Czech Govt Agency for Social Inclusion: Field social work in Sokolov a success

The Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion has issued the following press release:

The Czech Government Agency for Social Inclusion is presenting a new series in which it highlights successful social inclusion processes being administered in the places where the Agency is active. In its third short video profile, the Agency has presented the case of the town of Sokolov and the work done by field social workers from the People in Need (Člověk v tísni) organization there. High quality social work in the field is a basic social inclusion tool.

Erika Drahovzalová works as a field social worker for the Sokolov branch of People in Need. She regularly visits her clients in order to address their everyday problems, which most often concern housing and job-seeking. She also accompanies them to the authorities and to various negotiations when clients want assistance addressing certain matters with institutions they do not know well and about which they might have concerns.

Field social work programs in the Czech Republic

According to the social services registry administered by the Czech Labor and Social Affairs Ministry, there were 213 registered field social work service programs in the Czech Republic in 2012. Field programs are some of the services most frequently provided in socially excluded localities and are truly the basis of every effort to address the issue of social exclusion. Regular contact with social workers oriented in options for resolving problems and establishing trust are the main cornerstones of inclusion for persons living in social exclusion or at risk of it.

Field programs are a social prevention service and must meet all the requirements of the law on social services (Law No. 108/2006 Coll.). That legislation defines them as field services provided to persons who lead a risky lifestyle or are in danger of leading one. The service is intended for troubled groups of persons, users of addicting substances or of narcotic/psychotropic substances, homeless persons, persons living in socially excluded localities and other socially endangered groups. The aim of the service is to seek out such persons and minimize the riskiness of their lifestyles. The service may be provided anonymously.

For more about field programs and how to introduce them directly into a community, see www.socialni-zaclanovani.cz/prirucka (in Czech only). The video is available for viewing (in Czech only) at http://www.romea.cz/cz/video/ruzne/agentura-pro-socialni-zaclenovani-predstavuje-uspesne-postupy-terenni-socialni-prace-v-sokolove