Poverty and social work in Lithuania

• Academia: straipsnio tekstas

ENA person considered poor if he or she has low income and other resources (material, cultural and social) that prevents them ensuring they attain the customary standards of living in the Lithuanian society. In Lithuania, persons facing the greatest risk of poverty or social exclusion are distinguished by the following characteristics: are unemployed or economically inactive; they have not completed primary education or have completed lower than secondary education; persons living alone or single persons with dependent children. Poverty is consequence of political, economic, social and cultural transformations. The social work and social security in Lithuania focused on the rapid changes caused by these transformations. The aim of the social work, which is given legal effect, is to implement interventions and to solve the existing social problems including poverty. However, the current practice does not put enough stress on preventive work. Working with socially excluded groups, social workers should seek to empower clients and build their activities an a strenghts based perspective.