and county executive offices.Results. Participants viewed public health and social services as qualitatively important, although together these constituted only $157 or $1250 total per capita spending in 2018, and per capita public health spending has declined since 2009. Funding streams can be siloed and budget approaches can facilitate or impede service integration.Conclusions. Health and social services should be integrated through greater attention to the budgetary, jurisdictional, and programmatic realities of health and social service agencies and to the budget models used for driving the systems-level pursuit of population health.

Conceptual framework: factors enabling collaborative healthcare and social services integration

PurposeA conceptual framework for collaboratively based integrated health and social care (IHSC) integration is proposed to aid in understanding how to accomplish IHSC.Design/methodology/approachThis model is based on extant literature of successfully IHSC initiatives.FindingsThe model aims to identify enabling integration factors that support collaborative integration efforts between healthcare and social services organizations. These factors include shared goals and vision, culture, leadership, team-based care, information sharing and communications, performance measurement and accountability agreements, and dedicated resources and financing. It also identifies factors that act as external influencers that can support or hinder integration efforts among collaborating organizations. These factors are geographic setting, funding models, governance structures, and public policies. These factors are intended to ensure that a realist lens is applied when trying to understand and explain IHSC.Originality/valueThis model is intended to provide a framework to support research, policy and implementation efforts.

Afetlerde Sosyal Hizmetler

İnsanların geniş kitleler halinde en savunmasız ve en muhtaç olduğu zaman dilimlerinden birisi de afet halleridir. Afetler yaşanmadan önce yapılacak temel altyapı ve fiziksel hazırlıkların yanı sıra, sosyal hizmetler açısından da hazırlıkların yapılması gerekir. Çünkü sosyal hizmetlerin doğru zamanlı ve yerinde uygulamaları ile toplumsal zarar görmüşlüğün en aza indirilmesi, afetlerin yıkım etkisinden toplumun sosyal ve ekonomik anlamda korunması sağlanır. Sosyal hizmetler ile afetlerden doğrudan veya dolaylı etkilenen kesimlere ulaşmak mümkün olur. Sosyal hizmetlerin içinde afetzedelere yönelik sosyal ve ekonomik destek süreçleri ile birlikte psikolojik iyileştirme ve koruma çalışmalarını da dahil etmek gerekir.Bu çalışmada afetlerde sosyal hizmetler için genel kuramsal çerçeve ile birlikte paydaşların tanımlanması, istenen ve beklenen etkiler için sosyal hizmetlerin organizasyon modellemesi üzerinde durulacaktır. Sosyal hizmetlerin yerel kaynaklarla bütünleşmesi erişibilirliğini ve yaygınlığını sağlar. Bu nedenle merkezi yönetimlerin destek ve himayesinde yerel yönetimlerin ve sivil toplum örgütlerinin daha etkili olmalarını teşvik etmek gerekir.