Socialinių paslaugų poreikio vertinimas iš pasiūlos perspektyvos: Panevėžio miesto savivaldybės atvejis

Abstract

The paper presents the results of assessing the need for social services in Panevėžys City Municipality from the providers’ perspective. It is noted that the city has ambitions to become the most important gateway to the northeast of Lithuania. However, at the same time, it is one of the regions in Lithuania most affected by demographic changes. As the population age structure changes, so are the needs of the established population structure. The growing number of older people is also shifting the priorities for allocating society’s resources in the areas of economics, politics, social solidarity, health care, and social ecology, which implies the need to ensure the volume, composition, and quality of social services. The results of a survey of the population on the quality and demand for social services in the municipality, initiated by the municipality of Panevėžys, characterised the state of social services as not fulfilling expectations. In the context of the development of services, this study aims to assess the situation in the social services field from the providers’ point of view. The objectives of the study are focused on revealing the attitudes of social service providers towards the quality of services provided and the need for new services. The methods of data collection were interviews, and descriptive content analysis was used for processing. As a result of the research, the position on the supply of social services in Panevėžys City Municipality was divided. On the one hand, it was acknowledged that over the last 3 years, changes were observed in the city regarding the scope and structure of social services, although, in many cases, determined by changes in the external environment. In this sense, the growing role of the municipality as a change initiator was also mentioned. On the other hand, the shortage of specialists in certain areas, the workload, emotional burnout, lack of motivation of the staff, inefficient administration of social services and lack of interinstitutional cooperation and coordination have been identified as fundamental issues to be tackled, which are linked to the quality of the services that are being called into question. The study has shown a particular need to extend the scope of home care to social care and social care to daycare, intensifying short- and long-term social care. There is no clear need to expand the scope of social institutions. In terms of supply, the declared approach is to differentiate between institutions based on their capacity to ensure quality, considering the volume of activities, competencies, resources, and potential if there is a need for new social services in the city. The need for new social service providers has emerged.