Social work in the context of social services for elderly people with disabilities: a critical view on professional practice

The article presents a study which is part of a thorough research of the accessibility and quality of social services for people with disabilities. The research interest in the parameters of social work in the context of social services for the elderly is provoked by the disability profile in Bulgaria and by the national policies in the field of social services and people with disabilities. The study was conducted in the municipality of V.Tarnovo between June and July 2015. It covered two groups of specialists. The first group included social workers from the social services for the elderly with disabilities, and the second group - municipal experts and managers of social services for people with disabilities. The focus was on identifying the main problems and challenges in social work. The results show that social work operates in strict administrative frameworks, subject to intense regulations and requirements to ensure users' choice and control. It is entrusted with the difficult task of identifying and addressing the needs for accessible resources while providing more diverse and better quality social services.