This study explores the changes and implications of the relationship between social workers and service users following the introduction of voucher in Korea. The purpose of this study was exploring the experience of the relationship between social wor...
This study explores the changes and implications of the relationship between social workers and service users following the introduction of voucher in Korea. The purpose of this study was exploring the experience of the relationship between social workers and service users. For this study, 13 social workers and 9 voucher service users who using the Persnal Assistant Services to Disabled People's and the Care Voucher for the Aged participated in the purposeful sampling. The study was investigated through the participants’ interviews and the materials of document information in qualitative study research.
The results of this study were largely classified as relational experience of service users and relational experience of social workers based on targets. First, the relational experience of service was analyzed as ‘objectification’, ‘the sense of being controlled’ and ‘power experience’.
‘Objectification’ experience implied that the user was not provided with individualized service and not respected as the subject of service due to the market mechanism of the pursuit of profit but got the objectified experience by finding instrumentalized and marginalized him/herself under the system of voucher service.
‘The sense of being controlled’ experience implied that users got experience between main agents of action in voucher system such as social workers, service providers and national government and was divided into ‘fears about stigma of bad user’ and ‘weakness due to violation of personal space’.
‘Power experience’ of users was the actual ‘exertion of limited option’. In their awareness of the power, ‘coexistence of opposing power awareness’ with both positive and negative aspects appeared. Furthermore, power of users was exercised as a means to achieve the self-interest and was done sometimes visibly or invisibly depending on the situation.
The relational experience of social workers was divided into ‘customer manger’ experience, ‘agent of management control’ experience and ‘expansion and differentiation of power’. The market mechanism made social workers recognize themselves as dependent existence to user’s option. The efforts to respect the user as the customer and let them remain on the use of service gave them the experience ‘customer manager’. ‘Agent of management control’ experience was caused by the role to substitute the supervision and control of national government among roles of social workers who were the manager in service delivery system. Finally, power experience of social workers was shown as ‘expansion and differentiation of power’. Awareness of the power of social workers was shown as ‘reduction of autonomy’. This experience was the most realistic to social workers. In another dimension, the power of social workers faced the new phase in practice of voucher. The power of social workers was reduced by enhancement of option of users, but the relationship in practice newly formed in practice of voucher, in other words, the relationship between social workers and service providers gave new power to social workers and therefore, the power was differentiated and was re-structured with new configuration.
Implications of this study are as follows:
First, the study's theoretical implications found the mechanism inherent in the basis of experience as a result from analysis on experience of social workers and users. They are basic principles of voucher system such as marketization, bureaucratization and movement of authority.
Second, the study's policy implications empirically verified that how the intent and purpose of policy were carried out on site and uncertainties and various interests dynamically interacted. In addition, institutional measures and procedures are required to fulfill the expansion of user’s rights, butusers are empowered and can exert the right as main agent of service until social recognition and respect of user’s right are established together by social welfare practitioners and government.
Third, the study's practical implications will provide the basic data to check the role of social workers in the welfare system of voucher service and seek the compass (direction) of practice. In addition, as the role of social workers in the voucher service emerges as the middle managers, area for intervention is expanded from microscopic dimension to middle range and macroscopic dimension. They manage a large workforce including the targets of management, in other words, service users as well as service providers.