Socialinis ugdymas. 2011. Nr. 15 (26)

Jonas MICKUS

PROSPECTS FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF MULTIFUNCTIONAL CENTRES

Annotation. At present the system of community social services is burgeoning in , as an alternative to stationary social services, which like the one in all western European countries targets at the utilization of societal educational potential. Since the end of the 19th century there has been a tendency to establish diverse community centres opting to become the edifice bringing members of different social groups together to solve various communal problems in Western Europe. It was in the community homes where socio-educational activities of divergent nature such as provision of cost-free legal advice, construction of playgrounds, recreation employment, and adult education were commenced. Various historical periods had an obvious impact on the changes of both the form and content of the activities of these centres. The purpose of the article is to analyse the experience of the multifunctional centres, es- tablished by municipalities and communities, to discuss problems, and to suggest possible solutions to them. On the basis of a primary survey of national municipalities, seven centres, which perform a number of socio-educational functions, were selected. Centre supervisors were asked to submit answers to the questionnaire about their founder(s), aims and objectives of their activities, provided services and clients, financing, cooperation and others. The survey results revealed the fact that the number of communal multifunctional centres in Lithuanian municipalities is still relatively scarce. Both the range of their activities and provided services depend on the founder, i.e. municipal council or community itself. The key function of all centres, therefore, is to render help and assistance to members of a local community, to provide social, psychological and educational services for all groups of local residents. It is this tendency of a communal lifestyle which enables the author of the article to draw the conclusion that the aim the centre was founded for rather than who the founder was stands at the core of the matter. Prior to the establishment of a multifunctional centre, a thorough research into community needs, its opportunities and uniqueness is of utmost significance. Key words: multifunctional centre, community, socialization.

Introduction

A number of significant changes have occurred in Lithuania in the past two decades; alongside the alterations in economic, political and social relations there have been certain transformations in people’s reasoning and values as well. These changes not only led to an obvious social tension among society members but also revealed new social phenomena and complex social problems. The state had to pool

154 Social Work Ecology its human and material resources in order to soften the impact on the society as a whole and its members separately, which consequently influenced the development of social security system. Social support is provided to increasingly new social groups hence its significance for the socialization of community members. According to J. Vaitkevičius (1995), socialization means an individual’s successful adaptation to a surrounding community. In view of its possibilities, the society nurtures its members by conditioning their growth, development and advancement. In this way, a person becomes a social being interacting with the world around him, acquiring the expertise to perceive the diversity of human relations, employing man-made culture, comprehending his own personality, grasping both the sense of identity and that of one’s uniqueness. Social environment and a person’s direct relationship with it, however, have the most significant influence on socialization. The vital role in the context of a versatile individual-community interaction is played by one’s individual chances to take part in the very process of socialization (Kvieskienė, 2005: 23). The results of the surveyLife Conditions (“Gyvenimo sąlygos“) conducted in1999, revealed the fact that in Lithuania an interest in politics is relatively low. Only a small proportion of residents in Lithuania belong to a certain non-governmental social organization (“Gyvenimo sąlygos“, 2002:179). What is more, people’s communal sense is also diminishing. A recent decentralization of social security enables individuals in need to apply to their local communities and/or to a social institution, held under their auspices, e.g. day care centre, community home, family centre, multifunctional centre of social services and etc. The goal of every single local municipality is to work out, master and alter the social, cultural structure into the economic one of its governed territory by harmonizing the interests of the local community and those of the State. (Leliūgienė, Baršauskienė: 25, 26).

Multifunctional Community Centres

A universal multifunctional centre is an institution rendering educational, cultural, psychological, medical and social services to the local community its core activities being pre-school and non-formal education of children, daytime child care, non- formal education of adults, aid in educational matters, family assistance, special needs development, distance teaching on the basis of formal and non-formal education programmes or their modules, leisure and socio-cultural and artistic activities of both children and adults and the like. Therefore a multifunctional centre could be

PROSPECTS FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF MULTIFUNCTIONAL CENTRES 155 ISSN 1392-9569 Socialinis ugdymas. 2011. Nr. 15 (26) defined as an adequate place (institution) which provides a range of services to all community members. Scientific literature contains examples from foreign countries when the establishment of similar institutions becomes a vital educational link in the development of societal awareness, citizenship, and education itself (e.g. USA, Great Britain, Canada and other countries) and caters for the needs of local residents in the process of solving educational problems. A flexible system of educational opportunities not only helps to foster human capital as by a continuous personal development people discover new possibilities for self-realization in various spheres of communal activities but also it has a direct influence on their health and other life quality factors. J. Vanier (1998) specifies the fact that a community is open to everything what is universal and depends on forgiveness and frankness towards others, the poor and the helpless. Living in a community means to break down barriers so that we could accept differences. The experience of community centres has evidenced that local people find the services provided in their community more efficient and thus preferential. Global practice of a social vocation has revealed the significance of making social services as proximate to an individual’s place of residence as possible, i.e. within one’s community. Scientific literature provides a great number of definitions to the concept community. With reference to the latter, its definition could be done in the view of several aspects (Baršauskienė V., Leliūgienė I., 2001:19), i.e. community as a geographic location, community as a collection of different relations and interrelations, community as a description of certain features and relationships and etc. A community is a group of families or people united by common values and possessing single services, institutions and interests or geographical proximity (Leliūgienė I., 1997: 270); a territorial community is a group of people sharing common property, service institutions, and e.g. parishes, health care centres, schools and etc. and residing in a defined territory (village, settlement, residential area, town district) (Baršauskienė V., Leliūgienė I., 2001:20); a community is a group of people who are to a certain extent connected from a territorial or social viewpoint and united by common interests and goals. The main goals of the social activities of a community are: To encourage community members to take an active part in the communal undertakings, to develop their neighbourhood awareness, to foster cooperation and the processes of democratic practice by finding solutions to social problems and applying available community sources.

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To influence the balance between the government and the community so as to strengthen the local democracy, to fight against social inequality and to fortify social justice. The essence of the distribution of functions with reference to the provision of social services between ministries (counties) and municipalities is to guarantee both the establishment of an efficient network of services and a standardized provision of services catering for customer needs. However, a widely-acknowledged decentralization principle of service administration among the majority of European countries specifies that in the process of provision of social services as many functions as possible should be transferred to the local governing body. A municipality is the key institution, which develops and guarantees adequate services to its community members. For instance, in Finland the third stage of service decentralization is being implemented (Žalimienė L. 2003: 137). • in the first stage the state functions of social protection were passed over to regions and communes, • in the second stage the functions of communes were handed over to town districts and communities, • in the third stage the functions of social protection go to groups of citizens or even to individuals. If the experience of European countries is compared, in Lithuania social services also show the tendency to come closer to the community, which could be evidenced by the establishment of new-type, universal and multifunctional centres in rural areas and small towns financed from the European Union funds.

Research methodology

Respondents Seven centres, which perform a number of socio-educational functions, were selected from the primary questionnaire survey of national municipalities, where the author was a member of expert group, which worked on a model of a universal multifunctional centre. These centres included the village of in Ukmergė district, the communities of Deltuva settlement and that of Tolučiai – Bajorai village, the Salakas Community Centre in district, the Kaunas Centre for the Disabled Youth , the Jonava District Activities Centre for the Disabled and the Centre of Social Support and Development for Children.

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Research methods The supervisors of the selected centres received a questionnaire containing questions about their founder(s), aims and objectives of their activities, provided services and clients, financing, cooperation and etc. The goal of the research was to overview the main preconditions for a successful and effective functioning of the centres established in municipalities and communities, providing a number of socio-educational functions.

Research results The successful performance of any institution or centre depends primarily on the skills and expertise of its leader, personnel and monetary funds (founder/s). Four of the selected centres were established by municipality councils, the remaining three were founded by the communities themselves (see Table 1). It can be stated that this demonstrates the concern for local residents and an avid pursuit on the part of the communities. The analysis of the sources of financing of centre activities shows that those centres which were established by municipalities are granted with stable and more varying sources of funding because they receive funds not only from the municipal budget but also accumulate income from services provided to clients, employ project finances, organize fund-raising activities or sponsorship events.

Table 1 Founders of centres and sources of financing

No. Centre title Founder Financing - municipal budget funds - visitors and residents con- The Jonava District Ac- tribution 1. tivities Centre for the Dis- District Municipal Council - project funds abled - charity and donations - income from work activi- ties The Kaunas Centre for the Kaunas City Municipal 2. municipal budget funds Disabled Youth Council The community of Del- The community of Deltuva - project funds 3. tuva settlement in Ukmergė settlement - charity and donations district

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No. Centre title Founder Financing The community of Lydu- - project funds The community of Lydu- 4. okiai village in Ukmergė - charity and donations okiai village district - customer contributions The community of Tolučiai The communities of Tolučiai - project funds 5. – Bajorai villages in Ukmergė – Bajorai villages - charity and donations district - membership fee - municipal budget funds The Utena Centre of Social District Municipal Council - customer contributions 6. Support and Development of Utena - project funds for Children - charity and donations - municipal budget funds The Salakas Community District Municipal Council - customer contributions 7. Centre in Zarasai district of Zarasai - project funds - charity and donations The survey carried an important purpose to pinpoint the structure of centres and the types of their provided services. It is obvious that the centres established by municipalities, i.e. the Jonava District Activities Centre for the Disabled, the Kaunas Centre for the Disabled Youth and the Utena Centre of Social Support and Development for Children, provide services to certain specified client groups, for instance, to mentally or physically disabled people or those with complex disabilities, as well as to homeless children or assaulted women and the like, whereas community centres are accessible to any member of the community or local residential area. The centres founded by municipalities are run by directors who on the grounds of legal ordinances are appointed and dismissed by the founder. They act following the statute provisions and the governing body comprises chairman of the community, board of community, general meeting. The board arranges plans of action, which are approved by an annual general meeting. The Salakas Community Centre in Zarasai district stands out from the rest group of respondents because it has the status of a legal entity, enjoys economic, financial, organizational and legal independence. The centre provides general and special social services only to the most vulnerable community members or such groups of residents as lone pensioners, people with disabilities, the elderly, children from problem families, the youth or those who are in urgent need of social services. The centre is the place to spend leisure, find activities according to one’s interests and demand, receive services provided by a social services agency. It also has a home for the elderly and provides a temporary shelter to those who had suffered loss of home

PROSPECTS FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF MULTIFUNCTIONAL CENTRES 159 ISSN 1392-9569 Socialinis ugdymas. 2011. Nr. 15 (26) and/or to women with children who had endured family violence, elderly pensioners in autumn-winter seasons and etc. The analysis of the objectives of centres’ activities, submitted by experts (centre supervisors), assumes the fact that the goals mostly depend on centre visitors and their needs. The objectives of community centres aim at life quality improvement of their residents, closer bonds among community members in view to ensure economic, cultural, environmental and social development. To reach these goals, the most vulnerable strata of people are summoned to take greater participation in the community’s life thus making their existence much more active, interesting and meaningful by advancing the network of social services, offering a place to community members where they could socialize, engage in favourite pastime activities and in this way diminish their social isolation as well as by protecting rights and interest of socially vulnerable community members, promoting their abilities to provide for themselves, re-establish their bonds with the society and, if possible, integrate into it. The key objectives set up by the centres providing services to the disabled are: to integrate people with disabilities into the community by stipulating general and special social services, to develop children and the youth with limited abilities who fail to comprehend the learning material due to their inherent or gained disorders or social exclusion, striving for development of their values system which in its turn, preconditions their opportunities to become honest, independent, responsible persons as well as help them to master essential development of knowledge and social competence, skills to independently participate in the community’s life and diminish social exclusion, ensuring the disabled safe, healthy environment and help which matches human dignity. The gained information allows for the following generalisation: The principles of community activitiesare based on volunteerism, sociability, respect, kindness, and mutual assistance. All community centre members take part in its activities because it is a “multifunctional” home for all local people residing in one community. The nature of centre activities focuses on the development of the children who fail to cover the learning material, develop themselves and participate in social life of the community due to their inherent or gained disorders or social exclusion with the aim to develop their values system which preconditions their possibility to become honest, independent, responsible persons as well as help them to master essential knowledge and social competence, skills to independently participate in the community’s life.

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Although the analyzed multifunctional centres provide a wide range of services to various social groups of their community, but according to the centres themselves, their shortage can be observed.

Table 2 Development opportunities of services

Services which require No. Centre title Demanded services development 1. The Jonava District Ac- Daytime activities ser- Short-term care services for tivities Centre for the Dis- vices for people over 16 persons with from mental and abled suffering from mental psychic disorders and psychic disorders 2. The Kaunas Centre for the Accommodation in homes Development of independent Disabled Youth of independent living as living skills in the disabled, Kaunas does not have a improvement of transport single social institution services providing such services 3. The community of Del- A shortage of services Develop all services provided tuva settlement in Ukmergė for the youth. to the community members, district A person capable of or- children and the youth in ganizing and providing particular these services is non- existent 4. The community of Lydu- Services for target groups General services for families okiai village in Ukmergė of the community (lone and individuals district people, children, the dis- abled, social risk families) 5. The community of Tolučiai Information on this ques- Information on this question – Bajorai villages in Ukmergė tion was not submitted was not submitted district 6. The Utena Centre of Social A shortage of social and Develop services for children Support and Development relaxation services at a cli- who have lost parental care, so- for Children ent’s place of residence. cial risk families , as well as fami- Lack of specialists and lies or their members, who find finances themselves in crisis situations 7. The Salakas Community A psychologist’s consulta- Intensify the accessibility of so- Centre in Zarasai district tions and psychological cial and pedagogical services to assistance the people and families residing in rural areas and remote places.

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As the respondents’ answers show (see Table 2) the majority of the centres see the development of their activities as a means of enhancement of general social, psychological services to their community members. The community’s need to develop social-pedagogical services to families residing in rural areas or remote places is of great significance. This demonstrates the maturity of communities and their attitude towards the diversity of provided services. Services of pre-school development, daytime activities services centres for children, services for young mothers and etc. could also find place in the range. Although the number of multifunctional centres in the country is still deficient, their organizational and practical expertise in the provision of different services is of great importance. It is the adequate management of organization that stipulates one of the most significant conditions for the centre to perform and function efficiently. Respondents gave varying answers to the question what perfect management of a centre could be, but village and small town communities indicated stable financing and the introduction of pay-roll employees being one of the key elements of a successful running of a centre (Table 3).

Table 3 Perfect UMC management

No. Centre title Perfect (optimal) management The activities of the centre and the quality of provided services depend on the number of employees, their qualifications and on the size of the received salary. A social worker is to have empathy with the cared The Jonava District Activities 1. people, attempt to know them better, so as to make the Centre for the Disabled working process easier. This will also help the centre supervisor to improve the whole centre performance because every single employee could be assigned with a part of overall responsibility and quality. Municipal Council is the founder of centres; finances comprise municipal budget money and the contribu- The Kaunas Centre for the tion on the part of clients. Services should be charge- 2. Disabled Youth able. The client, who receives the services of that type, should be solvent, i.e. having enough money to pay for the received services.

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No. Centre title Perfect (optimal) management Organizations providing social services should be guaranteed with at least safe and sound financing all year round. Our organization survives from a project to a project. The daytime activity centre for children Delnai has stopped functioning for the recent three months, i.e. January, February and March due to the fact that projects of the programme, from which this The community of Deltuva activity is financed, have not yet been approved. Such 3. settlement in Ukmergė dis- being the problem, it is impossible to ensure stable trict working places for employees, thus one has to choose from lower-calibre salary-earners who are quite content with even such conditions. Some activities like OIAP could never “survive” without sponsoring in a rural area. Before launching multifunctional centres, the community’s needs, the types of centre’s activities, the forms of their maintenance should be thoroughly researched. Head of family support centre is a pay-roll employee accountable to the board of the village community. The community of Lyduokiai 4. The organization of activities: the process involves village in Ukmergė district both pay-roll and public employees, whereas finances for centre running come from the municipal budget. The organization of centre’s activities is based on the principle of volunteerism; financing – the municipality The community of Tolučiai should provide the funds for the salaries of chairman, 5. – Bajorai villages in Ukmergė his deputy and the financier; a greater amount of district money should be allotted for project activities as well as for the community home maintenance. Democratic- team management. The organization of activities - a sufficient number of employees, high quality of specialists, a 50-100 per The Utena Centre of Social cent increase in salaries, good working environment, 6. Support and Development for centre accessibility for all groups of clients in view of Children their special needs (compensational equipment, means for development and etc.). Financing planned with reference to separate client groups and their needs is expected to be approved. A two-fold nature of founders, i.e. municipality and the The Salakas Community Cen- 7. community. Stable financing and an adequate number tre in Zarasai district of specialists of various fields are essential.

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The acquired information allows for the conclusion that the success and efficiency of centre management and its activities strongly lean on its founder who could be the council of the municipality, the community itself or both the municipality and the community. It could also be assumed that such a two-fold model of centre establishment might result in excellent outcomes owing to the fact that the municipality would be obliged to allot a proper and stable amount of financial sources to ensure the functioning of centre activities (partial or entire facilities maintenance, employees’ salaries and etc.), whereas the community council would make possible attempts to pool the willingness of volunteers, to organize centre activities, to clean and preserve the interior and exterior of the centre and etc. As the survey results suggest all centres participate in project activities, the money from which is the only guarantee for financial security and survival. The municipalities do provide the centres with the money for the maintenance of buildings, office furnishing or/and purchase of the equipment. Alongside the projects funded from the municipality budgets, community centres also take part in the projects run by the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Social Security and Labour. The success of centres’ activities depends not only on proper management and stable financing but also on the help and expertise of partners. All centres closely cooperate with the departments of municipality administration, such as the agency for protection of child rights, the department of social support, the department of education, parishes and etc., development and cultural institutions as well as other community centres, priests and sponsors. By the exchange of information and expertise new solutions or financing possibilities are sought for.

Conclusions

Having analysed the experience of the Lyduokiai village in Ukmergė district, the communities of Deltuva settlement and that of Tolučiai – Bajorai village, the Salakas Community Centre in Zarasai district, the Kaunas Centre for the Disabled Youth, the Jonava District Activities Centre for the Disabled and the Utena Centre of Social Support and Development for Children, it can be concluded that the first steps of the experience of multifunctional centres in the state are already evident. The surveyed centres could be grouped into the centres established by the communities of villages and rural areas and those founded by councils of municipalities. Not only the models of management, financing, targeted groups of

164 Jonas MICKUS Social Work Ecology customers of these centres but also the number of employees and the scope of their activities differ significantly. However, the key aim of all centres is identical, i.e. to support the members of the local community, to provide social, psychological, educational services to all groups of residents. This common trend of activities leads to the conclusion that the aim of centre establishment rather that its founder is of greatest importance. The activities of the institution, which has several founders, are far more perspective because constant cooperation and the focus on the achievement of mutual goals will undoubtedly justify the expectations of the community. Before establishing new multifunctional centres, the community’s needs and opportunities as well as its uniqueness should be thoroughly investigated.

Literature

1. Baršauskienė V., Leliūgienė I. Sociokultūrinis darbas bendruomenėje. Mono- graph. Kaunas, 2001. 2. Kvieskienė G. Pozityvioji socializacija. Monograph. , 2005. 3. Leliūgienė I. Žmogus ir socialinė aplinka. Kaunas: Technologija, 1997. 4. Lietuvos respublikos socialinės apsaugos ir darbo ministerija. Gyvenimo sąly- gos. Vilnius, 2002. 5. Vaitkevičius J. Socialinės pedagogikos pagrindai. Vilnius: Egalada, 1995. 6. Vanier J. Bendruomenė atleisti ir švęsti. Vilnius: Vyturys. 1998. 7. Žalimienė L. Socialinės paslaugos: teaching aid. VU Specialiosios psichologijos laboratorija, Vilnius, 2003. Received in February 2011 Submited for publication in March 2011

Jonas Mickus – lecturer of Institute of Social Communication, Vilnius Pedagogical University; ar- eas of scientific interests: policy of social security, establishment of the network of social development institutions, address: Studentu St. 39, LT–08106 Vilnius, Lithuania; e-mail: [email protected]

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