Social policy in Estonia and Norway
- with reference to social work and
professional development
Arne Backer Grønningsæter
www.fafo.no
agr@fafo.no
Overview
ƒ Norway and Estonia
ƒ Background figures
ƒ Social work in Norway and Estonia
ƒ Development in the Norwegian social policy
ƒ Pressure from below and pressure from the inside?
ƒ Equals and differences
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2
Some background information
Inhabitants
1,3 mill
4,8 mill.
GDP per capita (PPP US$) 2008 (1)
18.355
58,278
19,7
11,3
0,818
(no. 34)
0,929
(no 1)
0,370
0,258
Risk of poverty (2)
HDI (1)
Gini-coefficient (1)
Number of social workers
Number of social workers employed by the
municipalities
19.138 (3)
593 (4)
10.816 (3)
(1) Source UNDP, Human development report 2010
(2) Population below 60% of median income (%) 2008 Source EU SILC
(3) The figures include social workers and social educators (”barnevernpedagoger”, ”sosionomer” og ”vernepleiere”) that are
members of Norwegian Union of Social Educators and Social Workers (FO) March 2006. FO organises app. 80% of the
group. Source: FO
(4) Social service personal in municipalities and counties, app. ½ of them has social work diploma. Source; Ministry of
Social Affairs Estonia.
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Social work in Norway
ƒ Courses in social work from the 30s, formal education in
1950; took momentum in the 60s
ƒ Reforms in the caring for the poor were the most important
motive for establishing of the social work education in the
50s and 60s.
ƒ Demand for people qualified for working with “help to self help”.
ƒ Today: social workers education at several universities and
colleges
ƒ Development in education, research, and demand for skills. There
is a process towards a more academic and research based
approach
ƒ Strong association of Social Workers established in 1959
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Social work in Estonia
ƒ Education in social work first established in 1935 , but
social work was not recognised during Soviet times.
Training in social work closed in 1950
ƒ When regaining independence in 1991 concepts as
social work and social worker were rediscovered.
ƒ To organise social assistance became the responsibility
of local governments. (The Social Welfare Act,1995)
ƒ Social workers education
ƒ Tallinn University since 1991 and University of Tartu since 1992
ƒ Bachelor, master and PhD programmes, and research in social
work is now an established academic field.
ƒ The Association of Social Workers established in 200402.05.2011
5
Nordic modell
Social
partners
Working life
Welfare
policy
6
The Norwegian welfare model
- Universalism
- Income maintenance – basic security and
standard security
- Public financing of benefits and services
- Equality oriented and redistributive
- The “work line” is basic
A series of reforms
-Hospitals
-Child care and child protection
-Work and welfare
-Pensions
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7
”Welfare states under quadruple pressure”
ƒ
Pressure from above
ƒ Governments looking for new ways of organizing and managing
welfare
ƒ
Pressure from below
ƒ People look for other solutions than those offered by the welfare
state (individualisation,liberalization, flexibility) Is it possible for
public systems to meet everybody's needs?
ƒ
Pressure from inside
ƒ The system being problematic in itself (transparency, legitimacy, low
employment, does the system treat people with respect etc)
Perspective of those depending on the system
ƒ
Pressure from outside
ƒ Globalisation and international development (may influence both
directly and indirectly)
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Welfare states under quadruple pressure
Pressure from
above – e.g.
Consider-ations
of the authorities
Pressure from inside –
e.g. the interests of
users and the
professions
Pressure from
outside - e.g political
influence of
globalisation
Pressure from
below –
Reference to Tone Fløtten (2006)
e.g.
Considerations of
the citizens
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Data
ƒ The following analyses are mainly based on
the these sources:
ƒ Survey on attitudes towards income
disparities and income maintenance in
Estonia, Latvia and Norway (May 2005)
ƒ Five focus group interviews (2005)
ƒ 3 in Estonia: Jögevamaa, Pärnumaa and Tallinn
ƒ 2 in Norway, Oslo and Trondheim
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Is the welfare state …
• .. extensive (and generous) enough (or
are 2/3 societies emerging)?
• .. legitimate?
• .. appropriate for a heterogeneous
population
•.. good enough to justify the taxes?
Pressure from
below –
Reference to Tone Fløtten (2006)
f.x. the
concerns of
the people
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How well secured should the various
groups be?
Percentage in favour of covering a normal living standard
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
kin
or
W
Un
em
g
pl
oy
po
or
ed
.
ild
ch
M
an
y
ion
ns
Pe
Ill/
Di
sa
bl
er
ed
s
Estonia
Latvia
Norway
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Estonia
Latvia
Percentage
indicating
that various
groups are
not secured
through
current
system of
income
security.
wi
th
m
an
y
ch
ild
re
n
po
or
W
or
kin
g
Fa
m
il ie
s
Illn
es
s
or
di
sa
bi
lit
y
d
Norway
Re
tir
e
pl
oy
m
en
t
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Un
em
per cent
How well secured are various vulnerable
groups perceived to be?
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Perception of own income security in case of
loss of income?
100 %
80 %
Im prove previous
living s tandard
60 %
Can (alm os t)
k eep previous
living s tandard
40 %
Ins uffic iently to
m ak e ends m eet
20 %
0 %
E s tonia
Latvia
Norway
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Pressure from below
Is the system ..
•.. comprehensible/transparent?
Pressure from the
inside – f.x. concerns
related to the system
•.. legitimate?
•.. enhancing/securing high
employment?
•.. a dignified supporter?
Reference to Tone Fløtten (2006)
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Vulnerable groups and social policy
response
ƒ
The users
ƒ
Users
ƒ More conscious about their
rights and needs
ƒ The cases become more heavy
and complicated
ƒ Unemployed
ƒ Increased number from ethnic
minorities
ƒ Substance abuse
ƒ Youths with little education
ƒ Single mothers
ƒ Youths have new expectations to
the social and health services
ƒ Loneliness
ƒ Homeless, mental problems,
double diagnoses
ƒ Demanding users that know their
rights
ƒ A more demanding labour market
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Vulnerable groups and social policy
response
ƒ
Social policy response
ƒ Decrease in services and in
benefits (not adjusted to
inflation)
ƒ Increase in number of
social workers
ƒ Increase in paper work
ƒ Decrease in state transfers
ƒ Improvement of counselling
ƒ Stronger focus on
rehabilitation
ƒ
Social policy response
ƒ Increased expectations
ƒ More complicated division of
responsibility between the state
and the municipalities
ƒ Demands on cut backs and less
use of economical resources
ƒ Individual plans and users’
participation
ƒ Focus on poverty and workfare
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Social work practice/
What works and why does it work?
ƒ We are not able to judge on
who are the poor and do to
a very limited degree relate
to national plans
ƒ The starting point for
helping a user is to let
him/her define that they
have a problem
ƒ From focus on benefits to
more focus on services
ƒ Engaged in developing
cooperation with other
agents
ƒ The role as a ”diplomat”
ƒ To much bureaucratic work
on the cost of social work
ƒ Expected to implement social
policy, but have at the same time a
personal responsibility
ƒ Know very little about the plan for
fighting poverty, and do not discuss
what poverty is
ƒ The tension between ”acute” help
and ”normal” social assistance
ƒ Increased focus on users’
participation and on control of the
user go parallel
ƒ The work-line and the use of means
aimed at inclusion; a need for better
coordination
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Social work practice/
What works and why does it work?
ƒ
What works – why does it work?
ƒ
What works – why does it work?
ƒ We must use time to talk to the
users
ƒ We need time to talk to the users
and to see them
ƒ We should give services to the
users, not solve their problems for
them
ƒ The most important is to help the
users to trust that they can do
something themselves, help them
to find new personal strategies.
ƒ It is the small issues that are solved
that create satisfaction
ƒ We lack criteria for success
ƒ Need for evaluation
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The social workers and professionalisation
ƒ
The social workers
ƒ The work-place community is a
positive starting point
ƒ There is a need for an association
of social workers
ƒ
ƒ Large difference between the
municipalities
Professionalisation, capacity
development
ƒ Today we are generalists, there is a
need for specialisation
ƒ We want to learn from our
neighbouring countries
The social workers
ƒ Need for development of new methods
ƒ
Institutional framework
ƒ Fragmentation as a problem
ƒ Joint work across professional borders is
more of an ideal than reality
Institutional framework
ƒ Important to see that the different
sectors depend on each other (also
private organisations)
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ A broad understanding of social work goes
together with increased specialisation
ƒ
Professionalisation, capacity development
ƒ We need administrative practical tools
ƒ Knowledge about other foreign
cultures/religion (both our own and that of
other people)
ƒ Need for continuing education; knowledge
about how to find new knowledge
ƒ We need forums for discussing principle
issues
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Is there convergence in relation to how social
workers in the two countries perceive their
working situation?
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
A ”normalisation” of the socio-political situation in Estonia
Common: they relate to a limited degree to national plans and
papers
They all point to that the users become more conscious about
their right and needs
Focus on need for enough time to talk and listen to the users
Estonia: need for more specialists – Norway: the
specialisation has been developed further
The biggest difference is how they describe the process of
professionalisation and need for capacity development and
new knowledge.
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ƒ When social workers in Estonia and Norway
describe their situation as implementers of
social policy, the differences are related to
the understanding of problems and
traditions, the level of professional
development, available resources, and
social problems. The similarities are related
to a gap between needs and resources,
professional attitudes and the views of
social policy issues. A feeling of being
insufficient when confronted with the needs
of the users is combined with a feeling that
the social work is challenging and exciting.
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Pressure form inside?
ƒ
Not much complaining; active approach
ƒ They play an important role as implementers of changes
ƒ
Social work is developing from being a semi profession to a profession
ƒ some aspects of the situation in Estonia resembled the situation in Norway in the
70s
ƒ
The Norwegian social workers
ƒ are better organised in the sense that they have a strong association
ƒ are able to dominate their segment of the labour market, based on the number of
social workers
ƒ the level of education are increasing (from bachelor to master level; and specialising
education).
ƒ national influence due to being a stronger profession, but locally their main approach
is on methodological development
ƒ
The Estonian social workers
ƒ lack an strong national association
ƒ due to their limited numbers they lack dominance of their segment of the labour
market
ƒ have a higher level of education (relatively more with master level education).
ƒ local influence due to professional entrepreneurship.
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Example of a common “pressure from inside”
ƒ Pressure on influencing other institutions to
recognise and value social work
ƒ To understand why they do what they do. They fear that
the other institutions by not understanding what social
work is, should spoil what they are doing.
ƒ On development of new kinds of services.
ƒ The social worker is a kind of a networker. When the
network is not available and the user has problems that
need complex treatment, there is no place to send them,
and they tend to come back
ƒ More specialised services
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Communalities in model?
ƒ Universalism
ƒ Income maintenance – basic security and standard
security
ƒ Division of responsibilities between the state and the
municipalities
ƒ Redistribution?
ƒ Different tax systems
Structural similarities, but different in replacement level.
How will the financial crises influence the welfare policy?
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More about Fafo and the cooperation with
Baltic research institutions
ƒ http://www.fafo.no
ƒ http://www.fafo.no/BalticWelfare/index.htm
ƒ Thanks to:
ƒ Aadne Aasland
ƒ Tone Fløtten
ƒ Riina Kiik
ƒ Dagmar Kutsar
ƒ Inge Lise Skog Hansen
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