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Friday, October 1, 2010

Small town social services in Lithuania

This is where you can read about and comment on Irena and Zaneta's work.

8 comments:

  1. The presentation of agency which provides services for adults in poverty, related to public assistance in one of the district of Kaunas city
    Me (Zaneta) and my colleague (Irena) have done our practice in one agency which provides services for adults in poverty, related to public assistance in one of the district of Kaunas city (in our presentation we will just call it - agency). Workers in this type of agencies take care for the population of the area, their social well-being. According to public trends, issues, and most of the district concerns and needs of the population, agency social workers provide a range of social services to ensure and fulfill good and positive living conditions (of course, to the extent possible, and as far as workers are able to do it). In Lithuania, this type of organization is very important, therefore, further we will present more details.
    Mission. The main mission of our agency is - according to Lithuanian legislation, government decrees, decisions of the City Council, Mayor's orders, the orders of the Director of Administration - to provide social support for people of Kaunas city, i.e. for people who live in the district which is under control of that agency.
    According to agency mission there are identified key features that allow more precisely define the main goals and objectives of the agency. As well can be described the following functions:
    • to receive and consider applications, complaints and suggestions of the population;
    • in accordance with law to provide services in area of public administration;
    • to organize surveys of population, to interest in clients needs and to listen to their opinions;
    • to organize the meetings with community members, as well as with municipal representatives;
    • to organize the work of leisure centers and employment programs;
    • to submit proposals to the relevant departments of the municipal administration about local roads, streets, sidewalks and squares repairing, local transportation, as well as child and child rights protection or prevention. Also due to families (individuals) needs, to submit social support, care, welfare benefits and according to legislation organize the payment of welfare benefits.
    Speaking of this type of organizations, in particular, it should be noted that such kind of organizations as our agency are governmental and subordinated to Kaunas city municipality. This agency is, as the administrative unit, directly under the authority of the municipality and, therefore, does not have major power and doesn’t dispose any money. Another important thing which should be mentioned is that social workers in this agency take care of the child's rights.
    The main person in agency is monitor (the head of the agency), also there are social workers who are named as supreme specialists, administration workers and as well there are other professionals, who are responsible for the declaration of domicile. The main goal of our organization is to provide assistance to families at risk, to lonely and sick people, to help people who have no income. As Lithuania has an increasing number of social risk families, we will write more about social workers activities in this area.

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  2. So, social workers do:
    • Collect, organize, analyze the assessment of child and his family situation, investigate information needed to determine the need for social services and accurate information to the responsible specialist of Social Services Centre, to the Child Protection Unit and the Social Assistance Division.
    • Study the social situation of social risk families and their social environment, provide social services that family needs and arrange the provision of social assistance, provided to the effectiveness and efficiency. In accordance with the procedures set out in the Centre of Social services help to complete required documents.
    • Plan to provide social services to families at social risk: inform (provide the necessary information about social services), advice (including family/person examines her/his problems and finding effective problems solutions), intermediate and represent (a mediator between the individual and his environment: other institutions, professionals, individuals, grants to assist in economic power, municipal, legislative and others issues), divide dry rations to population, develop and help to maintain daily living skills (housework, managing money accounted for shopping and paying taxes, childcare, communication, etc.) develop professional skills (promoting self-manage the premises and the environment).
    • Help clients to understand the social risk families' rights and responsibilities, also help to access to social, medical and other necessary assistance.
    • Solve the problems and focuses on prevention education and social educators, police and other professionals working with a team of social risk families, collaborate with child protection services professionals, child care home educators and social workers, school teachers and other social service workers and local administration staff.
    • Submit proposals to the Child Protection Unit for families at risk of social inclusion and exclusion from social risk families accounting. Inform the Child Protection section of their possession of social risk families, children in need of guardianship (care).
    • Through the presence of social risk children in the family temporary custody (care) plan to carry out this plan of action the social work functions in order to return children to their biological family.
    • Submit proposals to the Child Protection Unit: to take child from his family or any other location where the health or life is at risk; to provide a temporary or permanent custody; the possibility to get back parent`s rights to return the child to family; the possibility of crisis situations (when there is a threat to children's health and life) together with the police and Child Protection Unit shall act immediately to take a child from a parent or other legal representatives of a child or another child's location and transmit it to protect (care for) the statutory procedure.
    • Prepare and implement independently or in conjunction with state and municipal institutions and non-governmental organizations social programs - projects and other social measures.
    • Organize support with received clothes, footwear, food and household items for the social risk families. Help to organize the provision of social risk families, school goods (help manage the necessary documentation, etc.).
    • Take part in the Social services Centre's work in program development and execution, in working groups, also manage by the social work-related documentation, the Centre provides monthly information about social services to families, prepare annual reports about their work, analyze, and improve their work, provide suggestions for improving work.

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  4. In the municipality clients can find leaflets and brochures that not only introduce the mission, goals and provided services in this agency but also show the information where to go or whom to call if certain questions and problems arises.
    Interviewed other students about our agency, we concluded that those who haven`t contact with social services which agency provides, don`t know much about the agency, its goals and the provided social services. Of course, everyone knows that there are such kind of agencies and that they are in different districts of Kaunas city. Also many students know that to these agencies come people who need help in solving various social problems and social workers in these agencies help in the processing of documents related to the welfare benefits. People who have visited the agency and used the provided services have had much more to tell about it, i.e., that the agency is a public entity subject which is subordinated to the Municipality of Kaunas city, that social workers not only helps to manage documents for financial benefits, but also through the help of other organizations to provide food aid packages and takes care of lonely, elderly, sick people and social risk families.
    Interwieved one member of our agency staff about the agency's funding and evaluation of services, we found out that the main funding comes from the Municipality of Kaunas city and the state budget. Regarding wages, the workers receive the wages, according to the coefficients. Also, the agency received funding for office supplies goods to the relevant services to be provided, utilities, telephone connection. Speaking about valuation, it was said that valuation is made by a local audit, is audit of the Municipality which is valuating quality of services and funding. If there are ongoing state programs, the audit is made by the state audit.

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  5. The main principle of our agency is named „principle of one window“. This is an opportunity to get all the necessary information in one place. It means that in this agency clients can get all the required information about social or lump-sum payments, conditions and availability of the criteria based on the provision of benefits, the availability of food packages, free meals for children at school and other clients concerns. This is a very positive and significant feature of the organization, since many clients are elderly and people with social problems which can have struggles with movement or finance. When clients come to the agency they can get the answers to their questions, social workers can help them to solve problems, and, if it is necessary, can help to find the professionals who make the help process more efficient and more accessible to the client. This principle – is an opportunity to learn and deal with a professional, rather than traveling by various organizations or institutions.

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  6. The evaluation of services is made through clients questionnaires. These results are the best way to get feedback on the service provided. Also there is a state budget office "Department of care of social services“, which aims to ensure the success of targeted social groups in society, their rights, seek to reduce poverty and social exclusion and to evaluate and control the quality of social services. Also there is conducted an internal assessment of the organization when employees gather together and discuss what they are able to do, what difficulties they had during their collaboration with clients. Every worker can share its proposals and can express its opinion. Besides few times a year agency is making a meeting where participate social workers and members of cooperating organizations (police, schools, social educators, child protection agents, etc.) where they are discussing the more common problems and sore points which arised during the period, analysing and making corrections of possible activities.
    Recently, in Lithuania, or more precisely, in Kaunas, it was desired to reduce the number of such kind of agencies, joining agencies from different districts into one unit. Due to this purpose, was conducted a quantitative study to obtain customer feedback on the interconnection of neighborhoods. As mentioned earlier, the agency we are talking about is like a department of the Municipality of Kaunas city, so more research was carried out in the Municipality or in conjunction with partner organizations such as police, hospitals, educational institutions and so on. Moreover, students from different universities come to this agency to make various activities and studies. We also had to make a study of the agency as a community how they are communicating in micro-level.

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  7. Speaking about agency which provides services for adults in poverty related to public assistance location, we can say that it is located in one of the district of Kaunas city. To this agency belongs a population approximately of 38 480 people. It is difficult to find the agency, because the apartment is located in one of the flats of blockhouses. The entrance is not from the main street, it is from inside (behind the blockhouse) and from the main street is not visible. Also there are only a few indications that direct or explain how to achieve this agency. Of course speaking about the ability to find all the necessary information and contacts of workers of this agency, we can say that it is enough just to visit the website of Kaunas (www.kaunas.lt). This website contains information about agencies, and there is a map that helps client to find the appropriate agency.

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  8. This seems like an agency that provides a wealth of services for many people of the city. I thought it was interesting that there is a goal to reduce the amount of agencies providing these services. I was wondering what other purposes this might serve and how it might be beneficial for the residents of the city? Here in the US it seems like there is just never enough services or support for everyone.

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