THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PROCESS OF COMMUNITY PLANNING OF SOCIAL SERVICES IN ADDRESSING THE PROBLEM OF SOCIAL EXCLUSION AT THE LOCAL LEVEL

• Authors: Havlikova J. , Hubikova O.
• Languages of publication: SK

Abstracts

EN

The article aims to encourage broader recognition of the inclusive potential of community planning in the social services (CPSS), which is currently becoming a focal point for an ever increasing number of the councils and municipalities in the Czech Republic. The prime goal of this process is to tailor the supply, the demand and the quality of the social services to suit the given locality. The theoretical reflection on CPSS suggests, however, that in connection with the social exclusion it is desirable to accentuate the very process of CPSS. We shall first outline the concept of the social exclusion as applied in this study, and the main features of the process of CPSS. We shall then discuss, at the theoretical level, the possible benefits of the process of CPSS for eliminating social exclusion. It appears that this process creates the institutional space for a direct and equal political participation of the citizens in the life of the community. It can thus contribute to alleviating social exclusion of the local inhabitants at least in three ways: (1) by encouraging interpersonal integration, (2) by facilitating advancement of the community's social capital, (3) and by producing such a design of the local social services that meets the needs of the users and promotes full realization of their citizenship rights. The analysis presented in the concluding part builds on data obtained from a case study of a municipality with several years' experience of CPSS. We discuss the stumbling blocks to fully utilizing the inclusive potential of CPSS, and the consequences of a failure to utilize this potential for a selected group of the inhabitants who are at risk of the social exclusion or already affected by it - specifically, mothers with children who found themselves in an unfavorable situation and sought accommodation in a shelter.

Keywords

EN

COMMUNITY PLANNING IN SOCIAL SERVICES (CZECH REPUBLIC); POLITICAL PARTICIPATION; SOCIAL EXCLUSION; LOCAL COMMUNITY

Discipline

• SOCIOLOGY: SOCIOLOGY

• Publisher: Institute of Sociology, Slovak Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Sociológia (Sociology)
• Year: 2007
• Volume: 39
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 5-28
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Havlikova J.

author

Hubikova O.

• J. Havlikova, VUPSV v.v.i., Jostova 10, 602 00 Brno, Czech Republic

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

07SKAAAA02304807