| Abstract [eng] |
Problem and relevance of the research. For some time now, changes have been taking place in the countries of the world and the European Union, as well as in Lithuania, related to deinstitutionalization processes that create a new basis for social work with people with disabilities, families, and children without parental care (Institutional Care Reform 2014-2020). The ongoing processes aim to replace stationary care with services in the community and non-governmental sector. For a long time, Lithuania is criticized in the context of the countries that have ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Children for its underdeveloped network, accessibility, and quality of services for people with disabilities and children living in orphanages. Recently, changes are observed, which attest to the fact that Lithuania, by fulfilling its obligations, contributes to the integration of vulnerable groups into society. Orphanages are becoming small families, where children have the opportunity to develop the responsibility, skills required for further independent living, and stationary care institutions become sheltered homes, group homes for people with moderate intellectual disabilities. However, what legislation declares is not always easily implemented in reality. Although nobody doubts that people with disabilities have the right to participate in social life, as do other members, there still prevails a stereotype in society that people with disabilities, especially those with intellectual disabilities, are "different" and must live separately. Thus, resistance is felt by the society which prevents their wholesome integration (2018 Monitoring report of Social Integration of People with Disabilities report and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities and its Facultative Protocol, 2019). For these reasons, there are protests where anxiety and fear are shared, which presupposes the need for education about the benefits of deinstitutionalization and a new approach to people with intellectual disabilities. Concerning the above-mentioned reasons, one of the directions of activity in the field of public education was the change of negative attitudes on intellectual and mental disability (Phase I of the Institutional Care Reform, 2016). The ongoing protests in Lithuania over the inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities in community life can be partly attributed to the mentality created by the historical period (Soviet era), which purports that a person who is "different" cannot be together with everyone. Countries, such as Ukraine, are struggling with this historical period as well. Data of 2018 indicates, there were 145 closed type social care institutions in Ukraine with about 57 thousand individuals with intellectual and mental disabilities as residents. Ukraine is beginning to emphasize the need to implement the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities and institutional transformation, however, the country faces a lack of resources, specific knowledge of the process, and human rights. The processes of institutional transformation in Ukraine are much slower than in Lithuania. Nevertheless, Lithuania and Ukraine share a common understanding that non-governmental organizations (NGOs), also known as civic society organizations in Ukraine, should play an important role in the context of the integration of people with disabilities into society and the provision of social services in the community (Mental health perspectives, 06-10-2019). The role of non-governmental organizations in the process of providing social services is becoming increasingly important. The state policy of NGO development in Lithuania is described as a set of measures aimed at improving the conditions for the operation of NGOs, encouraging the development of NGOs in the country, and ensuring the cooperation of state and municipal institutions and establishments with NGOs (Law on the Development of Non-governmental organizations No. XII-717 amendment law, 2019-04-12). In the process of ongoing institutional transformation, there are often discussions of outsourcing of public services to the non-governmental sector, but the problem is that in reality, the objectives raised in the documents are difficult to achieve. In the process of deinstitutionalization, NGOs occupy the position of a minority that cannot adhere to important decisions (Genienė, Šumskienė, 2015). Based on the 2018 Monitoring report of Social Integration of People with Disabilities report and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities and its Facultative Protocol, the involvement of organizations representing people with disabilities (NGOs) in important decision-making is becoming more prominent, but, according to NGO representatives, this involvement is still insufficient. Regarding the situation at hand, the monitoring report provides recommendations for Lithuania, that encourage NGOs representing people with disabilities and their representatives to participate in the decision-making process and to provide remuneration for their participation in working groups as experts in the institutional transformation process. The importance of non-governmental organizations in providing social services and ensuring the rights of socially vulnerable groups in society in the context of institutional transformation has been repeatedly based on research conducted both in Lithuania and abroad. It was already emphasized in 2010 in Croatia that organizations uniting people with disabilities must be involved in the development and provision of community services in the process of deinstitutionalization (McRae, 2010). According to researchers the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Bulgaria, Serbia, Moldova, and other countries have institutional transformation processes that are based on the experience of non-governmental organizations involved in community capacity building (Milovanovič, 2017). A study in Ukraine revealed that local NGOs and other civil society organizations need to provide additional support with integrating people with disabilities into the community, including assistance with housing search and accessibility issues (Ormonova, 2016). Analysis of integration of people with mental disabilities into the community in Ukraine revealed that the country lacks cooperation between government agencies and NGOs, insufficient involvement of the non-governmental sector in the development, planning, and implementation of strategies to address disability was revealed (Khan et al., 2017). In Lithuania, the process of deinstitutionalization is considered to be a new phenomenon that has not been thoroughly researched. It is argued that institutional transformation in Lithuania is hampered by a lack of political will, the alternatives to institutional care have very few differences from the current institutional model, and NGOs, as initiators and activists of transformation, are poorly involved in important decision making (Genienė and Šumskienė, 2015). One of the essential difficulties faced by NGOs in representing the interests of the disabled is the predominance of formed negative social policy that is implemented by heads of institutions who lack social sensitivity (Beneševičiūtė, 2015). Most NGOs address issues that arise from cooperation with social institutions that do not listen to the needs of the third sector (Matulevičiūtė, 2013). Bendikienė (2015) reveals that barriers prevail in the process of cooperation between NGOs and municipalities, as both sides overemphasize their importance and lack the mutual understanding to consolidate forces for the common good. Both foreign and Lithuanian authors highlight the importance of the third sector in providing services to people with disabilities, nevertheless, it is acknowledged that the possibilities of non-governmental organizations are not fully exploited. In the process of deinstitutionalization, NGOs are sidelined without giving them the power to influence social policy-making authorities. Despite the abundance of research abroad and in Lithuania, the emphasis falls on the importance of NGOs in the process of institutional transformation, however, little attention is paid to the development of NGO prospects in the deinstitutionalization process. Problematic research questions: What are the possibilities for the involvement of non-governmental organizations providing social services in the deinstitutionalisation process in order to ensure the rights of persons with disabilities? What are the opportunities to increase the involvement of social service NGOs in the deinstitutionalization process? What could be the model for the involvement of social service NGOs in the deinstitutionalization process? The object of the research – a model of possibilities for non-governmental organizations that provide social services to get involved in the deinstitutionalization process. The aim of the research – to create a model of possibilities for non-governmental organizations that provide social services to get involved in the deinstitutionalization process. Research objectives: 1. Based on the analysis of scientific literature and legislation to conceptualize the importance of the deinstitutionalization process for people with intellectual and/or mental disabilities and consult the experience of the European Union states, Lithuania, and Ukraine. 2. To conceptualize the preconditions for the participation of non-governmental organizations in the process of deinstitutionalization based on the analysis of scientific literature. 3. To identify the existing opportunities of non-governmental organizations for involvement in the deinstitutionalization process using qualitative research methods. 4. To foresee the development of opportunities for the involvement of non-governmental organizations providing social services in the process of deinstitutionalization based on the results of theoretical and empirical research. Research methodology and methods. The study is based on social constructivism and systems theories. The theory of social constructivism is developed to form knowledge about the possibilities of non-governmental organizations to be involved and participate in making important decisions in the process of deinstitutionalization on an equal footing with other institutions. The paradigm of social constructivism allows examining the importance of mutual communication and understanding between NGO and state institutions in constructing the social well-being of people with disabilities. Based on the assumptions of systems theory, society is perceived as a system with a functional structure composed of certain parts. One part is social systems, which include not only the relationship between people and the environment but also institutions and their activities (Parsons, 1971). To develop a model for the involvement of social service NGOs in the deinstitutionalization process, the following methods were used for the research: analysis of scientific literature, semi-structured interview and written survey with open-ended questions, content analysis. Research participants. Criteria strategy for the selection of target sampling units were used to sample the study. The following criteria are set for the representatives of non-governmental organizations: 1. the represented non-governmental organization must provide social services to people with intellectual and mental disabilities, 2. the represented non-governmental organization must participate in the deinstitutionalization process. The criteria were not applied to the experts as they were contacted for their position. During the empirical research, 11 representatives of non-governmental organizations that provide social services to the intellectually and/or mentally disabled were interviewed from Kuršėnai, Šiauliai, Radviliškis, Kaunas, Kretinga, Vilnius, Rietavas. Four regional Institutional Care Transformation experts (hereinafter - experts) were also interviewed. |
