Social Technology for Providing Social Assistance to Families with Children: Implementation Experience and Evaluation of Effectiveness

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14515/monitoring.2023.5.2406

Keywords:

social work, case work technology, assessment, effectiveness, family and children, risk prevention, social technology implementation

Abstract

The article presents the study of the effectiveness of casework technology aimed at restoring the family’s ability to independently cope with difficult life situations and satisfying the child’s basic needs. The evaluation is implemented in a mixed qualitative-quantitative methodology and employs a model of technology management assessment in terms of W. Trochim. A qualitative assessment of the technology was carried out using semi-structured interviews with case managers and supervisors. The quantitative stage included a statistical analysis of family monitoring data obtained during the implementation of the technology in six selected Family and Child Care Centers in Moscow. The authors estimate correlations and descriptive statistics for various indicators and test proposed monitoring scales for internal consistency using Cronbach's Alpha coefficient.

Analysis of the interviews allowed to identify the main components of the technology’s success and barriers that may stand in the way of its successful implementation. The advantages of the analyzed technology include systematicity, consistency, coherence, internal consistency of the stages, high accuracy and quality of the provided diagnosis of family problems, the potential for early identification of risks of a crisis situation in the family, the emergence of tools understandable to a specialist, the possibility of formalizing, organizing and archiving case work. Barriers to the successful implementation of the technology are associated with the high workload of supervisors, including large volume of paperwork, lack of support and mentorship for supervisors, and the complexities of the technology description language, which at the same time creates the potential of its optimization. The quantitative data obtained indicate the presence of positive dynamics in the state of families in general, including a reduction in the risk of child abuse in the family.

Acknowledgments. The study was conducted by the HSE International Laboratory for Social Integration Research and commissioned by the Taganka Children's Fund (within the framework of a project supported by the E. and G. Timchenko Foundation).

Author Biographies

Elena R. Yarskaya-Smirnova , HSE University

  • HSE University, Moscow, Russia
    • Dr.Sci. (Soc.), Professor at the Department of General Sociology of the School of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences
    • Head of the International Laboratory for Social Integration Research

Elena Yu. Rozhdestvenskaya, HSE University

  • HSE University, Moscow, Russia
    • Dr. Sci. (Soc.), Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences
  • Institute of Sociology of FCTAS RAS, Moscow, Russia
    • Leading Researcher, Sector of Social Change Research Using Qualitative Methods

Roman N. Abramov, HSE University; Institute of Sociology of the FCTAS RAS

  • HSE University, Moscow, Russia
    • Dr. Sci. (Soc.), Professor at the School of Sociology of the Faculty of Social Sciences
    • Leading Research Fellow at the International Laboratory for Social Integration Research
  • Institute of Sociology of the Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
    • Leading Research Fellow at the Department of Theory and History of Sociology

Sergey Р. Borzov, Charitable Foundation "New Development"

  • Charitable Foundation "New Development", Tomsk, Russia
    • President 
  • HSE University, Moscow, Russia

    • Leading expert of the Center for Innovative Ecosystems in the Social Sphere

Marina Yu. Aleksandrova, HSE University

  • HSE University, Moscow, Russia
    • Lecturer and Doctoral Student at the Department of Sociological Research Methods, School of Sociology
    • Research Assistant at the International Laboratory for Social Integration Research

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Published

2023-11-10

How to Cite

Yarskaya-Smirnova , E. R., Rozhdestvenskaya, E. Y., Abramov, R. N., Borzov S. Р., & Aleksandrova, M. Y. (2023). Social Technology for Providing Social Assistance to Families with Children: Implementation Experience and Evaluation of Effectiveness. Monitoring of Public Opinion: Economic and Social Changes, (5). https://doi.org/10.14515/monitoring.2023.5.2406

Issue

No. 5 (2023)

Section

Evidence-based social policy

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Copyright (c) 2023 Monitoring of Public Opinion: Economic and Social Changes Journal (Public Opinion Monitoring) ISSN 2219-5467

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