Exploring Social Work in Area of Social Services in Slovakia – a Qualitative Study

Kvetoslava Repková

Exploring Social Work in Area of Social Services in Slovakia – a Qualitative Study

Číslo: 1/2019
Periodikum: Sociální práce

Klíčová slova: social work, social services, roles, domiciliary care, residential care, crisis intervention

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Přečíst po přihlášení

Anotace: OBJECTIVES: This paper is focused on professional roles that social workers play the in area of

social services, with special regards to current developments in Slovakia. THEORETICAL BASE:
The research builds upon the systems theory assuming that legal or other external conditions for
applying distinct roles of social work in the area of social services determine current practice.
METHODS: Analysis of relevant documents in combination with data obtained from qualitative
questionnaires is conducted to explore how the independent experts describe the roles of social
work in selected types of social services in Slovakia. OUTCOMES: Experts associate social work
with enforcement of professionalism and quality in social services. There is a triangle of the most
prevalent roles social workers play (should play) in social services, namely social diagnostics, social
counselling, and coordination of the actors/mediation of interactions/networking. However, roles
of social workers in social services are, for the involved actors, not always clear. SOCIAL WORK
IMPLICATIONS: The research contributes to the discussion of what are the system-based
conditions for institutionalization of the social work in area of social services with special emphasis
on a need for systematic methodological support of social service providers and their professional
staff.