| Abstract [eng] |
In Lithuania, sufficient attention is paid to the provision of social services - care institutions are being reorganized, various projects in the field of social services are being implemented, but little attention is being paid to determining the effectiveness of coordination of social services provided by care centres. Although the legislation provides for a wide range of services that are likely to make life easier for caregivers, research in the scientific literature emphasizes that there is still a lack of social services. As there is still a shortage of people in Lithuania who want to become guardians of a child (especially a child with a disability), it is likely that the provided social services do not meet the needs of all caregivers. Problematic research questions. 1. What social services do professionals usually provide or organize for caregivers raising children with disabilities? How are the provided social services evaluated, what kind of social services are observed to be lacking? 2. What social services do caregivers raising children with disabilities receive? How are social services, cooperation with specialists evaluated? What social services are lacking? Research object: Provision and coordination of social services for caregivers raising children with disabilities. Hypothesis: It is likely that the variety of social services provided to caregivers raising children with disabilities is still insufficient. The aim of Research – to identify the peculiarities of the provision and coordination of social services for caregivers raising children with disabilities. Tasks: 1. To analyse, based on scientific sources, the laws of Lithuania and Ukraine, the theoretical aspects of the provision and coordination of social services for caregivers raising children with disabilities. 2. Using quantitative and qualitative research to identify the peculiarities of the provision and coordination of social services for caregivers raising children with disabilities. 3. To evaluate, based on the analysis of the results of quantitative and qualitative research, the range of social services in order to ensure high-quality services that meet the needs of service users. 4. To actualise, based on the analysis of the research results, the coordination of the provision of social services for families caring for children with disabilities in terms of opportunities. Research participants – caregivers raising children with disabilities, care centre specialists acting as care coordinators. Research methodology and methods. This study follows the theory of social systems, which explains how parts of a system interact to form a system. The process of providing social services involves the caregiver, the child, their immediate family members, the care coordinator, who are the main, interoperable system. In this study, the care coordinator can be described as a case manager who mediates between different institutions, taking into account the individual characteristics and needs of each member of the system. Theoretical (scientific literature, analysis of laws) and empirical: quantitative research (questionnaire survey), qualitative research (semi-structured interview), methods were used to achieve the research goal and test the research hypothesis. |
