Social Service Clients Research Articles

METHODOLOGICAL JUSTIFICATION OF THE GERONTOLOGICAL CARE PRACTICE IN SOCIAL WORK: SOCIOLOGICAL AND DIDACTIC ASPECTS

The article reveals methodological approaches to the scientific study of the content of gerontological assistance to clients of social services as a direction of professional social work and a segment of university social education. A conceptual justification is given for the synthesis of sociological and didactic aspects of understanding gerontological social work in modern society. A theoretical and methodological analysis of socio-cultural factors of gerontological assistance to clients of social services and controversial issues of training future social workers in universities in technologies of gerontological assistance to the population is carried out.

Experiences of participation in people with intellectual disability, in relation to service support received, and views from professionals in the field of disability.

Purpose: to describe experiences of people with intellectual disability of participating in the cognitive adapted annual national user survey of social services, and their perception of participation in the municipalities' improvement work. Additionally, social service professionals' views of opportunities to involve people with intellectual disability in improvement work based on survey results. Methods: Focus groups of people with intellectual disability and individual interviews with professionals were conducted and analysed, using content analysis. Results: People with intellectual disability expressed they felt listened to, and supported in expressing their views, but there was discrepancy between their and professionals' perceptions of whether their views were considered, and if they were involved in the improvement process. Conclusions: Evaluating services received from social services is important, expressed by people with intellectual disability and professionals, but improvement is needed to feed back results to social services clients, and to involve them in the improvement process.

Social Work Professional Competencies and Educational Programs Specialized Practice. Theoretical Analysis

The practice of social work starts from the period of university education – bachelor and master educational programs, where students are guided, supervised by experienced professionals to develop the competencies and skills of relating to clients of social work services, step by step. The purpose of this work is to theoretically analyze the relation between specialized education programs during bachelor's and master's studies and the desired competencies of social workers. We will refer to the international literature to understand a global perspective on the practice of social work from the perspective of education in the field. We will focus on the identification of key competencies of social workers, in Romanian and American social work practice and educational system

К вопросу о профессиональном здоровье социальных работников

The article considers modern aspects of professional health of social workers. Today, the practice of social services carries out a systematic transition from various aspects of social control and patronage to psychosocial technologies of personality-oriented and social interaction, psychological and social counseling, collective and individual work with requests from various social groups of the population and clients of social services in general. The main purpose of the type of professional activity of a social worker, according to the professional standard, is to provide social services to recipients of social services in order to improve living conditions and (or) expand their ability to independently provide for their basic life needs. Social workers, in the process of performing diverse work functions, may face various professional stresses and difficulties, which, in turn, may affect their professional health, the development of professional deformation and the occurrence of symptoms of professional burnout. The rather rapid pace of digital transformation of educational activities entails the need to transform approaches to the professional training of social workers in the context of understanding the basics of maintaining professional health as a subject of labor both during training in higher educational institutions and in the process of mastering additional professional programs. For already working social workers with a certain experience of social activity, in the context of maintaining professional health, it is advisable to implement programs of psychological and pedagogical support of professional activity. In constantly changing socio-economic conditions, social workers need to maintain their professional and personal potential, which will allow them to be involved in active social life and in professional activity.

Coping Strategies of Social Service Clients over the Course of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Qualitative Research on Social Workers in Poland

This paper aims to establish strategies of coping with COVID-19 pandemic adopted by the clients of social assistance from the perspective of social workers. The qualitative research among Polish social workers and family assistants was conducted from September to November 2021. Based on 30 in-depth interviews with social work professionals, groups of social assistance clients’ behaviours were identified and classified into the theoretical models of reactions to social change by Merton and Giddens. The following types of behaviour have been selected and categorized into four groups of reactions when dealing with social workers in a pandemic situation: coolheaded calculation, defiance, confusion, and adaptation. At the same time, reactions to the situation of social change were categorized into one of the strategies of active or passive behaviour: innovation, contestation, retreat, and acceptance. In addition, we discussed the impact of clients’ coping strategies on social workers and established three attitudes of the surveyed social workers: adapting to the pandemic situation and customer behaviour, assuming the role of an emotional buffer and informant, and expecting support from superiors and coworkers. Knowing the behaviour of social assistance clients in a challenging situation makes it possible to adopt tailor-made measures.

SOCIAL POLICY FOR THE MIDDLE CLASS NEEDS AND CHALLENGES IN THE LIGHT OF MEMOIRS

The authors address the issue of selected elements of the social policy offer in the context of the contemporary social challenges and changing recipients needs. They draw attention to the representatives of the middle class who, as a subject of interest for creators of social policy offer, and also as the clients of such social services, remain marginalized. By analyzing the significance of the crises (unemployment and health crisis), they recognize their consequences for the quality of life and the possibility of fulfilling the aspirations of the middle class, offering the extension of the social help offer which will not be limited to the reacting to the crucial deficits and dependency. The authors take a closer look at the identity of the middle class, discussing its values, norms and needs from the perspective of shaping the future offer of support, relevant to its needs and social costs. They point to the importance of the middle-class orientation to the success, the cult of self-sufficiency, as well as status insecurity and loosening of the social bonds for the formation of the needs and ways of satisfying them. Based on the diaries of the unemployed people and the diaries written during the COVID-19 pandemic, they analyse selected issues related to the quality of labour market services and the health care system. They address the issue of the connection of state-led social policies with the design of a new service perspective.

Har problemen blivit värre?

Have the problems gotten worse?- An analysis of how problems and need for help in the area of mental health, alcohol and drug use have changed over time for social service clientsChanging patterns of addiction and increased psychiatric comorbidity pose new challenges for social services. As part of systematizing the work of assessing and investigating the need for help for people with alcohol or drug problems, use of the Addiction Severity Index is recommended. This descriptive quantitative study examines and compares how social workers and clients estimate the extent of a client’s problems in three areas: mental health, alcohol and drugs. Based on interviewer and client estimates, the study also examines whether the problems are estimated differently over time, from 2003 to 2017. The study includes ASI material for 15,005 people whose need for help for alcohol or drug problems has been investigated and assessed by the social services in 65 Swedish municipalities. The study shows that both clients and social workers estimate an increased problem level for the ASI domains of mental health and drugs. For alcohol, the trend is the opposite or is unchanged. Overall, interviewer as well as client estimates indicate an increased need for help and support for problems related to mental health and drug use, while the need for help and support for problems related to alcohol is unchanged or decreases over time among social service clients.

The Characteristics of Social Service in Different Types of Settlements: As Seen by Consumers of Services (Based on the Results of an all-Russian Survey)

Today the system of social services is being transformed, the number of social service providers is growing, and new forms of interaction with recipients of social assistance are being introduced. A special role in the new configuration of the social service system is given to socially oriented non-profits and social entrepreneurs. This article presents the results of a study of the social service system from the viewpoint of recipients of social services. The main method for collecting information was an all-Russian online survey among social service clients or their representatives. The research methodology involved distinguishing 5 clusters according to type of settlement (megacities, cities with a million-plus population, large cities, small towns and rural areas). The sample consisted of 2267 people. Based on the results of the study, main groups of social services in various types of settlements were proposed. The results showed a lack of development of the non-state service sector in all identified clusters. Barriers preventing the involvement of NGOs in the social services system are associated, on the one hand, with the conviction of the citizens themselves (especially the older generation) that only state institutions can provide quality and free services. On the other hand, many NGOs do not want to be listed in regional registries of social service providers, primarily due to low tariffs, reporting mechanisms and cost recovery. Residents of small towns and rural areas often face a lack of choice, the dominance of one type of provider, underdeveloped social infrastructure in their area, and a limited list of services available to them free of charge.

"Všechno stejný, všechno zastavený": Karanténa v "domově" pro lidi označené za postižené

While many evaluations of the response from residential social services to the COVID-19 pandemic have pointed to high mortality rates and human rights violations, some have given a positive assessment of their performance. Whatever the verdict, it is a fact that the clients of residential social services were subject to stricter and longer lockdown measures than the rest of the population. Our ethnographic research describes the lockdown technologies used at Home F, a residential institution for people identified as disabled. Setting out from the assumption that freedom is not the antithesis of some united regulatory regime but is the result of the intersection of various repertoires and logics of influence, the research analyses the 'passages' that regulate relations between the clients and their surroundings before and during the pandemic. It shows that the regulatory mechanisms that were put in place to facilitate an effective pandemic response do not constitute a new apparatus but only an intensification of technologies already in place. With the aim of mitigating risk, they delegitimise the needs of clients, render relations dependent on obedience, and pass moralised judgements on behaviour. Such 'pedagogical arrangements' cause emotional suffering and do not leave much space for freedom. In the discussion in the article we link our findings to the current debates about the productivity of power and (post)critical pedagogy, concluding that while pedagogy necessarily accompanies the management of risks, a critical gesture that delegitimises the interests and opinions of the objects of pedagogy may not be the most appropriate pedagogical method available.

Evolution of paradigms in the study of depression: from a unitary concept to a biopsychosocial model and interdisciplinary approaches

The review is devoted to the consideration of the history of paradigms in the study of depressive disorders in terms of modern understanding of depression in psychiatry and clinical and medical psychology and its correlation with the biopsychosocial model in medicine. The review also contains works devoted to the study of the prevalence and comorbidity of depressive disorders and their relationship with suicidal behavior. The existing limitations in the study of depressive disorders in psychiatry and clinical psychology and the issues of interdisciplinary integration and interdisciplinary barriers are considered in detail. The review includes publications indexed in the Web of Science, Scopus, Russian Science Citation Index, and PubMed databases. Depression is a major medical and psychological problem due to its widespread prevalence in the general population, in primary care, among patients with various chronic somatic symptom disorders who receive treatment in community and specialized hospitals and clinics, and among clients of psychological centers and social services. In 1996, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, based on the materials of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank, published estimates and prognosis for the prevalence of depressive disorders around the world. According to their data, depression in 1990 was ranked 4th in terms of the severity of the leading causes of the burden of the disease, and according to the baseline scenario of development, by 2020 it should have been ranked 2nd after coronary artery disease. The review is focused on the need to revise the baseline scenario of development and start a new discussion on the study of depressive disorders under new conditions, such as the psychological state of society during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, as well as on the eve of healthcare transition to the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases.

Grant Programs as Tools for the Third Sector Development

The paper is devoted to the timely challenge of understanding how implementing long-term grant competitions organised by non-governmental founds develops the Russian third sector. The focus of the investigation moved from the direct results of grants implementation to indirect influences on third sector infrastructure. On the one hand, the third sector cannot be effective under strict official government regulation. On the other hand, spontaneous development of this sector which is oriented only to grassroots activities and market demand, decreases its effectiveness. Our investigation is based on materials of implementation of concourse “Active generation”, which is provided by regional NGOs by support from Elena and Gennady Timchenko Foundation 2011—2019. The empirical base is formed by investigating a comprehensive range of sources such as statistical reports of grant receivers, semi-structured interviews with regional operators, internet survey of organisations-applicants and face-to-face interviews with beneficiaries of the projects. According to our findings, a long-term grant programme which is implemented by partnerships between regional resource centres creates new social networks between all participants of this concourse and strengthens not only work with the oldest generation but also increased intensity of other social services. At the same time, the effective development of the third sector infrastructure depends on the synergy between all stakeholders such as official bodies, NGOs, social services and clients of social services. Due to the influence of the concourse, which is the outside factor for a particular region, all stakeholders can pull together for the realisation or split apart/compete and can create some barriers for development. Our research identifies the main vectors of interaction and formulates recommendations for their settlement.

Strategies to engage with involuntary clients

Summary This study explored strategies for dealing with involuntary social service clients of Social Services Centers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Purposive sampling was employed to recruit 21 social workers engaged with involuntary clients from three cities in the UAE (Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Gharbia), representing different regions and demographic variables. Data was collected via in-depth semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic content analysis (TCA) and Leximancer software Version 4.5 to validate the results. Findings During the interviews, participants described emerging strategies that they found effective for engaging involuntary clients: effective communication, a conducive atmosphere, a positive attitude, client profile/history, freedom of speech, openness, comfort, confidence building, rapport building, supportive environment and empathy. Applications This study created new understandings about social work in the Middle East, relevant for other parts of the world, about tactics that can be used to develop effective communication with involuntary clients.

Becoming More Rugged and Better Resourced: The R2 Resilience Program's© Psychosocial Approach to Thriving.

The past decade has seen growing interest in interventions that build resilience as a complementary practice to trauma-informed care. From school-based programs focused on self-regulation and academic success to programs that support the well-being of disadvantaged populations or healthcare workers at risk of burnout, the concept of resilience is being used most commonly for programming that builds the capacity of individuals to adapt under conditions of adversity. Critiques have raised concerns that resilience-promoting programs demonstrate bias toward changing individual-level factors such as cognitions (e.g., mindfulness and grit), behavior (e.g., expressing gratitude and changing personal routines), or attachments (e.g., feeling secure in relationships) which help people adapt to socially toxic situations without changing access to the resources they require to overcome exposure to adverse psychosocial factors. This trend belies advances to the theory of resilience which support a more contextualized, multisystemic understanding of how external protective factors (resources) enhance individual qualities (ruggedness) and vice versa. Building on a multisystemic description of resilience, the R2 Resilience Program© was developed and piloted with six different populations ranging from clients of urban social services to workers in a long-term care facility, managers in the health care sector, staff of a Fortune 500 corporation, students in a primary to grade 12 school, and adult volunteers affiliated with an international NGO. Focused on building both individual ruggedness and enhancing people’s resources (the two Rs), the program provides contextualized content for each population by selecting from 52 resilience promoting factors with a strong evidence base to create training curricula that enhance the personal qualities and social, physical, and institutional resources most likely to support resilience. This paper reviews the justification for a multisystemic approach to designing resilience interventions and then explains the process of implementation of the R2 program. Preliminary findings are reported, which suggest the program is experienced as effective, with evaluations ongoing.

INVISIBLE OLDER PEOPLE: LGBTI+

LGBT older people are an integral part of the ageing population. Due to the unfavourable social climate, they have faced homophobia, discrimination, ostracism, criminalisation, and psychiatrisation for a significant part of their lives; therefore, they remain highly distrustful, wary and reserved to institutions providing social and health services. As a result of years of negative experience, older LGBTI+ people feel very vulnerable and threatened by disrespect of dignity, inappropriate (ill) treatment or even abuse even in these institutions, which is why they hide their identity and sexual orientation. Yet, older LGBTI+ people are clients of both health and social services, as well. However, their situation in health and social institutions has not been adequately dealt with in the Czech socio-cultural environment yet, and older LGBTI+ people are the so-called “invisible minority”, “not seen” even by the managers of these facilities, as our research, the results of which we present here, has demonstrated. Setting the quality of services provided and eliminating potential discrimination, however, requires raising the profile  of the issue and raising awareness among care professionals.

Durable Homelessness: From Negotiations to Emulation

In recent decades, Sweden has seen extensive change in its housing policy, with emphasis shifting from “good housing for all” to marketisation and the supposed benefits of private ownership (Bengtsson, 2013; Grander, 2018). Consequently, Swedish society is now facing increasing homelessness rates, including whole new groups of social service clients due to housing shortages and people’s difficulties accessing the housing market. This article examines the complexities emerging from diverging institutional frames and points specifically to a dividing line between those who can access housing independently and those who need support from the social services. The article describes how such a categorical division/dividing line is institutionalised in the organisation of the social services’ work with homelessness and points to causes and effects of this situation. The case study is based on interviews and documents. The interviewees are staff from the municipal social services and the municipal public housing company. Our theoretical point of departure is Tilly’s (1999) “categorical inequality,” using exploitation, opportunity hoarding, emulation, and adaptation to explain how homelessness is (created and) maintained in our case study. The results show the dependency of social services on external actors and demonstrate the problematic consequences both for those referred to social services and for the practical work within them, including a requirement to stringently control clients. The results further show how it is possible for the social services to maintain collaboration with (public) housing companies at the same time as the most vulnerable clients are permanently denied housing.

Preference of Methods and Goals of Further Education from the Social Workers‘ Point of View

Further education of the employees in the field of social work is one of the future challenges. The goals of further education are constantly changing with regard to the changes in society and the requirements of the clients of social services. Social work represents a multidisciplinary conception of the performed work and a continual need for further education. In organizations, further education is implemented through various educational methods, which are also evolving. The article aims to identify which educational methods in the field of social work are preferred, both within the leading managerial positions and within the ones of social workers, and to describe the goals of further education in both groups. The goal was achieved through the quantitative research conducted in both groups – i.e. the managers and the social workers. Using the Survio platform, the research addressed organizations providing social serviced according to the Register of Social Service Providers of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic. The results were processed using descriptive statistics, and conclusions were drawn based on the results. The results showed different preferences of educational goals for managers who prefer the expansion of competencies and for social workers who prefer development. Research into the preference of educational methods has found that managers and employees prefer professional lectures, self‑education and Internet resources.

Adjustment Disorder Amongst Welfare Social Service Clients: The Role of Period of Service Receipt and Social Worker’s Alternation

AbstractAdjustment disorder is a maladaptive reaction to common life events. Levels of adjustment disorder can serve as one of the indicators of the effectiveness of social services interventions. Yet, the role of service receipt period and of social worker alternation in explaining levels of adjustment disorder remains unclear. In order to explore this issue, structured questionnaires were distributed to a random sample of 190 clients of a social services department in Israel. Whilst no significant differences were found between service receipt periods with regard to clients’ adjustment disorder, clients treated by a single social worker reported lower levels of adjustment disorder than those treated by alternating social workers. Furthermore, new and long-standing clients, treated by alternating social workers displayed higher levels of adjustment disorder than those treated by a single social worker. The importance of therapeutic alliance is discussed in light of the present findings.

PHENOMENON OF DEVELOPMENT OF PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE OF SOCIAL WORKERS IN RESEARCH OF DOMESTIC SCIENTISTS

The process of formation of professional competencies of social workers in Ukraine is an important aspect of their education in higher education institutions of Ukraine. The analyzed domestic scientific works allow us to conclude that the professional competencies of social workers are a complex structure and consist in addition to mastering practical and theoretical methods of social work of the following competencies: socio-emotional, socio-legal, psychological and life. Another important factor for the formation of professional competencies of modern social workers in Ukraine is the implementation of successful cases in various spheres of social life as an element of successful adaptation and self-realization to the conditions of direct activity in practical social work and increase the authority of social workers among clients of domestic social services and institutions. etc. The purpose of the article is to study the features of the phenomenon of formation of professional competence of social workers. General scientific and special research methods beame the theoretical and methodological basis for studying the peculiarities of the formation of professional competence of a social worker in domestic scientific works. In the course of the research the methods of historical, systemic and structural-functional analysis were used − for the theoretical analysis of the formation of professional competence; methods of analysis and synthesis − to clarify the genesis of the concept of «professional competence», its application in theoretical science and social practice; comparative analysis and methods of document analysis; method of classification and typology − to determine the types of competencies in domestic scientific works; comparative analysis of documents - to study the practices of using the concept of «professional competence of a social worker», etc. We have established that today in the process of organizing education in higher education it is important to change the priorities in the formation of professional competencies of social workers through the introduction of competency-based training of future social workers. It has been determined that the competencies of a social worker change over time. It is substantiated that the most important professional competencies of social workers are communicative, social and legal competencies, as well as methodological competencies in the field of social work with different groups of clients and psychological readiness to carry out direct professional activity.

Ukrainian

Th is article is devoted to the issues of formation and functioning of innovative social work practices in Ukraine. Its purpose is to highlight the best examples of innovative social work practices for vulnerable groups in the country and to analyze the possibilities for their further application. Th e relevance of the study, on the one hand, is conditioned by the humanization of approaches to building relationships between the individual and the social protection system, the appearance at the state level of the requirements for the quality of social services, which are refl ected in the activities of social services, creating certain new models of work with socially vulnerable groups of citizens, and on the other hand it is conditioned by the severity and unresolvedness of a number of social problems related to the social protection of vulnerable populations. Such general scientifi c methods as generalization and analogies logical analysis are used for realization of the purpose. Innovative prac- tices are practices in the fi eld of social work practices for vulnerable groups, which have emerged as new ways of meeting the urgent needs of social service clients and aiming to achieve the most eff ective result both in solving the problems of individuals in need and social problems in general. Th e author proposes the algorithm for the formation of innovative social work practice, which covers all stages from the identifi cation of the need for such practice to the beginning of the functioning of an innovative practice. It is found that case management and integrated social services are the most widespread among innovative practices in the fi eld of social work in Ukraine. Th e article analyzes the specifi cs of both innovative practices and identifies and justifies the ways of their further development. Both practices have proven their eff ectiveness and fl exibility in solving specifi c social problems, and therefore the possibilities of their application (including in the newly created territorial communities) are expected to be expand in the future. Combined, these practices are able to ensure the high effi ciency of the domestic social service delivery system.

Capabilities and well-being of child and adolescent social services clients in the Czech Republic

The aim of this empirical paper was to answer the following question: “What are the desirable and the actually achieved capabilities in relation to the well-being of children and adolescents using social services in the Czech Republic from their own point of view, from that of their parents or foster parents and social workers?“ Our research study was based on thecapability approach and looked at the well-being of vulnerable children who are clients of social service providers in the Czech Republic. It was conducted through a combination of qualitative and quantitative research techniques. Children and adolescents aged 11–22 years (n = 28) and their parents or foster parents (n = 16) were surveyed using the technique of in-depth semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire survey. We also held a focus group with 15 social workers working with these clients. The study has shown that what children need the most for their sense of well-being are harmonious relationships, particularly with their parents. This finding is all the more serious as parents are not fully aware of the importance of their love and care for their children’s lives, as also evidenced in our empirical findings. The research finding that we consider the most disturbing is that children lack capabilities that would allow them to experience a meaningful life. This is most pronounced in their views of their future, which they do not associate with any hope. They do not see their future as providing opportunities for a positive life experience. Another key finding is that both children and parents marginalise capabilities developed through education. What is particularly alarming is that parents were much more likely to marginalise education than their children. Although these children are users of social services, these services proved unable to provide adequate formal support for them and their parents. Based on our study of children and families using social services we recommend that social services should focus on fostering the relationship between parents/foster parents and children. Particular attention should be paid to developing adolescents’ potential, while taking into consideration their natural need to learn new skills so that they could live a more active life translating into a more meaningful life experience at present, as well as into a sustained sense of meaning in life in the future.