Drs. Willem M.J. Blok

Social worker, sociologist and project manager

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Published in Polish language as introduction to the book: ”Praca ze spolecznosciami lokalnymi - Podstawowe materialy z Polski, Holandii I Wielkiej Brytanii”, by Willem Blok & Piotr Czekanowski, Gdansk-Leeuwarden 2001

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Such a system is needed for at least three reasons: (1) to start solving the many social problems in the country (2) to stimulate and support initiatives and active participation of citizens and (3) to modernize the existing social infrastructure, i.c.

the whole of organizations, institutions and servicesenabling individual citizens to participate in their own social environment. 1)

In the arena of the market society, social work is needed to support the weaker actors and to create conditions and rules for a fair game for all. Community workers are the change agents and social engineers of modern social work. It is good, sometimes even necessary, to have them.

This reader provides students, teachers and social workers the basic information to study and practice community work.

This article is an introduction to it.

The country is going into the second stage of transformation, stimulated by the coming membership of the European Union. This second stage is expected to be one of societal democratization, modernization of provincial and local administrations and investments in the social infrastructure, i.c. the institutes and services in the fields of care, welfare and education.

To cope with these problems and to solve them, a well thought out and democratic based social policy is of vital interest.

Because local social policy - introduced as part of the administrative decentralization -is a new phenomenon in Poland, local authorities have little knowledge of the social field and find themselves in poor conditions for successful development.

Polish social work, organised in MOPR (regions), MOPS (towns) and GOPS (in villages), is - as a result of changing societal conditions and increasing social problems - desperately in need of money, workers, new methods and approaches, new organization forms and co-operation with non governmental organizations.

The group of social workers is dispersed. By comparison with the situation in the European Union, Polish social work is in an early development state, practiced in poor conditions. The work has a low status and offers low salaries. Although awareness and solidarity is growing, there is still a lack of cohesion, co-operation and professional organization amongst social workers.

The dualistic financing of the work (from both national and local sources), hampers proper functioning of the institutes. (This way of financing will soon be changed soon).

There is a shortage of specialists and the education is not yet sufficient and up to date. New skills are required to deal with new tasks that are coming up (isolation, refugees).

The need for extension, modernization and specialization of social work is obvious, not only because social work is the most important instrument for local social policy, but also because of the new problems where the country is confronted with as a result of the economic and ideological modernization: individualization, weakening family ties, isolation and individual competition. 3)

The public institutes - both state and local government  - co-operate reluctantly and only on a small scale with non-governmental organizations. There are many causes of this situation, such as bureaucratic regulations, lack of trust, lack of skills in assessing programmes and poor qualifications of the workers of non-governmental organizations. To improve this relationship a sort of “umbrella organization” and a system of training can be very helpful.

To take up the challenges to cope with the problems, to solve them and to create successful practices for that, there is an increasing need for ideas, examples, methods, suggestions, plans, projects, advice, consultation and support.

To start solving the problems, concentrated efforts of all sides are needed. Efforts from political side of course, but also from institutes, workers and (organized) citizens.

A modern system of social work can play a role in this. Social workers are “connoisseurs” of the social problems in every day life of people. They have networks, they have social knowledge and skills and most of them are social engaged and motivated.

Modern social work

Modern, professional social work started a century ago with the foundation of the first School of Social Work in 1899 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Soon after that, schools were erected in the Unites States, Germany etc.

The first Polish Schools date from the nineteen twenties.

The work developed into a specialized and institutionalized system of help, care and support that became very much part of the modern Welfare State in the West.

A fine, well-known definition of the purpose of modern social work is that of the Americans Allen Pincus and Anne Minahan:

I consider their description of social work as clear and current.

According to Pincus and Minahan, the purpose of Social Work is to

     - enhance the problem solving and -coping capacities of people

     - link people with systems that provide them with resources, services and

       opportunities

     - promote the effective and humane operation of these sy­stems and

     - contribute to the development and improvement of social policy 4)

This definition is focusing on the potential capacities of social work. It includes a wide range of (mutual connected) activities on micro, meso and macro level; from creating conditions for problem solving until the direct support of clients who want to change their situation.

Social Work has very much an international body of knowledge. According to the Dutch scientist Lambert Mulder this joint frame of reference is formed by theories and methods of social work (USA, GB), social pedagogy & adult education (BRD, France) and group dynamics and planned change (USA). The first source of theories and methods is needed for problem solving, the second for increasing people's competence and the third source of knowledge for influencing the social environment. 5)

Current social policy in West European countries wants social work to contribute to the social quality in society, by stimulating participation and accessibility, preventing social exclusion and supporting local social policy. 6)

In many of those countries (but not all!) social work is locally organized by non-governmental organizations on local, regional or provincial level. Social work is concentrating on immaterial help, support and development. In every council there is a social service (material help), general social work (immaterial help for all citizens) and forms of community organization. Further on there are many categorical and specialized institutions for elderly, disabled, children, immigrants and so on.

Suggestions

Working in Poland since 1993, I feel very engaged with the developments and like to do the following suggestions:

1)  Develop local- and provincial social policy

2)  including a policy for social work

3)  Invest in Social Work. There is a need for more workers, better facilities and

     decent salaries

4)  Modernize social work: improve approaches, methods and the organization and

     specialize

5)  Appoint more social workers as community workers in MOPR, MOPS and

     GOPS

6)  Create colleges of higher education for social work in which existing schools

     and studies go together

7)  Promote Social Work: profile, inform & present and improve the position

8)  Develop projects with the help of social workers from the West and financial

     support of the European Union.

9)  Organize yourself as social workers. Influence local social policy and initiate

     and support the modernization of your work.

Poland needs a modern system of local social work according to West-European standards to cope with social problems on the local level and to improve the quality of social life.

Community organization

Community organization is the third major method of modern social work, according to the American definition. Social casework is the first and social group work the second.

Community work is the practical work. In the Matra COP project we concentrated on so called "territorial community work", operating in districts and neighborhoods of towns and in villages. There is also "categorical community work" supporting youngsters, elderly, unemployed, disabled people etc.

The aim of community work is to contribute to durable solution of problems, experienced by people in deprived situations, in their everyday life circumstances. Community work supports groups willing to act and to organize activities to solve their problems and by developing structures and services.

According to Harry Broekman, a former colleague of mine and a well-known Dutch author in this field, community work has two main tasks, namely:

(1) supporting initiatives of vulnerable social groups, by offering social-organizational, strategical-, and educational support and by facilitation and

(2) SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION AND INNOVATION, by -research and signalizing trends and problems and by development and renewal. 7)

More of these basic texts can be found in this reader.

I hope they will be helpful for the modernization of social work and the development of the community work in Poland.

Drs. Willem Blok

1) This definition of social infrastructure is used in Dutch social policy and can be found in “Werken aan sociale kwaliteit – Welzijnsnota 1999-2002 Deel B”, Ministry of VWS, The Hague, April 1999 (p.3)

2) This is one of the conclusions of the so called “Strategic group” of directors and professors in Poznan, functioning as “think tank” concerning the future of Polish Social Work

3) Based on information provided by Maria Remiezowicz (Wielkopolski Province) and Mira Modzelewska (Poznan School of Social Work)

4) Allen Pincus and Anne Minahan: "Social work practice; model and method," University of Wisconsin, Madison. F.E., Peacock Publishers Inc., Illinois 1973, p.9