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Regional Welfare System Developments in Russia:Community Social Services
Author(s) -
Thomson Kate
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
social policy and administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.972
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1467-9515
pISSN - 0144-5596
DOI - 10.1111/1467-9515.00274
Subject(s) - welfare , social welfare , social security , social policy , perspective (graphical) , social work , politics , relevance (law) , service (business) , economic growth , political science , welfare state , public economics , economics , economy , artificial intelligence , computer science , law
Micro‐level studies of welfare service developments are largely absent from the literature on Russian social policy issues, which tends to concentrate on macro‐level social security arrangements. This paper highlights the emergence of community‐based social services in the post‐1991 era, examining their development in two provincial Russian cities, based on an empirical study carried out in 1998. The paper adds to a growing literature which seeks to understand “welfare systems” from the perspective of welfare services as opposed to a social security or policy‐based approach. It takes a user‐group perspective on the services by looking at their use by, and relevance for, disabled children regarded as having learning difficulties, and their families. The empirical data indicate the shape of “new” services in the field sites, the means by which such institutions were maintained and their integration into the welfare sphere as a whole. Their development and maintenance at the local level is explained in part by socio‐economic, political and administrative factors in these regions. By highlighting the various factors that help to maintain welfare provision and drive change at the local level, the case studies indicate the possible shape of future welfare developments in Russia as a whole.