The article examines the availability of institutional support for families raising children with disabilities. The aim of the study is to identify opportunities for social inclusion of children with disabilities in the children's day center. Families raising children with disabilities are unable to function fully in public life due to the lack of access to services. Access to services and assistance, for the most vulnerable groups, depends on the attitude of state social policy makers, financial resources, cooperation, public involvement and, ultimately, the family's own readiness to participate in public life. The methods of analysis, synthesis, generalization and comparative analysis of scientific literature were used in the research.
The research revealed that the mechanism of children's day care centers operating in Lithuania does not correspond to the model of creating an inclusive environment. Therefore, political decisions are needed on the development of services and the development of social inclusion at both the state and municipal levels, taking into account the needs of families raising children with disabilities. The practical significance of the study is that the study is useful for improving the accessibility of social services for families with children with disabilities and developing the concept of social inclusion.
The article examines the availability of institutional support for families raising children with disabilities. The aim of the study is to identify opportunities for social inclusion of children with disabilities in the children's day center. Families raising children with disabilities are unable to function fully in public life due to the lack of access to services. Access to services and assistance, for the most vulnerable groups, depends on the attitude of state social policy makers, financial resources, cooperation, public involvement and, ultimately, the family's own readiness to participate in public life. The methods of analysis, synthesis, generalization and comparative analysis of scientific literature were used in the research. The research revealed that the mechanism of children's day care centers operating in Lithuania does not correspond to the model of creating an inclusive environment. Therefore, political decisions are needed on the development of services and the development of social inclusion at both the state and municipal levels, taking into account the needs of families raising children with disabilities. The practical significance of the study is that the study is useful for improving the accessibility of social services for families with children with disabilities and developing the concept of social inclusion. ; Straipsnyje nagrinėjamas institucinės pagalbos prieinamumas šeimoms, auginančioms vaikus su negalia. Tyrimo tikslas – identifikuoti vaikų su negalia socialinės įtraukties galimybes vaikų dienos centre. Šeimos, auginančios vaikus su negalia, dėl paslaugų neprieinamumo negali visapusiškai funkcionuoti visuomeniniame gyvenime. Paslaugų ir pagalbos prieinamumo galimybės labiausiai pažeidžiamoms grupėms priklauso nuo valstybės socialinės politikos formuotojų požiūrio, finansinių išteklių, bendradarbiavimo, visuomenės įsitraukimo ir galiausiai nuo pačios šeimos pasirengimo dalyvauti visuomeninio gyvenimo procesuose. Atliekant tyrimą naudoti mokslinės literatūros analizės, sintezės, apibendrinimo ir lyginamosios analizės metodai. Atlikus tyrimą nustatyta, kad Lietuvoje veikiantis vaikų dienos centrų mechanizmas neatitinka įtraukios aplinkos kūrimo modelio, todėl būtini politiniai sprendimai dėl paslaugų plėtojimo, socialinės įtraukties vystymo ir valstybiniu, ir savivaldybės lygmeniu, atsižvelgiant į šeimų, auginančių vaikus su negalia, poreikius. Praktiniu aspektu tyrimas reikšmingas tobulinant socialinių paslaugų prieinamumą šeimoms, kuriose auga vaikai su negalia, ir plėtojant socialinės įtraukties koncepciją.
The aim of this study is to reveal the peculiarities of the provision of social services for families with disabled children and the need for these services by examining the experience of clients in Druskininkai municipality. Design/methodology/approach. To achieve the goal of the study, a quantitative study based on a normative strategy was chosen. The method of quantitative research was chosen because of its characteristic forms, the desire to search for external features, to measure and calculate them, to seek a single explanation, laws, rules, universality and universality. Quantitative research seeks to develop and validate common theories of human behavior that view grouping as reality and are independent of the individual. Findings. In Lithuania, families balance on the verge of socio-economic survival. Basic needs are becoming an important indicator of family life, so it would be too difficult to talk about the need for a balanced life. Emotional and psychological support for families is provided in a fragmented way, usually within the framework of time-limited project activities. As noted, there is a need to improve the provision of social services in municipalities, taking into account the individual needs of parents, strengthening the emotional resilience of the family, helping the family to adapt to the new reality. It is necessary to create a systematic support mechanism for the family, which would help to coordinate the provision of services in implementing the importance of a balanced life in the family. Research limitations/implications. The survey uses a questionnaire to meet the respondent directly or to send a questionnaire by e-mail. The study provided an opportunity to ask additional clarifying questions, and when the subject did not understand the question, it was possible to ask the question in a form that was more understandable to him. In order not only to listen, but also to encourage the research participant to express their thoughts, share experiences and views on the phenomenon under study, a interview with the respondent was chosen by filling in the questionnaire. Practical implications. The results of this study may be useful for the government, municipalities in making management decisions that would help to achieve a balanced life support mechanism for families raising children with disabilities. Originality/Value. Compared to 2019; 2020 and 2021 research results, the author of the article identified the importance of the need for help for families raising children with disabilities. The study identified the needs of social services that help to achieve a balanced life for families raising children with disabilities.
The phenomenon of the welfare state is characterized by complexity of indicators. To determine in which areas the country is closer to the welfare state, various areas of social policy are analysed. In this article, we set out to investigate one of them, i.e., the accessibility of social services for children with disabilities. The European Union ensures the basic preconditions for the well-being of children with disabilities and emphasizes the compatibility of health, social and educational services (European Commission, 2021). In addition, Member States are free to introduce specific measures for social inclusion (COM, 2021). The well-being of children with disabilities is inseparable from that of adults, usually the family in which the children live. Depending on the child's disability, the family has to devote time to the child's special needs, so opportunities to function in society, such as working and earning an income, become dependent on the social assistance received for the disabled child. Research shows that participation in labour market processes reduces the social exclusion of families with children with disabilities and improves quality of life indicators in general (Stefanidis & Strogilos 2020). However, analysis of good practice is more common, while information about the lack of services that parents face difficulties remains overboard. Thus, our research contributes to a better understanding of how families raising children with disabilities use state-provided social services and what solutions and measures are needed to improve the quality of life of children with disabilities and their relatives. The practical implications of our article are revealed through the possibility of more confidently shaping the decisions and measures of the welfare state.The article presents results of a survey of 68 families with disabled children. Our research was conducted in Druskininkai municipality which has typical infrastructure of social services for the disabled and their families in Lithuania.Our study has shown that social services in Lithuania poorly meet needs of families with disabled children. Though social inclusion is one of the most important features of the welfare state, the provision of social services to disabled and their families goes beyond the concept in Druskininkai municipality at least. Families have little information about social guarantees and support provided by the state and municipality. The families are limited to services reported by health care and education institutions. Moreover, the most significant problem hindering social integration of disabled and their families is a small portion of disabled children using services of day care centre. As a result, children suffer at risk of social exclusion while disabled children's parents lack of opportunities to fully participate in the labour market.Based on the results of the study we state that increasing the availability of social services that meet the needs of families with disabled children is a necessary social policy solution, without which the development of a welfare state in Lithuania is hardly possible. ; Socialinių paslaugų prieinamumas yra vienas iš gerovės valstybės kriterijų socialinės politikos srityje. Straipsnyje apžvelgiamos socialinių paslaugų vaikus su negalia auginančioms šeimoms vartojimo ypatybės Lietuvoje. Vaiko su negalia gerovė neatsiejama nuo suaugusiųjų asmenų, dažniausiai šeimos, kurioje jis gyvena. Priklausomai nuo vaiko neįgalumo lygmens, šeimai tenka daugiau ar mažiau laiko skirti išskirtiniams vaiko poreikiams, todėl ribojamos tėvų galimybės įvairiapusiškai funkcionuoti visuomenėje, didėja socialinė atskirtis. Straipsnyje pristatytas tyrimas stiprina supratimą, kaip neįgalius vaikus auginančios šeimos naudojasi valstybės teikiamomis socialinėmis paslaugomis ir kokių sprendimų bei priemonių reikėtų, kad neįgaliųjų vaikų ir jų artimųjų gyvenimo kokybė taptų geresnė.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought great difficulties for the deaf, the blind and people with disabilities in general, in addition to the difficulties of everyday life. This study aims to examine the public interest in the social integration of the deaf and hard of hearing community during the pandemic and the pre-pandemic period in the context of an inclusive society. The empirical study is based on the analysis of statistical data provided by Google Trends, which is a big data analysis, relative measurement and information visualisation tool that allowed to get insight on gaps and inconstancy of information seekers' interest within categories of science, people and society, law and government, and health. The study encourages researchers and social policy makers to pay extra attention to the social inclusion of the deaf, which, according to the research data, worsened during the pandemic more than other groups of the disabled.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought great difficulties for the deaf, the blind and people with disabilities in general, in addition to the difficulties of everyday life. This study aims to examine the public interest in the social integration of the deaf and hard of hearing community during the pandemic and the pre-pandemic period in the context of an inclusive society. The empirical study is based on the analysis of statistical data provided by Google Trends, which is a big data analysis, relative measurement and information visualisation tool that allowed to get insight on gaps and inconstancy of information seekers' interest within categories of science, people and society, law and government, and health. The study encourages researchers and social policy makers to pay extra attention to the social inclusion of the deaf, which, according to the research data, worsened during the pandemic more than other groups of the disabled.
