Poverty and Social Exclusion and its Significance for Social Work Practice - Research Paper Example

Introduction The following paper attempts to define the author’s understanding of poverty and social inclusion. To begin with, the definitions of these social phenomena are put forth, along with their repercussions to indigent sectors of society. Following this, implications on the three phases of social work practice shall be delved into, namely, planning, implementation, and assessment. For planning, it is argued that social workers have to be able to ensure that their programmes are received by deserving sectors of society, and not just those who have easy access to such programmes. On both the planning and implementation phases, the social worker needs to be able to address the essence of the practice: that is, will they cater to the individual in private, or assist and empower society as a whole – or should there really be a dilemma? Previously, there was the contemporary dilemma of social work practice where social work is asked to help society on one end, and assist with individual needs on the other. This dilemma has apparently been resolved in UK social work practice, with social workers working with individuals. Recommendations on how the latter can best exert impact on the mission to eradicate poverty and social exclusion in British society. Finally, in the assessment phase, the social worker should be keen about validity issues in measuring poverty and social exclusion. Issues in the measurement of poverty are tackled, suggesting the lack of validity of objective measures of poverty. Poverty and Social Exclusion: Definitions Townsend (1979) has been responsible for the groundwork on defining and measuring poverty. Basically, he has prescribed that persons may be categorised as impoverished if they do not have the necessary resources to procure food and commodities, engage in activities, and experience the lifestyle, which are conventional within the social group they are affiliated with. Moreover, they are so financially constrained that they are unable to participate in conventional day-to-day activities of their social group, which in turn leads to social exclusion. In comparison, social exclusion was natural offshoot of the need to investigate the outcomes of lack of employment. To this, Room (1995) shares that society is a ladder of social status which are bonded strongly by equitable rights and accountabilities anchored on ethics and morals. He says that the phenomenon of social exclusion involves the removal or gradual detachment from such anchor (Room 1995). Stil on the definition of social exclusion is the one proposed by the Social Exclusion Unit of the United Kingdom which is a special unit which has been established by Tony Blair in 1997, with the clear mandate of eradicating the causes of social exclusion. The Social Exclusion Unit (1999) has defined social exclusion as something that goes beyond indigence in terms of what one earns. It transpires when individuals or locations are wrought with issues such as lack of employment, ostracism, lack of competencies or qualifications, poor earning capacity, inadequate shelter, criminality, lack of access to healthcare, and dysfunctional families. In aggregate, these factors are capable of producing an inevitable cycle of social exclusion which is quite difficult to break. Moreover, the Social Exclusion Unit (1999) opines that this phenomenon may also occur as a consequence of personal problems, and it can also begin since one was born. Belonging to an indigent family, or having parents who are uneducated may lessen the probability of a child’s success in the future (Social Exlcusion Unit 1999). Hills et al (2002) note that there has been contention about the manner in which social exclusion has been defined by the Social Exclusion Unit. Be that as it may, it does acknowledge that this phenomenon is passed over from one generation to the other and that there is a dire need to address the root causes of the problem early on. Therefore, the key to resolving this social ill is to prevent it and eradicate it from the source (Hills et al, 2002). Atkinson (1998) says that there are certain principles involved in the categorisation of social exclusion. One is that socially excluded individuals are always compared vis-à-vis some point of reference or against standards experienced by that reference group. Moreover, social exclusion is time and context bound. Atkinson (1998) further shares that the outcomes of such condition need to be investigated historically to be fully comprehended. Finally, it has been suggested that exclusion is an outcome of one’s own actions or that of others. The concept of social exclusion has caused a tremendous effect on British society, much premium has been attached to it, to the point that inclusion and integration of society have been priorities of the government’s change agenda (Atkinson, 2007). There are a handful of indicators which suggest social exclusion. One of these is disengagement, which pertains to the inability of an individual to be involved in conventional social activities of the social group he is affiliated with, and which are being engaged in by majority of the other members of the group. Yet another form of exclusion has to do with services – where individuals are unable to receive services which are availed of my most of the other members. These include schooling, health care, and care for the aged). Finally, one other indicator of inclusion has do with economic resources, and which are concretely represented by how much these individuals earn, their savings, ability to borrow, employment standing, and assets (Bradshaw 2004). Poverty in Britain Herbert (2004) shares that roughly 70% of the most impoverished youths in Britain are situated only in 4 locations, namely, Greater Manchesterm, Merseyside, London, and Glasgow. While there have been serious goverment interventions to avert poverty since the early part of the 80s, Herbert (2004) suggests that indigence has become a cycle that has proven difficult to break. Dysfunctional families, substance dependence, delinquency and crime among these locations have proliferated and reinforced poverty all the more. In stark contrast, indigence has continued for the past 2 decades, while the remainder of the social group they belong to have amassed 50% more riches nd resources within the same time frame (Herbert 2004). Throughout the country, close to a fifth of all children belong to families who are accorded with assistance because they are not employed. Moreover, there is also evidence suggesting that poverty is influenced by ethnicity, as 1 out of 4 adults do not have the means to buy 3 items that are perceived as necessities by most in the 80s. These individuals have less access to healthcare, less than average life spans, and encounter hardship in their studies age nineteen years (Herbert 2004). M2Presswire (2004) indicates that the sectors which are most vulnerable to poverty and social exlusion are as follows: indigent adults, especially those that belong to minority groups with less than adequate skills, who are not fit to work, and are suffering from some bodily or psychological dysfunction; teens whose ages range from 16-25, who have a history of delinquency; more mature adults who suffer from social exclusion; individuals who very often move homes. To illustrate but one repercussion of social exclusion, Scott et al (2001) have demonstrated that before 30 years of age, youth who suffer from behavioural dysfunctions incur ten times as much expense than those who are within behavioural norms. These costs are accounted for by crime, then by the additional cost for schooling, care, and benefits provided for by government. Moreover Scott et al (2001) further note that the economic status of parents have minimal impact on such behaviour, and while ther have been noted contributions by gender, and going to more than two primary educational institutions, the the behavioural dysfunction still accounted for the greatest expense. While some advocate the idea that youths’ upbringing is a major factor in the social exclusion phenomenon, it should be noted that the setting and circumstances in which such upbringing is carried out does have influence in the proneness of the individual to behavioural dysfunction. Britain Learning from Other Countries’ Experience of Exclusion Britain is learning from the experience of other countries on social exclusion. The social exclusion initiatives of the United States and of New Zealand have edified Britain and have lead it to deploy it in the country in 2007. The programme involves the assignment of nurses to high risk sectors, catering to both adults and children. Yet another country from which influenced Britain’s approach to social exclusion policy and programme implementation comes from the Netherlands, particularly dealing with the problem of teenage pregnancy. The latter has significantly decreased in the said country once they have implemented a programme that encourages more transparent discussion of the matter. On child care, inspiration comes from Germany, where the teacher to student ratio allows them to concentrate only on a few children, which permits effective follow-through over a few years (Britain: Breaking the circle 2006). These are all areas in which social work practice may come into play, in a multi-disciplinary set up with other professionals who share the same thrust of eradicating poverty and social exclusion. For instance, on the visits of nurses to indigent families, the social worker may actively play the role of counselor and adviser, coaching these families on how to go about their ordeal of poverty. Moreover, in the programme aimed to avert teenage pregnancy, the social worker may engage himself in various phases of the project: programme design, actual implementation, and assesssment. In programme design, the social worker, in close collaboration with a multi-disciplinary team, may provide input about how best to approach this discussion of sex education among the youth. In the implementation phase, his role may be delineated from those that will be played by his colleagues. Will he counsel? Will he interview youths? Will he explain the implications of pregnancy? All these may be standardised discourse, with the aim of letting the at-risk youth understand pregnancy and parenting in its fullness. Finally, post-programme implementation involves asking the youth and their parents about how they found the visits and discussions and if these were effective in making them comprehend what pregnancy and parenting are about. Concrete objective measures, such as incidence of actual teenage pregnancy may also be tracked, in such a case, the social worker may help in the data gathering / research process. Implications for the Planning Phase: Programme Design Social workers have a key role in the manner in which assistance is deployed to the most indigent families. They carry the ‘sweet burden’ of making sure that resources and programmes designed for impoverished and socially excluded sectors are actually farmed out to those who will benefit most from them. This has been realised by the British government early on in 2006 when they have crafted th programme Sure Start. The programme, initiated in 1999, with the aim of according advise and rsources to the most indigent sectors of the country has been received warmly. However, latter assessment of the programme does sugges that well-to-do or middle income families have yielded more from the programme than those groups whom they have targetted at the onset (Britain: Breaking the circle 2006). Implications for both Planning and Implementation Phases: Sustaining the Resolutions of Social Work Practice One implication that needs to be considered by social workers in design and implementation of programmes is the essence of their role in general. The effects of globalisation have had substantial impact on UK society, regardless of whether they are recipients of public services or not. Dominelli (2002) notes that governments now regard most of their constituents as independent, autonomous, and capable of taking care of themselves. Moreover, it has been observed that indigent groups such as refugees, those afflicted with mental dysfunction, drug abusers, and victims of abuse are now recipients of more stringent and ‘less humane’ interventions. Moreover, Dominelli (2002) notes that social work practice is now more customarily involved with evaluation of risk, allocation of risk, and addressing the weakness of families who are considered at risk. Butler & Drakeford (2001) assert that social work practice is now less engaged in the empowerment and in enabling needy sectors of society with the eventual thrust of eradicating exclusion. The sad yet real criticism being faced by social work practice is the loss of its essence (Butler & Drakeford 2001). Specht & Courtney (1994) say that there seems to be conflict between private practice of clinical social work and its emphasis on helping the marginalized, since time immemorial. Moreover, they criticise social work saying that it has forgotten if not totally eradicated the latter, to the disadvantage of the indigent. They further share that such private practice and helping the needy are incompatible goals that cannot be served simultaneously. They explain that there is intrinsic inconsisteny between the volunteerism required of shaping and assisting the community and the detached, indifferent nature of psychotherary that focuses on the individual. Moreover, Franklin (1990) asserts that this change in the practice of clinical social work is predominantly rooted in the dynamic changes in the economy and in politics, which have in turn affected social work policy. Thus, in the context of Britain, social workers need to be equipped with what is necessary to cope with these changes. Franklin (1990) further notes the following challenges for social work: foreost is the marriage of “social treatment” methodologies with its knowhow of change management on a large scale. The other challenge is to ensure that the inteventions that it puts forth are timely and apt. Social workers need to find balance between assisting individuals on one hand, and helping society on the other. These assertions of Specht & Courtney (1994) and Franklin (1990) no longer hold for UK society. Social workers now are more focused on direct practice, where they are bent on helping individuals with their peculiar needs. Then again, individual assistance is not incompatible with social change and the mission to eradicate exclusion. As mentioned and will be reiterated, the help accorded to one excluded individual is a step towards eliminating exclusion. Ultimately, social change and individual change may in fact be compatible – as change in individuals, in large scale, will redound to shaping and changing society. There are likewise indications that point out the need for social work practice to lobby for policy that will facilitate inclusion. Pantazis & Ruspini (in Pantazis 2006) share that both poverty and social exclusion are stigma that are influenced strongly by gender. There is a greater probability for women to be indigent. In fact, the most impoverished social group are single mothers. These provide clear indications in terms of drafting policies dovetailed for these groups and for women in general, in the best interest of Britain overall. The gravest difficulties are not constrained only to the indigent; there are instances where youth from poor sectors succeed, and there are situations in which the wealthy do not. However, there is marked probability for those at the very bottom of the hierarchy to suffer from bleak futures. For instance, one research in New Zealand that has had an influence on policy making in Britain shares that youths of the most impoverished sectors have 100 times greater probability of suffering from several social difficulties at 15 years old than those from affluent families (Britain: Breaking the circle 2006). Moreover, there is a grave need for social workers to monitor the benefactors of the programmes which they so carefully design and deploy with government. Doherty et al (2003) note that accessibility to such programmes is a strong predictor of beneffiting from these. This is in direct conflict with the fact that most indigent and socially excluded families are remote and difficult to reach. The challenge then, for enhanced social work practice, is to be able to find means of channeling these programmes and their corresponding benefits to the ‘authentically’ indigent. They should find means of increasing access to these programmes. Moreover, Doherty et al (2003) notes that the more a social work programme is perceived as special or discriminatory, the more unikely will participation be by community members. One tactic which has been considered for resolving this issue is the use of entities which have not been conventionally linked to a specific social work agency.This has been proven effective at reducing the sense of ostracism that has been associated with being recommended for social assistance. Moreover, there is evidence that suggests hardship in empowering ethnic members. Some of the other challenges that need to be surmounted for the benefit of these sectors include language and gender matters in relation to accessibility of social work services (Doherty et al 2003). Implications for the the Assessment Phase One implication for the social worker has to do with the measurement of poverty. Boarini & d’Ercole (2006) suggest that measurements using income solely are not completely valid because they do not consider the person’s capabiity to source financially, e,g, to take out a loan; to have saved substantially in the past; to solicit support from social networks; and to avail of welfare services. These suggest that it is more apt to measure lifestyle metrics in assessing poverty to encapsulate this factors. There are various means of measuring poverty, and among the most commendable researches which have been dedicated to this purpose is the Poverty and Social Exclusion (PSE) survey conducted initially in 1999. The said survey concerns the measurement of poverty among both mature adults and the youth. Among the issues which have been raised about the survey is the lack of detail and depiction of how data have been garnered, and the limited sample size of 1,500 which raises issues on the validity and reliability of the data (Pantazis et al 2006). One portion of the work dedicated to measurement of poverty in Britain Poverty and Social Exclusion in Britain: The Millennium Survey, has been written by David Gordon, and specifically talks about the difficulties inherent in the measurement of poverty. Using three various means of measurement, namely the consensual, the income poverty, and the subjective methods, all three suggest the same outcome: roughly a fourth or 25% of Britain’s citizenry may be considered as living in poverty levels (Pantazis et al 2006). Perhaps, it is logical for one to deduce that employment type is an ideal means of alleviating, if not totally eradicating the poverty problem. However, Pantazis et al (2006) point out that this is not necessarily so. In stark disagreement with past researches, the work of Bailey (in Pantazis et al 2006) suggest that those working part-time even have a lesser probability of suffering from exclusion compared to full-time employees and those who are unemployed. The factors which are thought to explain these outcomes included variations in their support systems and social ties. Moreover, it has been found that females stand to garner more from employment in terms of monetary terms using subjective measurements. This is worth pointing out since objective methodologies do suggest that there male and female within the household have equal income distribution (Pantazis et al 2006). One causal relationship which is tackled by Payne (in Pantazis et al) is that between social exclusion and mental health. Payne has measurement mental well-being through the General Health Questionnaire, which basically assesses whether the respondent perceives himself as belonging to this category. One item asked the responded whether he thought he was poor; and about 10% of those who actually said they never once felt this way were in fact catgorised as such using objective criteria. Payne explains that this may have to do with their standards of living, which have now decreased because of their stature. However, objective measurements seem to be more correlated to mental health rather than affective, subjective self-reports. Conclusion There is hope in the constant attempts to improve the lives of the impoverished and socially excluded. In fact, in 2004, the report of the government’s Social Exclusion Unit has reported the following points of progress: addressing the root causes of social exclusion, with close to 2 million individuals being offered employment since 1997; allotting a substantial budget for youths to finally get rid of the cycle of poverty; and attempting to reverse social issues that cause these social stigmas (M2 Presswire 2004). To be able to sustain these positive outcomes, the Breaking the Cycle report outlines the need to carry on with the efforts to address poverty across generations; pounding further on the roots of economic exclusion; living up to what has been pledged in the areas of health care, addressing inequalities, improving access to school, providing housing, averting crime rates, and dovetailing public service programmes for the indigent (M2 Presswire 2004). Clearly, there continues to be a great divide in Britain, caused by poverty and social exclusion. It has only been of late that Britain has realized the social repercussions of these to a supposedly affluent nation. There is a dent that needs to be addressed in this area, and in which social work practice, can play a major role. There is a need to address poverty in a more encompassing manner. The approach needs to be more cohesive, strategic, and carried out in the long term. Poverty and social exclusion need to be solved directly by interfacing with indigent families and locations in Britain, crafting long-term solutions instead of mere palliatives to the situation. References Atkinson, A B, 1998, Social exclusion, poverty and unemployment. In A B Atkinson and J. Hills (eds.), Exclusion, Employment and Opportunity, CASE paper 4, Centre for the Analysis of Social Exclusion, London School of Economics, pp. 1-20. Atkinson, A B, 2007, EU social policy, the lisbon agenda and re-imagining social policy, Henderson Oration, 21 February, University of Melbourne. Boarini, R & d'Ercole, MM, 2006,'Measures of Material Deprivation in OECD Countries', Working Paper No. 37, Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs, OECD, Paris. Bradshaw, J 2004, How has the notion of social exclusion developed in the european discourse?, Economic and Labour Relations Review, Vol. 14 (2), pp. 168-86. Britain: Breaking the circle. The Economist, London: Sep 16, 2006, Vol. 380, Iss. 8495, p. 38. Butler, I & Drakeford, M, 2001, Which Blair project? Communitarianism, social authoritarianism, and social work, Journal of Social Work, 1(1), pp. 7-19. Doherty, P, Hall, & Kinder, KJ, 2003, On track thematic report: Assessment, referral, and hard to reach groups, National Foundation for Educational Research. Dominelli, L, 2002, Anti-opressive social work: Theory and practice. Palgrave, Basingtoke. Fook, J, 2002, Social work: Critical theory and practice. Sage, London. Franklin, D, 1990, The cycles of social work practice: Social action vs. individual interest, Journal of Progressive Human Services, 1(2), 59-80. Herbert, I, 2004, Poverty and despair of Britain's lost generation, The Independent. London (UK), p 1.4. Hills, J, Le Grand, J & Piachaud, D (eds), 2002, Understanding social exclusion, Oxford University Press, Oxford. M2 Presswire, 2004, UK Government: Tide turning on social exclusion; new Government drive to reach society's most vulnerable people, Coventry, p. 1 Pantazis, C, Gordon, D & Levitas, R, 2006, Poverty and social exclusion in Britain: The Millennium survey. Policy Press, Bristol. Parton, N, Thorpe, D, & Wattam, C, 1997, Child protection, risk, and the social order. Macmillan, London. Scott, S, Knapp, M, Henderson, J & Maugham, B, 2001, The financial cost of social exclusion: A follow-up study of anti-social children into adulthood, British Medical Journal, 323(7306), p. 191. Social Exclusion Unit, 1999, Definition of social exclusion, Socialexclusion.gov.uk. Specht, H & Courtney, M, 1994, Unfaithful angels, The Free Press, New York. Townsend, P 1979, Poverty in the United Kingdom, Penguin Books, Harmondsworth. Read More