What to Do When There Is No One to Do It: Problems of Providing Social Services in De-occupied Communities

It is no secret that the social services sector in Ukraine faces significant challenges. In general, these challenges can be divided into three main dimensions: regulatory, financial and institutional. In this article, we will focus on the latter.

In the context of decentralisation, the basic unit is the community, where residents live and are united by a common territory and resources. Most services are provided at the community level, and social services are no exception. If necessary, any community resident, regardless of social category, has the right to social services: veterans and their families, persons with disabilities, the elderly, and others. Depending on the number of these people, expenditures on social services, personnel and other necessary resources are planned.

You should understand that the provision of social services in communities has become even more difficult in today’s war conditions. All Ukrainian communities have been suffering since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion: in some communities, the burden on the social sector has increased due to the large number of IDPs, and in some communities, problems have become more acute due to a lack of staff and finances, and in some places, there is even a lack of material and technical resources. 

Communities have different forms of social service delivery: 

• through social service centres (provide services to families, children and young people in difficult life circumstances);
• territorial centres of social services (provide social services and services to people who need assistance, such as the elderly). 

Some communities establish Social Service Centres. For example, in the Voznesensk community of Mykolaiv Oblast, a single Voznesensk Social Services Centre has been established, with various departments working with all socially vulnerable populations (the elderly, persons with disabilities, people in difficult life circumstances and others). 

However, the involvement of non-governmental providers in social service delivery is still low, and their share among all providers is only up to 21.2% as of 2024.

1. Damaged or destroyed premises. This problem is a consequence of the ongoing war, as social protection facilities in de-occupied and, especially, border communities are either damaged or completely destroyed. As of the beginning of 2024, 160 social protection facilities were damaged as a result of large-scale hostilities in different regions of Ukraine.
2. Lack of logistics and transport. Communities under temporary occupation suffered significant material damage. Some services are not provided due to destroyed equipment and lack of transport. This makes it difficult for social workers to travel to remote locations to provide services to people who cannot move independently. This particularly affects the quality of services for the elderly and persons with disabilities.
3. Lack of staff. This problem is associated with various areas: psychological assistance, assistance to persons with disabilities, special services (e.g., daycare) for the elderly and work with veterans. Communities often engage professionals from the Employment Centre for this purpose, but they need additional training. 

There is also a problem with staffing in the management of social institutions. In some communities, there are no heads of individual departments of social institutions. Some communities have no psychologists or only one. But if we talk about the problem of domestic violence, one psychologist cannot work with both victims and offenders.

In the communities we worked with, various reasons were given for the lack of staff. Of course, the war and the temporary occupation of the territories led to rapid migration and staff outflow. However, this problem existed even before the full-scale war.

In addition, work in the social sector requires constant interaction with socially vulnerable populations, and social skills (empathy, communication skills, etc.). Therefore, social workers also lack psychological assistance and systematic supervision. 

Some communities conduct various preventive measures to avoid employee burnout. For example, trade unions of social workers arrange joint visits to theatres and cultural centres. Additionally, regional social service centres can conduct training sessions to respond to signs of professional burnout and provide methodical guidance.

In turn, the lack of staff leads to the absence of assessments of residents’ needs for social services at the community level, as the available staff is unable to cope with such a workload. Moreover, people may be left without the necessary services, as the workers’ job responsibilities have increased, and if earlier one worker took care of 10 people, now it is 15 or more.

Responding to these challenges is important, as it is imperative that we preserve existing resources in communities. It is necessary to combine various resources in order to strengthen their ability to provide social services and avoid exacerbation of existing problems. This could be the state, civil society organisations, business and international partners. They would be able to cover such urgent measures:

1. Improving procedures for cooperation between the state and business within the framework of public-private partnerships. This could have significant potential not only for the development of the social services market but also for the rapid reconstruction of social infrastructure in the context of limited budgetary funds. It is necessary to change approaches to the implementation of the PPP mechanism, namely to amend the Laws of Ukraine’s “On Public-Private Partnership”, “On Concession”, and other legislative acts.
2. Communities that have survived the occupation need computers, tablets, software, etc. Transport (cars and/or electric scooters) is needed to ensure the full operation of mobile teams and multidisciplinary teams dealing with cases of domestic violence and for social workers to travel to remote locations. This will allow workers to provide services to community residents who are unable to get services and move independently.
3. Social workers need systematic supervision and psychological support, and in communities close to the border with the aggressors, the possibility of insurance and protective equipment (e.g., bulletproof vests, helmets), an action plan during shelling and guarantees for both heads of institutions and social workers. These measures will become preventive mechanisms to support social workers.
4. Additional training for employees: on the possibilities and procedures for attracting international funds; cooperation with non-governmental providers; providing services to veterans, persons with disabilities and the elderly; and first aid. There is also a separate need for training in assessing the need for social services and analysing social problems, which would help improve planning and allocation of financial costs for social protection.
5. A comprehensive review of both the job responsibilities of social workers and the remuneration system to bring it closer to market levels. This can partially solve the problem of staff shortages and attract new employees to work in the social sector.

The Agency for Legislative Initiatives, with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation, performs research on the provision of social services in communities. Full results of the research will soon be published on the ALI resources.