StepOne – Job placement program for persons with disability

- A Social Work intervention

Practicum Report

Submitted to the University of Madras in partial

fulfillment of the requirement for the

M.Phil Degree Examination in Social Work

By

K.C.Lazar

Under the guidance of

Dr. Udaya Mahadevan

Department of Social Work, Loyola College.

March 2008

Department of Social Work

Loyola College, Chennai – 600034

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Approval Sheet

This is to certify that we have through this Practicum Report and we hereby certify

that this is a bonafide work of K.C.Lazar, studying M.Phil Social Work in Loyola

College, Chennai.

Supervisor Head of the Department

Dr.Udaya Mahadevan Rev.Fr.J.M.Das

Reader Reader

Department of Social Work Department of Social Work

Loyola College, Chennai Loyola College, Chennai

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First of all, I thank The Almighty God for his countless blessings and confidence he has given me in this wonderful endeavor.

Iam greatly thankful to the Trustees and colleagues at Bhoomika Trust, Chennai for their continuous support and encouragement in this initiative.

I thank my guide Dr.Udaya Mahadevan for her meticulous guidance and support.

I take this opportunity to thank Mr.Gopi and all the staff and residents of Nethrodaya for their generous support in this effort.

I thank all the candidates, who believed in my work and came along to make this journey a pleasant one.

Last, but not the least, I thank my wife Vincy and son Kevin, for their emotional support.

Date:

Place: K.C.Lazar

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE NO.

Approval sheet 1

Certificate from Bhoomika Trust 2

Acknowledgements 3

Table of contents 4

Chapter - I

Executive summary: 7

Disability in ancient times 8

Eugenic movement 10

Rehabilitation and Habilitation 12

Definition of the terms impairment, disability and handicap 15

ICF - International Classification of Functions and ability 17

Involvement of International Labor Organizations 18

Human Rights and Disability 19

Constitutional Provisions and Legislative Support 24

Legislative support 25

Social Welfare Schemes introduced during the various Five Year Plans 26

Chapter - II

In India statistics on persons with disability 33

Visual Impairment and Blindness 35

India - visually impaired 37

What is Social Work? 44

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Social work intervention 51

Bhoomika Trust 52

The program - StepOne 55

About Nethrodaya 57

The planned social work intervention 58

Chapter - III

Intervention involving Social Casework 61

Intervention involving Social Work Administration 69

Intervention involving Social Group Work 79

Intervention from an employer’s perspective 82

Chapter – IV

The out come of an Eclectic approach 87

Future direction 88

The model of intervention 89

Time allocation 90

Annexures

Consent letter and offer letter from employers (Pilot Phase) 92 - 97

Letter from donor (Pilot Phase) 98

Appraisal – checklist – sample

Consent letter and offer letter from employers – (Second phase) 100-101

Testimonial from a candidate 102

Letter from Secretary – Loyola College 103

Letter from donors (Second phase) 104-106

References 107-108

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Chapter - I

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StepOne –Job placement program for persons with disability

– A Social Work intervention

“Disabled people have got so much to offer. It would be better if people stopped looking at

everything that we can’t do and looked at what we can do”. (Peter Flynn, 1998:27)

Executive summary:

One of the greatest challenges for people with disability is to get a decent regular job. A job in

line with their skills and abilities; which will enhance their self esteem and make them less

dependent on others.

As observed by International Labor Organization, all through history people with disability have

been trapped in vicious circle of marginalization, poverty and social exclusion. To break away

from this vicious cycle they require a regular job which is hard to fetch.

Moving away from the charity mode, there is growing recognition of the Rights Based approach

to the issue. But inspite of various welfare measures, the employment status of persons with

disability is yet to achieve any appreciable levels. According to 2007 World Bank report almost

half the disabled population in India do not have regular job. If efforts are not made to enhance

their economic contributions, society will continue to provide them an “unwanted status”.

Aim of this practicum was to arrange placement for five visually impaired persons, using the

methods and principles of Social Work. The program was done under the aegis of Bhoomika

Trust where the Social Worker is employed as Program Manager.

This practicum titled StepOne based on the Empowerment Model of Social Work used a

combination of Social Work methods, namely Social Work Administration, Social Casework and

Social Group Work. Social Work Administration to develop the program in the context of the

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Social Agency, Bhoomika Trust and for coordinating with other agencies, Social Casework and

Social Group Work to effectively engage Visually Impaired persons and to enhance their social

functioning. This 220 hour Social Work Practicum was done over a period of 45 days, between

October and December 2007, in Chennai. Placement was successfully arranged for three out of

the four candidates, who completed the program. One of the candidate opted out voluntarily

during the initial stage itself.

Owing to the encouraging response in the pilot phase, Bhoomika Trust has agreed to support

StepOne as a regular ongoing activity. The donor base for the program has increased. Three

more persons have got job through this program. The workable model developed in this

intervention is scalable and can be replicated in any organization offering services for people

with disability.

Disability in ancient times -

The society has treated persons with disability based on their economic contributions. When they

were considered as a burden, they were subjected to all forms of ill-treatment, whereas when

they were able to contribute, their status changed.

During the prehistoric period society was more considerate and relieved them from the

traditional activity, namely hunting and gathering. Wil Roebroeks, Professor in Archaeology of

the Ancient Stone Age, of the Leiden University in Netherlands in his article, “The paradox of

the Neanderthals”, reports that Neanderthals took care of wounded and disabled individuals,

although these people were no longer had to hunt productively.

During the mid 13th to 18th century, under the various Poor Laws, notable the Elizabethan Poor

Law they were confined to Alms-Houses, as the society felt it as an economic burden to take care

of people with disability. They were literally dumped into these alms-houses which lacked basic

facilities.

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Early efforts to improve the lives of people with disability:

Most of the developments were initiated by few individuals who were witnesses to the ill-

treatment and abuse the disabled were subjected to during the period of confinement in alms-

houses. Condition of these alms-houses was getting worse days by day due to growing crowd

and poor living arrangements. People with all type of disabilities were forced to live together,

without any basic facilities for treatment and care. Mentally ill people who could not be housed

in these alms houses were sent to jails. Focus of these Poor Laws was not to alleviate the

sufferings of the poor but to protect the rich from the pestering cries of alms seekers, and the

mentally ill.

People housed in these centers were subjected to all sorts of atrocities and humiliation. These

centers housing the physically and mentally disabled were even converted as amusement centers

to entertain the general public, who were even willing to pay a fee. As objects of laughter, people

with disability were made to entertain the crowd.

It was a practice in Ancient Rome, during the games at the Coliseum to throw disabled children

under horses’ hooves; blind gladiators and dwarfs women were made to fight. Court jesters, such

as Henry VIII’s William Somner, were often disabled, and dwarfs featured as freaks in many

court pictures.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, “ships of fools” containing “mad” people sailed from port to port,

where the public paid to come and laugh at them. The “fools” were then abandoned at the end of

the tour. In 18th century in London, people visited “Bedlam” (the Hospital of St Mary of

Bethlehem) to laugh at the mentally ill. Circuses and freak shows continued the tradition.

Standing away from the rest of the crowd, hurt by such in human practices few individuals were

able to bring about improvements in the conditions of these alms houses. Initial attempts were to

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separate and house them based on their functional limitations. Training and rehabilitation started

much later.

Dorothea Dix made significant contribution to improve the conditions of the mentally ill people

housed in prisons all over America. During one such public display, people with visual

impairment were made to play musical instruments, not knowing what was happening they

created all sorts of sounds to the great amusement of the spectators. All enjoyed but not Valentin

Hauy (1745 – 1822).

This Frenchmen who was pained by this incident resolved to do something for their

development, thus was born the first school for the visually impaired in 1787. In 1817 the

American School for the Deaf was founded in Hartford, Connecticut. This was the first school

for disabled children anywhere in the Western Hemisphere. In 1848 the Perkins Institution, was

founded by Samuel Gridley Howe in Boston, Massachusetts. This was the first residential

institution for people with mental retardation. In 1864, the Columbia Institution for the Deaf and

Dumb and Blind was authorized by the U.S. Congress to grant college degrees. It was the first

college in the world established for people with disabilities. Subsequently more such special

centers came about to improve the lives of people with disability.

Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) reports that in India it was by Ms. Annie Sharp, a British

Christian Missionary who started an Industrial Home and School for the visually impaired in

1887 at Amritsar marking the beginning of organized efforts to provide education to visually

impaired children. Soon another school was set up at Palamkottah by another Christian

Missionary. Lal Behari Shah was the first Indian to set up Calcutta school for the Blind in 1893.

Eugenic movement:

A similar form of ill-treatment is noted again during the Eugenic movement. Eugenics is a term

that was coined by Sir Francis Galton in his book Essays in Eugenics in 1883. The movement

held that the human species could be improved through the systematic control of breeding

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practices. Eugenics was widely viewed by many as an applied form of husbandry, and many of

its supporters noted the gains that had been made through the planned and controlled breeding of

non-human animals. If, as with these other animals, a nation could develop methods to ensure

that those with “desired” characteristics bred more (termed “positive eugenics”) while at the

same time diminishing the breeding of those with “undesirable” characteristics (termed “negative

eugenics”), the species would presumably evolve to a more advanced level (Kevles, 1985).

In the United States, early eugenics was inextricably connected to care and treatment of disabled

persons, and especially persons who were diagnosed as “feeble-minded” (O’Brien, 1999; Smith,

1985). The feeble-minded classification included the subcategories of, from lowest to highest in

“intellectual capability,” idiots, imbeciles and morons. Such persons, and especially the morons,

were believed to be the nucleus from which a wide range of social evils, including immorality,

criminal behavior, and poverty, originated. It was further argued by eugenic supporters that in

the vast majority of cases feeble-mindedness was the result of heredity, and therefore enhancing

the environmental opportunities such persons were afforded would do little to improve their lot.

The fear that fueled the eugenics movement was enhanced by the birth differential argument, as

supporters of eugenic control argued that the moron population was expanding far more quickly

than the “regular” population, and that these persons would eventually become the dominant

class within the nation (Gould, 1981).

As no form of treatment was available at that time, society wanted to get rid of people with

disability at any cost. Each country developed mechanisms to get this done.

Americans embraced the eugenics movement by passing laws to prevent people with disabilities

from moving to the U.S., marrying or having children. Eugenics laws led to the

institutionalization and forced sterilization of disabled adults and children. Countries wanted to

have only the so called and perfect, again for economic consideration.

Worst was under the Nazi Hitler, who thought that it was burden to maintain people with

disability, thus ordered to kill them. It is estimated that between 1933 and 1939, more than

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5,00,000 were killed in Germany alone. Eugenic thoughts were also widely accepted in UK,

Germany, China and Japan.

All these reflect the idea that people with disability are more of an economic burden, which was

not acceptable by a society which was keen to develop and flourish. Associated with this is the

negative attitude and practices towards them.

Changing views:

It was only after the major wars, notably the World War I & II, that there was a drastic change in

the way the society approached people with disability. The society felt the pinch only when

strong soldiers became disabled in war. Every effort was made to restore the lives of soldiers

who were wounded and disabled because of the war.

In response several centers were established all over the world to treat and enable them to lead a

better live. Progress made post war was enormous. Organized efforts were made with enormous

government funding. Such developments benefited persons who were disabled since birth.

Rehabilitation centers came about. Research was initiated to understand the issue and to suggest

ways to restore the lost abilities.

Rehabilitation and Habilitation:

Origin of the Latin word term Rehabilitation was in the civil or cannon law of a feudal society in

the Middle Ages. It was referred to a process of restoration to a baron or knights his former

power and position which had been lost or forfeited, usually due to the whim or disfavor of his

liege lord.

The rehabilitation refers to “make fit again”. In the health care setting rehabilitation refers to

multidimensional process that go beyond medical treatment to help those with injuries and

illness to re-establish themselves as productive and socially-integrated citizens.

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While the idea has been around for centuries it only began to take hold during the First World

War when so many injured soldiers needed to become re-established upon their return home.

There has always been a moral imperative about Rehab; that it is not enough to keep people who

are ill or injured alive, but that their lives must be worth living. There has also been an economic

imperative for rehabilitation; that is, to reduce the economic burden of people with disabilities on

society. So it is not surprising that interest in rehabilitation increased in war-time as the numbers

of injured are so inflated.

Sometime after the Second World War, the specialty of rehabilitation became formalized in

North America. In 1958, Dr. Howard Rusk, one of the early promoters of rehabilitation in the

US, stated that its objectives rehabilitation were to eliminate the physical disability if possible; to

alleviate the disability to the greatest extent possible; and to retrain the person with a residual

physical disability to live and work to the hilt of his capabilities.

Occupational Therapy developed in 19th century with its roots in the context of long term mental

illness. Occupation attempted the need to reduce physical restraint among patients in isolation

centers what were then known as Insane Asylums. This discipline also grew out of the

Settlement House Movement with its teaching of life skills for prevention and health promotion

especially for immigrant and poor populations. There was also the influence of the Arts and

Crafts Movement and its idea of an almost spiritual power for well-being through artistic

activities.

Physical Therapy started with the practice of massage. It also developed by nurses who had been

trained in muscle re-education for their work with orthopedic surgeons in the US. It also has

roots in the work done by what were known as “Physical Therapy Physicians”, doctors who used

electricity as treatment beginning in the 1890s.

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For Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs), there were roots in speech correction and elocution

and there was an emphasis on communication skills. Some speech teachers developed a therapy

aspect to their work beginning in the 1920s and some took on the problem of hearing deficits.

With increased focus on the welfare of disabled soldiers in the period after World War the field

of rehabilitation gained significance.

Today with the dawn of modern social thinking and practice the term “rehabilitation”, principally

refers to the restoration of a person to his former capacity, most often his physical or mental

capacity.

It also includes “habilitation”, which is not restoring but achieving independence, self-care, and

work potential in the instance; like in the case of person born with visual impairment.

Civil Rights Movement:

In 1964 The Civil Rights Act, was signed by American President Johnson. This Act prohibited

discrimination on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity, national origin and creed (gender was

added later). This Act outlawed discrimination on the basis of race in public accommodations

and employment as well as in federally assisted programs.

Disability Rights Movement:

In the 1950’s and 60’s the achievements of the Civil Rights Movements in the United States,

enabled people with disability to take up their issues as well. Mostly with the support of disabled

war veterans. Particularly in America several landmark legislations were enacted to promote the

rights of people with disability.

Posts war effects spilled over to India as well. Facilities for disabled soldiers came about all over

the world, which was later extended for people born with disabilities. The school for the Blind in

Dheradun was one such attempt.

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Models of disability:

Largely under the influence of medical sciences the concept of disability was seen from a

medical perspective, something which could be corrected and treated. This approach is referred

to the Medical Model of disability. Growing body of medical knowledge, advances in the

diagnostic and treatment procedure promoted this approach. Later there was a realization that

more than the physical disability it was the social attitude and barrier which caused more

difficulties.

Definition of the terms impairment, disability and handicap

According to the World Health Organization, “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and

social wellbeing and not merely an absence of disease or infirmity”.

Disability begins when health ended. In the larger context of health, World Health Organization

had defined disability at three levels, namely Impairment, Disability and Handicap.

Impairment is defined as “any loss or abnormality of psychological, physiological or

anatomical structure or function”, e.g. loss of foot, defective vision or mental retardation.

Disability has been defined as any restriction or lack of ability to perform an activity in

the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being.

Handicap is defined as a disadvantage for a given individual, resulting from impairment

or a disability that limits or prevents the fulfillment of a role that is normal (depending on age,

sex and social and cultural factors) for that individual”.

The following illustration, explains the above terms:

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Accident Disease (or disorder)

Loss of vision Impairment (extrinsic or intrinsic)

Cannot see Disability (objectified)

Unemployed Handicap (socialized)

From the larger perspective of the definition of health, intervention in disability will have to

focus on social, environmental as well as medical components. Initially it will be more on the

medical side, but later it has to be largely on the social and environmental factors addressing the

issue of dependence and social cost.

In this context WHO had defined rehabilitation as, “the combined and coordinated use of

medical, social, educational and vocational measures for training and retraining the individual to

the highest possible level of functional ability”. It is a holistic approach aimed at reducing the

impact of disabling and handicapping conditions and at enabling the disabled and handicapped to

achieve social integration.

Social integration has been defined as the active participation of disabled and handicapped

people in the mainstream of community life. Rehabilitation a multi-disciplinary effort involves

the disciplines such as Physical medicine, Social Work, Psychology, Occupational Therapy,

Physiotherapy, Speech Therapy, Vocational guidance, and placement services.

Dimensions of rehabilitation

Rehabilitation process involves working at four levels

i) Medical rehabilitation - restoration of function

ii) Vocational rehabilitation – restoration of capacity to earn a livelihood

iii) Social rehabilitation – restoration of family and social relationships

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iv) Psychological rehabilitation – restoration of personal dignity and confidence

Global statistics:

Of late there is a growing body of knowledge on disability and related issues. WHO estimates

that 10% of the world’s population, which is approximately 650 million people, of which 200

million children experience some form of disability. The most common disabilities are

associated with chronic conditions such as cardiovascular and chronic respiratory diseases,

cancer and diabetes; injuries, such as those due to road traffic crashes, falls, landmines and

violence; mental illness; malnutrition; HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases. In this light we

could see that the traditional way of understanding disability has been changed.

The 2007 World Bank report “People with disabilities in India: From Commitments to

Outcome”, reports that there are some 40 to 80 million persons living with disability in India,

which is between 4 and 8 percent of the population.

The following is the estimated percentage of people with disabilities in other Asian Countries -

China 5%, Pakistan 4.9%, Philippines 4.4%, and Nepal 5.0%.

Indian figures are slightly on the higher when compared with its neighbors.

ICF - International Classification of Functions and ability

In 1980, the World Health Organization introduced the International Classification of

Functioning, Disability and Health, commonly known as ICF. This provides a standard language

and framework for the description of health and health-related states. ICF is a multipurpose

classification intended for a wide range of uses in different sectors.

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It is a classification of health and health-related domains; domains that help one to describe

changes in body function and structure, what a person with a health condition can do in a

standard environment (their level of capacity), as well as what they actually do in their usual

environment (their level of performance).

These domains are classified from body, individual and societal perspectives by means of two

lists: a list of body functions and structure, and a list of domains of activity and participation.

In ICF, the term functioning refers to all body functions, activities and participation, while

disability is similarly an umbrella term for impairments, activity limitations and participation

restrictions. ICF also lists environmental factors that interact with all these components. Instead

of focusing on the person’s disability, ICF's stress is on health and functioning. It is an effective

tool for measuring functioning in society, no matter what the reason for one's impairments.

Changed orientation towards disability, is geared towards enhancing participation and inclusion

of persons with disability, so that their contribution is also accepted and valued.

Involvement of International Labor Organizations

As we have seen, the status of persons with disability has changed considerably over the past

years. From period of isolation in Alms-Houses, to forced execution under the Eugenic

Movement, they are now valued, respected, and are provided opportunity to acquire skills.

Though there is improvement, it has not reached any significant level.

After the establishment of facilities to acquire work skills they were gradually into the work

force. With more and more people entering the work force their economic contributions began to

be counted on. To value their contributions and to create a conducive environment to include

people with disability into the work force, United Nation’s, International Labor Organizations

proposed standards and practices from time to time, and made them binding on its member

countries.

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The Vocational Rehabilitation (Disabled) Recommendation, 1955 was one of the earliest

recommendations of the ILO, paving way for the entry of persons with disability into work force.

This was followed by the Human Resources Development Recommendation in 1975.

The Vocational Rehabilitation of Employment of Disabled Persons came about in 1983, and the

ILO Code of Practice on Managing Disability in the Workplace was proposed in 2001.

ILO reports that work of decent quality is the most effective means of escaping the vicious circle

of marginalization, poverty and social exclusion. People with disabilities are frequently trapped

in this vicious circle, and positive action is needed to assist them in breaking out of it. ILO is

optimistic that the barriers which disabled people face in getting jobs and taking their place in

society can and should be overcome through a variety of coordinated steps, like policy measures,

regulations, programmes, and services.

Human Rights and Disability

It is estimated that over 600 million people – or approximately 10 per cent of the world’s total

population – have some form of disability, with over two thirds of them living in developing

countries. They are being exposed to various forms of discrimination and social exclusion. Due

to negative attitude, based on ignorance, low expectations and prejudice, persons with disabilities

are excluded and marginalized. As a result they are deprived of active participation and

contribution in the society.

Though United Nations argues that persons with disabilities are entitled to the enjoyment of the

full range of civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights embodied in international human

rights instruments on an equal basis with other persons, this is not reflected in reality.

This situation is alike in both developed and developing nations. Persons with disabilities often

encounter discriminatory practices and impediments which prevent them from exercising their

rights and freedoms and make it difficult for them to participate fully in the activities of their

societies.

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The debate on disability rights is not about the enjoyment of specific rights. But, it is about

ensuring the equal effective enjoyment of all human rights, without discrimination, by people

with disabilities. The non discrimination principle aid in making human rights relevant to the

specific context of disability, just as it does in the contexts of age, sex and children. Non

discrimination, and the equal effective enjoyment of all human rights by people with disabilities

are therefore the dominant theme of the long overdue reform in the way disability and persons

with disabilities are viewed throughout the world.

The Rights Based approach to Disability

In the past, persons with disabilities suffered from a relative “invisibility”, and tended to be

viewed as “objects” of protection, treatment and assistance rather than subjects of rights. As a

result of this approach, persons with disabilities were excluded from mainstream society, and

provided with special schools, sheltered workshops, and separate housing and transportation on

the assumption that they were incapable of coping with either society at large or all or most

major life activities. They were denied equal access to those basic rights and fundamental

freedoms (e.g. health care, employment, education, vote, participation in cultural activities) that

most people take for granted.

However for the past two decades there has been a dramatic shift in this perspective. Persons

with disabilities are now being viewed as holders of rights. This process is slow and uneven, but

it is taking place in all economic and social systems.

The rights-based approach to disability basically views persons with disabilities as subjects of

law. It aims to empower disabled persons, and ensure their active participation in political,

economic, social, and cultural life in a way that is respectful and accommodating of their

difference. This approach is normatively based on international human rights standards and

operationally directed to enhancing the promotion and protection of the human rights of persons

with disabilities. Strengthening the protection of human rights is also a way to prevent disability.

Core values of Human Rights:

The four core values of human rights law which are of particular importance in the context of

disability are:

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• the dignity of each individual, who is deemed to be of inestimable value because of

his/her inherent self-worth, and not because s/he is economically or otherwise “useful”;

• the concept of autonomy or self-determination, which is based on the presumption of a

capacity for self-directed action and behaviour, and requires that the person be placed at the

centre of all decisions affecting him/her;

• the inherent equality of all regardless of difference;

• and the ethic of solidarity, which requires society to sustain the freedom of the person

with appropriate social supports.

The human rights perspective internationally gained momentum since the proclamation by the

United Nations General Assembly of the year 1981 as the “International Year of the Disabled”

under the slogan “Full Participation and Equality”. The General Assembly adopted the World

Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons in 1982, which set the guidelines for a world

strategy to promote “equality” and “full participation” by persons with disabilities in social life

and development.

As a follow-up to the World Program of Action, the General Assembly adopted in 1993 a

resolution entitled Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for People with

Disabilities.

The Standard Rules explicitly take the International Bill of Human Rights (which comprises the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the two international Covenants on Economic,

Social and Cultural Rights and Civil and Political Rights) as their political and moral foundation,

and constitute an important reference guide in identifying the relevant obligations of States

parties under the existing human rights instruments.

They aim at ensuring that “girls, boys, men and women with disabilities, as members of their

societies, may exercise the same rights and obligations as others”, and require States to remove

obstacles to equal participation.

Further in 1993, the Vienna Declaration for Human Rights reaffirmed that “all human rights and

fundamental freedoms are universal, and thus unreservedly include persons with disabilities”,

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and placed the active participation of persons with disabilities in all aspects of civil society

explicitly in a human rights context.

OHCHR’S Mandate

In its Resolution 2000/51 on the human rights of persons with disabilities, the Commission on

Human Rights requested the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in

cooperation with the United Nations Special Reporter on Disability, to examine measures to

strengthen the protection and monitoring of the human rights of persons with disabilities.

Following to that request, the Office of the High Commissioner developed a program aimed at

enhancing the human rights dimension of disability, which aims at

• encouraging the integration of disability issues in the activities of treaty-monitoring

bodies and human rights extra-conventional mechanisms (e.g. Special Reporters to the

Commission on Human Rights);

• supporting the elaboration of a new thematic Convention on the human rights and dignity

of persons with disabilities;

• strengthening collaboration with the Special Reporter on disability of the Commission for

Social Development and other United Nations specialized agencies active in the area of

disability.

Integrating disability further into the work of existing human rights mechanisms and elaboration

of a new convention should be seen as complementary approaches. Together with continuing

efforts to address the social development dimension of the problems faced by persons with

disabilities, this thus constitutes the so-called multi-track approach advocated by the High

Commissioner for Human Rights.

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Major religions and acts of charity:

All major religion promotes acts of charity. This forms the foundation for any type of effort to

help the people with disability. Stemming from this philosophical and spiritual basis programs

are being developed to improve the lives of people with disability.

In the Vedic literature, the Rig-Veda to be precise the word, Dhanam, indicates the social

philosophy of those days to help the needy members of the society. It is mentioned in the Rig-

Veda (VIII 6.5 & X 117.7) that “the riches of one who gives do not diminish… the solitary eater

is also a solitary sinner”. In Bhagwat Gita, charity is explained with reference to material aid,

knowledge (vidya) and protection against fear, i.e “abhaydan”. It is said that Lord Buddha had

also spoken about welfare of the masses.

In ancient India during the reign of King Ashoka, there are indications that he institutionalized

social services by appointing “Gopas” (social workers) whose task was to keep account of birth

and marriages, and took care of when people were sick. King Ashoka has stated that “…I

consider the promotion of people’s welfare my highest duty..” in one of the edicts of Ashoka

Pillar.

Charity is promoted in Islam, and is referred to as “Zaka”. Bible has many verses promoting the

welfare of the poor and the needy. Dr.Leonard Mayo refers to rehabilitation as being first a

philosophy, second an objective and third a method.

For believers and non-believers, the act of extending support to relieve the pain and suffering of

the fellow human-being, forms the basis of any rehabilitative process.

Disability in India:

India being a land of rich spiritual heritage, have always being empathetic to the needs of people

with disabilities. In India people with disability were being taken care of by the family and

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community. Dharmashalas were built to take care of those who were dependent on others. Such

efforts were largely supported by volunteers and philanthropist. Though the British government

helped such works of charity, the amount contributed was very meager. Soon after independence,

India emerged as a welfare state. Each “Five Year Plan”, starting from the first one introduced

various welfare measures for the betterment of people with disabilities.

As a Welfare State, India is committed to ensure the `Well-Being’ and `Quality of Life’ of its

people in general and of vulnerable sections in particular. The Preamble, Directive Principles of

State Policy and Fundamental Rights in the Constitution of India stand testimony to the

commitment of the State to its people.

These provisions envisage a very positive role for the State in bringing about groups of society.

It reflects its special concern for the welfare and development of the disabled through special

provisions to safeguard their rights. Some of the important provisions of the constitution are as

follows:

Constitutional Provisions and Legislative Support:

According to Entry 9 in the List II of Schedule 7 of the Constitution, the subject of Relief to the

Disabled and Unemployable’ is the responsibility of the State Governments.

Article 14 of the Constitution, states that the State shall not deny to any person equality before

the law or equal protection of the laws within the territory of India.

While Article 15 of the Constitution prohibits discrimination against any citizen on the grounds

of religion, race, caste, sex etc.

Article 16 provides for equality of opportunities in mater of public appointments beings and

forced labor.

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Article 38 directs the State to strive for minimizing the inequalities in income, status, facilities

and opportunities amongst groups of people, towards securing proper distribution of ownership

and control of material resources so as to sub serve the common good.

Article 41 states that the State shall, within the limits of its economic capacity and development

make effective provision for securing the right to work, to education and to public assistance in

cases of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement, and in other cases of undeserved

want.

Articles 46 lays down that the State shall promote with special care the educational and

economic interests of the weaker sections of the people.

Article 47 states about the duty of the State to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of

living and to improve public health.

Legislative support:

There exists a plethora of social legislations to safeguard the interests of the persons in distress

and to deal with the various social problems/evils. Some of the important legislations are listed

below:

To ensure equal opportunities for persons with disabilities and their full participation in nation

building, a comprehensive legislation namely, `The Persons with Disabilities (Equal

Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 was enacted.

This was also in response to the ILO Convention No.159 regarding the Vocational Rehabilitation

and Employment of Disabled Persons (1983) that the government of India introduced reforms

and policies concerning the employment opportunities for person with disabilities which are

26

aimed at providing them equal opportunity and participation in all spheres of social and

economic domain.

The Act provides for both preventive and promotional aspects of rehabilitation like education,

employment and vocational training, reservation, research and manpower development, creation

of barrier-free environment, rehabilitation for persons with disability, unemployment allowance

for the disabled, special insurance scheme for the disabled employees and establishment of

homes for persons with severe disability etc. The Act has been amended in order to improve and

further strengthen the scope and the facilities for the benefit of disabled persons.

The Rehabilitation Council of India, a statutory body was set up under the RCI Act of 1992. This

body is responsible for regulating professional syllabus and enforcing uniform standards in

training professionals and giving them recognition in different areas of disability.

The National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and

Multiple Disabilities Act was passed in December, 1999. This Trust is a statutory body set up to

safeguard the interests and the development of these groups.

The Prevention of Beggary Acts which are State Acts also exist in a number of States.

Social Welfare Schemes introduced during the various Five Year Plans:

The various five year plans brought about the following social welfare programs and schemes.

Several organizations were also set up as part of the five year plans:

During the First Five Year Plan (1951-56) the Central Social Welfare Board (CWSB) was set up

with the object especially of assisting voluntary agencies in organizing welfare programmes for

Women and Children and the Disabled Groups.

27

During the same period the Ministry of Education constituted a National Advisory Council for

the education of the physically disabled was set up. The functions of this Council were to advise

Central Government on problems concerning the education, training and employment and the

provision of social and cultural amenities for the physically and mentally disabled to formulate

new schemes and to provide liaison with voluntary organizations working in the field.

In the Fourth Plan (1966-71), in addition to the three National Institutes for the Blind, the Deaf

and the Mentally Retarded, a National Institute of Orthopaedically Handicapped was set up. For

the placement of Disabled persons in employment, special employment exchanges were also set

up.

During the Fifth Plan (1974-79) to ensure healthy growth and development of children and

reduce infant and maternal mortality rates, the scheme Integrated Child Development Services

(ICDS) was launched in 1975-76 on an experimental basis to provide a package of services

consisting of supplementary nutrition, immunization, health check-up, referral services, nutrition

and health education and non-formal education to children in the age-group 0-6 and pregnant and

nursing mothers in rural, urban and tribal areas.

Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation (ALIMCO), Kanpur was set up in 1976 as a

registered body under Section 25 of Companies Act of 1956 for developing, manufacturing and

supplying artificial limbs and rehabilitation aids to the disabled.

In the Sixth Plan period (1980-85) eleven District Rehabilitation Centers for the disabled were

setup and four Regional Rehabilitation Training Centers (RRTC) were set up to provide

technical support for developing training material and manuals and for providing material to

create community awareness through the use of different media.

The Science and Technology Project in the Mission Mode of Application of Technology for the

Welfare and Rehabilitation of the Disabled were launched in 1988.

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Human Development being the main thrust of the Eighth Plan (1992-97) policies and

programmes relating to survival, protection and development of all sections of the population

especially those of the Disabled and Disadvantaged were implemented.

The enactment of a comprehensive legislation, namely, The Persons with Disabilities (Equal

Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995, was a land mark

achievement in the history of the welfare of the Disabled.

The Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) was set up as a statutory body under the RCI Act of

1992 with the objective of upgrading and standardizing the syllabus and ensuring uniform

standards of training of professionals for the welfare of the Disabled.

The National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation (NHFDC) was incorporated

in 1997 under Section 25 of Companies Act, 1956 as a company not for profit and wholly owned

by the Government. It has an authorized share capital of Rs.400 crores. It is the apex level

financial institution for routing funds through channel agencies in States/UTs.

The main objective of NHFDC is to promote economic development, self-employment for the

benefit and economic rehabilitation of persons with disabilities. In this connection, the NHFDC

extends loans to persons with disabilities for pursuing higher education; assist in the up gradation

of technical and entrepreneurial skills and setting up of small scale industries. The Corporation

provides loans to persons having disabilities of 40% or more and whose annual income is Rs.1

lakh per annum in urban areas and Rs.80, 000 in rural areas.

Under the micro-financing of NHFDC, loans upto Rs. 10,000/- per beneficiary were made

available to disabled persons for undertaking income-generating-activities such as small business

/ trade, cottage industry, agricultural allied activities, etc.

NHFDC also provide loans to Parents’ Associations of mentally retarded persons to set up an

income generating activity for the benefit of mentally retarded persons.

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During the Eighth plan, to help persons with disabilities in getting gainful employment either

through Special Cells in the Employment Exchanges or through Special Employment Exchanges

located throughout the country, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Employment of the

Handicapped was implemented.

At end of the Ninth plan, there were 41 Special Cells and 40 Employment Exchanges in the

country.

Comptroller and Auditors General (CAG) report on the implementation of PWD Act:

The Supreme Audit Institution of India, the Comptroller and Auditors General (CAG) undertook

an audit review to “examine the efficiency, economy and effectiveness of various programmes

for empowerment of the disabled with reference to the Persons with Disabilities Act 1995”.

After scrutinizing the accounts of the programmes related to the period 1998-’99 to 2002-’03, the

CAG arrived at a conclusion that “the Persons with Disabilities (Equal opportunities, protection

of rights and full participation) Act, 1995 is being poorly implemented although eight years have

elapsed after its enactment. Adequate measures, as envisaged under the Act, had not been taken

for prevention of disabilities through early detection, awareness campaigns and training of staff

of Primary Health Centers. The development of educational infrastructure for the disabled,

research for new assistive devices and specialized training of teachers remained weak areas.

The report further said that the pace of identification of posts in State Government establishment,

which could be reserved for Persons with Disability (PWD), was slow. Special Employment

Exchanges could provide placement to only one per cent PWD registered in the live register each

year between 1998 and 2000. The Government failed to ensure three per cent reservation of

PWD in poverty alleviation schemes, thus depriving them of the opportunity of economic

rehabilitation.”

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Eleventh Five Year Plan (2008-2013)

On welfare measures for persons with disability, the Approach paper on the 11th Five Year

reports that it will take special measures to not just prevent discrimination against the disabled,

especially children with disability, but also introduce policies to empower them and enable them

to lead a life of dignity. It further notes that the Persons with Disability (Equality Opportunities,

Protection of Rights & Full Participation) Act, 1995 which provides various entitlements to

persons with disability will be effectively operationalized.

Economic Survey for the year 2007-08

The recently released Economic Survey for the year 2007-08 report of the various budgetary

allocation and measures taken for the development of persons with disability.

It is reported that during 2007-08, an allocation of Rs. 221 crore was made for the Welfare of

Persons with Disabilities. The programmes were implemented through National and Apex

Institutes dealing with various categories of disabilities. These institutes conduct short term and

long-term courses for various categories of personnel for providing rehabilitation services to

those needing them. The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and

Full Participation) Act, 1995 is being implemented. Five Composite Rehabilitation Centres

(CRCs) at Srinagar, Lucknow, Bhopal, Guwahati and Sundernagar provide facilities for

manpower development and ensuring availability of rehabilitation services for all categories of

persons with disabilities. Four Regional Rehabilitation Centres (RRCs) provide services to

persons with spinal injuries at Chandigarh, Cuttack, Jabalpur and Bareilly. About 199 District

Disability Rehabilitation Centres (DDRCs) have been sanctioned in the country for providing

comprehensive rehabilitation services at the grass root level.

The report further observes that under the scheme of Assistance to the Disabled for

Purchase/Fitting of Aids and Appliances (ADIP), Rs. 10.31 crore was released during 2007-08.

The report included activities under the Deen Dayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme which

provides financial assistance to voluntary organizations for running special schools for children

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with hearing, visual and mental disability, rehabilitation centres for persons with various

disabilities including leprosy cured persons, manpower development in the field of mental

retardation and cerebral palsy. Under this scheme organizations are given grant-in-aid for both

recurring and non-recurring expenditure to the extent of 90 per cent of the total approved cost of

the project. During the year 2007-08, Rs. 22.30 crore was released up to November 2007 to

voluntary organizations.

The National Handicapped Finance & Development Corporation provides credit facilities to

persons with disability for their economic empowerment and Rs. 7 crore has been released to the

corporation till the end of November 2007.

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Chapter - II

33

“Disabled people are not only the most deprived human beings in the

developing world, they also the most neglected.” Amartya Sen

In India statistics on persons with disability

To begin with there are no clear cut indications on the actual number of persons with disability in

India. There are only estimates, with varying figures in each report.

As already mentioned, according to the 2007 World Bank report “People with disabilities in

India: From Commitments to Outcome”, in India people with disabilities comprise between 4

and 8 percent of the population (around 40-90 million individuals). It was reported that disabled

people also have significantly lower employment rates than average, and this gap has been

increasing over the past 15 years.

The large majority of persons with disability in India are capable of productive work. Despite

this fact, the employment rate of disabled population is lower (about 60 percent on average) than

the general population, with the gap widening in the 1990s. An issue of concern was the recent

adverse development; decline in the employment rate of working age disabled people, from 42.7

percent in 1991 to 37.6 percent in 2002.

As pointed out by the CAG Report, government programs to fulfill the 3% reservation of the

PWD Act has also failed to materialize. Public sector initiatives to provide jobs have had only

very marginal impact.

Employment in private sector

In India the percentage of people with disabilities employed in the private sector is negligible. In

1999, the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP)

conducted a study to examine the employment practices of the Indian corporate sector. The study

found that among the 70 of India’s ‘Super 100’ companies which took part in the study, only

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0.4% had employed the disabled, while 20 of the companies had not employed any disabled

persons. The Persons with Disabilities Act recommends atleast 5% of the jobs in the private

sector be reserved for persons with disabilities.

To encourage employment in private sector Government of India has announced a scheme in

2008, through which Provident Fund contributions for persons with disability will be borne by

the government instead of the employer.

Challenges in getting employment:

According to International Labour Organisation, decent work sums up the aspirations of people

in their working lives. It involves opportunities for work that is productive and delivers a fair

income, security in the workplace and social protection for families, better prospects for personal

development and social integration, freedom for people to express their concerns, organize and

participate in the decisions that affect their lives and equality of opportunity and treatment for all

women and men.

How do we see - a review of human visual system

Light enters the eye by passing through the cornea, the anterior chamber, the pupil, the lens, and

the vitreous to reach the retina. In the retina, the photoreceptors change the light into nerve

signals that pass along the optic nerve, through the brain to the visual cortex, where the image is

perceived. The cellular matrix of the cornea, lens, and nerve fiber layers of the retina are

arranged in an extremely orderly manner resulting in optical clarity. Any damage to this orderly

structural arrangement leads to an opacity.

There are no cures for visual impairment or blindness. Research is being conducted on retinal,

optic nerve, and cortical implants, but none are viable alternatives at this time.

Significant advances in technology now offer such advantages as voice-command computers,

head-mounted displays, and electronic travel aids for mobility. All visually impaired veterans

should be offered the opportunity to benefit from new technologies and rehabilitation techniques.

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Visual Impairment and Blindness

Visual impairments can significantly affect individuals. However with effective rehabilitation

services they can be assisted to lead less dependent satisfying lives.

Patti Fuhr, OD, PhD and Lyman Norden, OD in their article “Primary Causes and Functional

Implications of Blindness”, provides clarity on what is visual impairment, the way it is assessed

and on the function of vision.

According to them the word “blindness” refers to visual impairment ranging from legal blindness

to total blindness. There are vast differences in severity of visual impairment between legal and

total blindness, as well as differences in the impact that vision loss has on an individual’s ability

to function in his/her environment.

In the United States legal blindness is defined as follows:

1. Visual Acuity of 20/200 or worse in the better eye (with best eyeglass or contact lens

correction) - or -

2. Visual field restricted to 20 degrees or less in diameter in the better eye

Visual acuity is the ability to distinguish details and shapes of objects with good contrast. Also

called central vision, visual acuity is recorded as test distance/target size. A visual acuity of

20/20 means that a person can see a letter of five minutes of arc at 20 feet, which is thought of as

normal vision.

Visual acuity can be explained by this example. For instance, if a person has 20/200 visual

acuity, it means that person must be 20 feet from an eye chart to see a letter that a person with

normal vision could see at 200 feet. A person with normal vision could walk 180 feet behind that

person with 20/200 (low vision) and still see the same target.

Visual field is the entire area that the person can see when the eye is looking straight ahead,

including central and peripheral vision. Binocular visual fields are perhaps a better indicator of

visual function, since we walk around with both eyes open. However, in a clinical setting, visual

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fields are measured monocularly in order to determine any abnormalities. This is essential, since

the visual fields overlap in the nasal part of the visual fields of both eyes.

Visual impairment refers to the function of the eye and can be measured with tests such as visual

acuity, visual field, color vision, and contrast sensitivity.

ICD Classification of Visual Impairment

The International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision (ICD-9-CM) classifications for levels

of visual impairment include:

Moderate low vision 20/80

Severe low vision 20/200

Profound low vision 20/500

Near blindness 20/1250

Total blindness no light perception

A visual disability denotes how the person functions (rather than the function of the organ) and

may be measured in terms of reading performance, performance of activities of daily living skills

(ADLs), orientation and mobility, etc. They have a profound impact on a person’s everyday life

and may result in

Visual handicaps

A visual handicap is a disadvantage the person experiences because of vision loss. It may involve

the need for extra effort to perform certain tasks, such as reading, shopping, or preparing meals.

A visual handicap may be an economic, social, or physical loss of independence.

Low vision is a more encompassing term, and may be defined as any bilateral loss of vision that

cannot be corrected with eyeglasses or contact lenses and interferes with daily living activities.

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Low vision rehabilitation endeavors to help overcome the visual disabilities and decrease the

magnitude of visual handicaps by increasing functional abilities. Low vision rehabilitation can

help maintain or improve quality of life.

India - visually impaired

Over the period the changing definition reflects the progress made towards the development of

the visually impaired.

Persons with Disabilities Act of 1995, refers "Blindness" to a condition where a person suffers

from any of the following conditions, namely:-

(i) Total absence of sight. or

(ii) Visual acuity not exceeding 6160 or 201200 (snellen) in the better eye with correcting lenses;

or

(iii) Limitation of the field of vision subtending an angle of 20 degree or worse;

National Sample Survey Organisation 2002, defines Visual disability as follows:

By visual disability, it was meant, loss or lack of ability to execute tasks requiring adequate

visual acuity. For the survey, visually disabled included (a) those who did not have any light

perception - both eyes taken together and (b) those who had light perception but could not

correctly count fingers of hand (with spectacles/contact lenses if he/she used spectacles/contact

lenses) from a distance of 3 metres (or 10 feet) in good day light with both eyes open. Night

blindness was not considered as visual disability.

Visual Disability or Blindness refers to a person’s inability to see either fully or partially. A

visually disabled person is known to be suffering from visual impairment. Low Vision or Poor

Eye Sight: A person with low vision or poor eyesight is one who continues to have the problem

38

even after going through medically approved corrective measures. This person with poor

eyesight is still in a position to continue his/her tasks with appropriate assisted devices.

National Association for the Blind defines Legal blindness as visual acuity of not greater than

20/200 in the better eye with best correction or a visual field of less than 20 degrees. Legal

blindness can mean tunnel vision, no central vision, cloudy or extremely blurred vision, seeing

just shadows, or no vision at all. For the purpose of the practicum only those who are legally

blind are included in the program.

Statistics on visually impaired the world over and in India:

According to 2002 World Health Organization, statistics, world over, in excess of 161 million

people were visually impaired, 124 million people of whom had low vision and 37 million were

blind. It was also reported that more than 90% of the world's visually impaired live in developing

countries. Cataract and Glaucoma being the leading causes blindness.

According to the NSSO 58th round survey in 2002 there were 18.49 million disabled people in

India. Of this, 10.89 million were males and remaining 7.56 million were females, which is 59%

and 49% respectively. Among the 18.49 million disabled people, 57.50 % were suffering from

loco motor disability while 10.88% (20,13,400) were visually impaired, 4.39% (813,300) were

people with low vision, 16.55 were having hearing impairment, 11.65% had speech disability,

5.37% were mentally retarded and 5.95% were mentally ill. Visual impairment and low vision

put together 15.28% (28,26,700) forms the second leading cause of disability in India.

Visual impairment from a developmental perspective

From a developmental perspective every individual has to meet various challenges at respective

time period. Unless these challenges are met smooth transition form one stage to another would

get affected. For individuals with impairment these regular challenges itself would become extra-

ordinary. They require support and assistance from family, community and society at large in

addressing these challenges.

39

Havighrust refers to developmental tasks as, “a task which arises at or about certain period in the

life of the individual, successful achievement of which leads ti happiness and to success with

later tasks, while failure leads to unhappiness and difficulty with later tasks.

Havighrust has identified the following tasks related to early adulthood (18 to 40 years)

Getting started in an occupation

Selecting a mate

Learning to live with a marriage partner

Starting a family

Rearing children

Managing a home

Taking on civic responsibility

Finding a congenial social group

Elizebth Hurlock has identified some of the most important factors that influences the

accomplishment of these developmental tasks:

Factors influencing mastery of developmental tasks:

Handicaps to mastery:

A retarded developmental level

Lack of opportunity to learn the developmental tasks or lack

of guidance in their mastery

Lack of motivation

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Poor health

Physical defects

A low intellectual level

Aids to mastery:

A normal or accelerated developmental level

Opportunities to learn the developmental tasks and guidance in mastering them

Motivation

Good health and absence of physical defects

Importance of occupation

Occupation provides an identity and recognition for individuals. Being without job is often like

being without address. Not being able to get job significantly affects individuals, more so when

they qualified but yet denied opportunity.

This has great relevance for person with disability who are often discriminated on the grounds of

their disability. For an adult occupation is thus a vital building block for all subsequent activities

in life. Unless the individual succeeds in getting a decent job, all the other subsequent tasks

would get affected.

It has been reported that blindness, of all chronic illnesses and disabilities, is the second leading

cause of inability to work (LaPlante, 1988), with visual impairments being historically correlated

with underemployment, unemployment, and poverty (Kirchner, 1988).

41

Experience of Nethrodaya

In a study conducted by Nethrodaya (a Chennai based NGO working for the welfare of people

with visual impairment) in the year 2002, among visually impaired persons seeking alms in

Chennai Sub-urban trains, it was found that of the 118 respondents 80% of them were graduates

without jobs. Without a job they had no other means of survival. In this background it is thus

essential to address this issue in a comprehensive manner.

Creating job opportunities for visually impaired

In India formal training for the visually impaired has been going one for more than century.

Making best use of this learning opportunity, visually impaired persons have climbed up the

ladder to achieve significant levels in their personal and social life. However for a vast majority

of them with training and skills, employment and progress is still a distant dream.

It is estimated that there are over 100 institutions, governmental and non-governmental offering

specialized training for the visually impaired to make them employable. Inspite of the training

the numbers of persons who are able to get jobs are significantly less. With increase in the

number of training opportunities for the visually impaired, joblessness among them is also

increasing. While such training programs aims to develop them, lack of job opportunities

dampens their desire to come up in life.

Table 1. Employment status of people with disabilities at work in millions as of 1991

Status Rural Urban Total

Self Employment Agriculture 1.65 0.07 1.72

Self Employment Non Agriculture 0.52 0.37 0.89

Regular Employee 0.25 0.28 0.53

Casual Labour 1.18 0.20 1.38

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Total 3.60 0.92 4.52

Of the 16 million disabled people identified in 1991, as many as 11.4 million did not participate

in the labour force.

Table 2. Activity status of unemployed disabled people in millions as of 1991

Status Rural Urban Total

Attending education 1.37 0.64 2.01

Attending domestic work 1.68 0.55 2.23

Beggars 0.09 0.03 0.12

Other 5.59 1.43 7.02

Total 8.73 2.65 11.38

It has also been reported that due to lack of marketing skills and confidence, people with

disabilities have not fully utilized the various government self employment opportunities. Recent

World Bank reports indicate that these figures have not changed much.

In a study conducted by Nethrodaya (a Chennai based NGO working for the welfare of people

with visual impairment) in the year 2002, among visually impaired persons seeking alms in

Chennai Sub-urban trains, it was found that of the 118 respondents 80% of them were graduates

without jobs. Without a job they had no other means of survival.

Traditionally persons with disability have not been part of the socio-economic activity of the

society, owing to their functional limitations. They were isolated and kept away from the

society. However as the society progressed, things changed for good. Notable turning points with

regards to persons with visual impairments were the following: founding of the special school,

development of Braille, white cane, guide dogs and the latest being computer software which

enables them to access computers.

43

Without jobs they find it extremely difficulty to support their family, and get out of the poverty

cycle, forcing some them to seek alms.

One of the reasons for unemployment is that employers are just not aware of the capabilities of

persons with disability. Though the person might have completed their graduation and training,

enrolling on the companies register is a big process. Concerns of the employer chiefly revolve

around accessibility, efficiency, mobility, safety, and image of the organization. As all this

involves financial commitment, they take very careful calculated moves. Because of other

business issues, such decisions are given a lesser priority. Comparatively decisions are made

faster when it comes to donation for charity or sponsorship.

Why Social Work Intervention?

Strategy to address issue of unemployment among people with disability has to be multi-

pronged, covering the various dimensions of; negative attitude, the issue of equal opportunity,

the issue of acceptance of the worker, and the issue of low self esteem among people with

disability.

Moreover since childhood persons with disability are subjected to various types of

discrimination. Their developmental process takes a different route from that of the other non-

disabled individuals. As they depend on others for most of their day to day functions their

psycho-socio development gets significantly affected. They tend to dependent on others and

expect their sympathy and attention. Having brought up in special school with limited world

view their ability their social functioning is affected. This gets reflected in their difficult to

decide on career path or other major decisions in live is very much affected. They prefer to

maintain status quo. So just providing them with some job may not solve the problem of

unemployment. One has to work with them at an individual level and also in as a group to

enhance their social functioning. Employers might employ them on sympathetic grounds, but

retaining them would depend entirely on the performance of the candidates.

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The employer would have to know about them and understand what they are capable of doing

and not doing, while the candidate will have to understand the job tasks and be motivated to

make his best effort.

Social Work would be the most ideal way of addressing this issue as its various methods could

deal with each of these issues.

Of the various issues two key areas were chosen namely the issue of acceptance the

employability of the visually impaired person and the issue of low self esteem among the

visually impaired person was chosen.

Visually impaired person have increased opportunity to get educated and trained to take up

active employment. Though they possess the needed skills employers are not fully convinced to

offer them a job. Failure to get jobs after completing the needed training further reduces their self

esteem.

To address these issues one has to involve persons with visual impairment, organization working

for visually impaired persons and potential employers. As a social work intervention the entire

program has to be developed within the context of a social agency.

What is Social Work?

The following international definition of social work was agreed and adopted in July 2007 by

both the IASSW and the IFSW. According to which:

Definition

The social work profession promotes social change, problem solving in human relationships and

the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance well-being. Utilizing theories of human

behaviour and social systems, social work intervenes at the points where people interact with

their environments. Principles of human rights and social justice are fundamental to social work.

The International Federation of Social Workers comments on the profession, its theory and

values as follows:

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Social work as it is practiced today in its various forms addresses the multiple, complex

transactions between people and their environments. Its mission is to enable all people to

develop their full potential, enrich their lives, and prevent dysfunction. Professional social work

is focused on problem solving and change. As such, social workers are change agents in society

and in the lives of the individuals, families and communities they serve. Social work is an

interrelated system of values, theory and practice.

Values

Social work grew out of humanitarian and democratic ideals, and its values are based on respect

for the equality, worth, and dignity of all people. Since its beginnings over a century ago, social

work practice has focused on meeting human needs and developing human potential. Human

rights and social justice serve as the motivation and justification for social work action. In

solidarity with those who are dis-advantaged, the profession strives to alleviate poverty and to

liberate vulnerable and oppressed people in order to promote social inclusion. Social work values

are embodied in the profession’s national and international codes of ethics.

Theory

Social work bases its methodology on a systematic body of evidence-based knowledge derived

from research and practice evaluation, including local and indigenous knowledge specific to its

context. It recognizes the complexity of interactions between human beings and their

environment, and the capacity of people both to be affected by and to alter the multiple

influences upon them including bio-psychosocial factors. The social work profession draws on

theories of human development and behaviour and social systems to analyse complex situations

and to facilitate individual, organisational, social and cultural changes.

Practice

Social work addresses the barriers, inequities and injustices that exist in society. It responds to

crises and emergencies as well as to everyday personal and social problems. Social work utilises

a variety of skills, techniques, and activities consistent with its holistic focus on persons and their

46

environments. Social work interventions range from primarily person-focused psychosocial

processes to involvement in social policy, planning and development. These include counselling,

clinical social work, group work, social pedagogical work, and family treatment and therapy as

well as efforts to help people obtain services and resources in the community. Interventions also

include agency administration, community organisation and engaging in social and political

action to impact social policy and economic development. The holistic focus of social work is

universal, but the priorities of social work practice will vary from country to country and from

time to time depending on cultural, historical, and socio-economic conditions.

Social Work Practice takes the following path:

• Forming partnerships

• Articulating challenges

• Defining directions

• Identifying strength

• Analyzing resources capabilities

• Framing solutions

• Activating resources, creating alliances, and expanding opportunities

• Recognizing success and integrating gains

Core Purposes of the Social Work Profession

Social work as it is practiced the world over is targeted at interventions for social support and for

developmental, protective, preventive and/or therapeutic purposes.

47

Based on the available literature and views of practioner during consultations and the

commentary on the international definition of social work, the following core purposes of social

work have been identified:

• Facilitate the inclusion of marginalised, socially excluded, dispossessed, vulnerable and

at-risk groups of people.

• Address and challenge barriers, inequalities and injustices that exist in society.

• Form short and longer-term working relationships with and mobilise individuals,

families, groups, organisations and communities to enhance their well-being and their problem-

solving capacities.

• Assist and educate people to obtain services and resources in their communities.

• Formulate and implement policies and programmes that enhance people’s well-being,

promote development and human rights, and promote collective social harmony and social

stability, insofar as such stability does not violate human rights.

• Encourage people to engage in advocacy with regard to pertinent local, national, regional

and/or international concerns.

• Act with and/or for people to advocate the formulation and targeted implementation of

policies that are consistent with the ethical principles of the profession.

• Act with and/or for people to advocate changes in those policies and structural conditions

that maintain people in marginalised, dispossessed and vulnerable positions, and those that

infringe the collective social harmony and stability of various ethnic groups, insofar as such

stability does not violate human rights.

• Work towards the protection of people who are not in a position to do so themselves, for

example children and youth in need of care and persons experiencing mental illness or mental

retardation, within the parameters of accepted and ethically sound legislation.

• Engage in social and political action to impact social policy and economic development,

and to effect change by critiquing and eliminating inequalities.

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• Enhance stable, harmonious and mutually respectful societies that do not violate people’s

human rights.

• Promote respect for traditions, cultures, ideologies, beliefs and religions amongst

different ethnic groups and societies, insofar as these do not conflict with the fundamental human

rights of people.

• Plan, organise, administer and manage programmes and organisations dedicated to any of

the purposes delineated above.

Domain of the Social Work Professional:

• The development of the critically self-reflective practitioner, who is able to practice

within the value perspective of the social work profession, and shares responsibility with the

employer for their well being and professional development, including the avoidance of ‘burn-

out’.

• The recognition of the relationship between personal life experiences and personal value

systems and social work practice.

• The appraisal of national, regional and/or international social work codes of ethics and

their applicability to context specific realities.

• Preparation of social workers within a holistic framework, with skills to enable practice

in a range of contexts with diverse ethnic, cultural, ‘racial’ and gender groups, and other forms

of diversities.

• The development of the social worker who is able to conceptualize social work wisdom

derived from different cultures, traditions and customs in various ethnic groups, insofar that

culture, tradition, custom and ethnicity are not used to violate human rights.

• The development of the social worker who is able to deal with the complexities,

subtleties, multi-dimensional, ethical, legal and dialogical aspects of power.

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Methods of Social Work Practice:

• Sufficient practice skills in, and knowledge of, assessment, relationship building and

helping processes to achieve the identified goals of the programme for the purposes of social

support, and developmental, protective, preventive and/or therapeutic intervention – depending

on the particular focus of the programme or professional practice orientation.

• The application of social work values, ethical principles, knowledge and skills to confront

inequality, and social, political and economic injustices.

• Knowledge of social work research and skills in the use of research methods, including

ethical use of relevant research paradigms, and critical appreciation of the use of research and

different sources of knowledge about social work practice.

• The application of social work values, ethical principles, knowledge and skills to promote

care, mutual respect and mutual responsibility amongst members of a society.

Paradigm of the Social Work Profession:

Of particular current salience to professional social work education, training and practice are the

following epistemological paradigms (which are not mutually exclusive), that should inform the

core curricula:

• An acknowledgement and recognition of the dignity, worth and the uniqueness of all

human beings.

• Recognition of the interconnectedness that exists within and across all systems at micro,

mezzo and macro levels.

• An emphasis on the importance of advocacy and changes in socio-structural, political and

economic conditions that disempower, marginalise and exclude people.

• A focus on capacity-building and empowerment of individuals, families, groups,

organisations and communities through a human-centred developmental approach.

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• Knowledge about and respect for the rights of service users.

• Problem-solving and anticipatory socialisation through an understanding of the normative

developmental life cycle, and expected life tasks and crises in relation to age-related influences,

with due consideration to socio-cultural expectations.

• The assumption, identification and recognition of strengths and potential of all human

beings.

• An appreciation and respect for diversity in relation to ’race’, culture, religion, ethnicity,

linguistic origin, gender, sexual orientation and differential abilities.

Lorenz, W., “Social work in Europe – Portrait of a diverse professional group”, in Hessle, S.

(Ed.). “International Standard Setting of Higher Social Work Education” Stockholm University,

Stockholm Studies of Social Work (2001).

Theoretical frame-work: - Empowerment Model.

Empowerment in this context refers to a process in which (a) Social workers and client engage in

activities “that aim to reduce their powerlessness that has been created by negative valuations

based on membership in a stigmatized group” (Solomon, 1976, p.19) and (b) clients become

strong enough to participate within, share in the control of, and influence events and institutions

that effect their lives.

The opportunity to acquire education and skill is very limited in India mostly confined to urban

areas. As a result people with disability have limited opportunity to develop. All through their

life, they are confined to limited spaces and contacts, thus their understanding of the external

world is very inadequate.

Empowerment is a process of strengthening individuals who are weak and vulnerable. External

support is inevitable for persons with impairment. However the extent of this support varies from

individual to individual. Being dependent on someone since childhood greatly affects the

personality of people with disability. They tend to grow with the belief that they have to depend

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on others all through their life. In addition the negative experiences of stigmatization, ridicule

and deprivation. Moreover their self esteem tends to be low. Except a few who dare out to

venture, a majority of them elicit sympathy from others.

Their situation very much reflects that of people born in certain minority groups, whose

experiences of discrimination and stigmatization since childhood tend to make them feel

powerless and weak. Considerable effort would be needed to develop and empower them so that

their dependency on others could get reduced.

By applying a combination of social work methods it will be possible to empower and enable

them to lead a less dependent life. This approach would be more suitable especially for those

who are eager to come up but do not have the opportunity.

Social work intervention:

Having chosen the Social Work intervention, it is necessary to justify how these methods would

be applied.

As already indicated, employment is a major concern for people with visual impairment.

Working within the context of the Social Agency it is necessary to address with the frame work

of the vision and mission of the organization. Hence the method of Social Work Administration

is applied to translate the objectives of the organization into specific workable program to

address the problem at hand.

It is the process of applying professional competencies to develop, execute, monitor and evaluate

the program. The process also involved coordinating with another Social Agency, mobilizing

needed resources and identifying potential commercial organizations.

Unemployment among person with disability is both an individual problem as well as a social

problem. Making an entry into the company is only half the job, but retaining the job is the

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challenge. To make this happen it is imperative that we engage the client in a systematic manner.

They are engaged both as individuals’ as well in groups Social Casework and Social Group

Work techniques.

The social agency

Bhoomika Trust:

Bhoomika Trust is Chennai based NGO focusing on the educational and livelihood needs of

underprivileged sections of the society. Established in the year 2001 in the wake of Gujarat earth

quake by a group of philanthropist, the organization has been rendering many services. Initially it

focused on mobilizing relief materials to the victims of the earth quake, and later focused on

their livelihood needs, by providing tools of trade.

In the subsequent years the Trust continued to provide educational assistance to enable children

form the underprivileged sections to complete their basic schooling. Soon after the December

2004 South Asian Tsunami the Trust brought to fore its rich experience in dealing with the

Gujarat earth quake.

Relief materials were mobilized and distributed to all the affected areas. The Trust also

facilitated interaction between Government agencies, affected communities, NGO fraternity and

volunteers. These meeting were focused at identifying affected communities and the type of

assistance required, and to avoid duplication of services. The Trust contributed significantly in

setting up NGO Coordination Resource Center (NCRC) at Nagapattinam.

As a donor intermediary the Trust identified several projects executed by partner NGO’s which

were focused at improving education, livelihood and housing needs of the affected community.

The Trust also developed and executed several programs in collaboration with partner NGO’s.

Focus areas:

Providing educational assistance to underprivileged students

Providing livelihood support to needy individuals

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Providing/coordinating relief and rehabilitation support during times of disaster

Providing support to other NGOs

Some of the ongoing programs of Bhoomika Trust are:

Neighbourhood Free Tuition Center :

Bhoomika Trust’s NFTC [Neighbourhood Free Tuition Center] program is being implemented in

eight tsunami affected districts of Tamil Nadu with the support of six local NGO’s. About 3000

students from class I to VIII, studying in local village schools who are academically weak and

whose parents cannot afford paid private tuitions benefit from this program. These students are

provided regular supplementary educational support in the evenings by educated women within

their neighbourhood. Student Tutor ratio is maintained at 25:1 to ensure individual care and

attention. This program also provides part-time employment to these unemployed and under

employed Tutors.

Needs and Feeds:

Needs and Feeds is an initiative of Bhoomika Trust to facilitate donation in kind between donors

and Non-profit organizations. Non-profit organizations need various items like computers,

cupboards, files, used paper, books, chairs, tables, and so on to enhance their service delivery. At

the same time one could find individuals and organizations evincing interest in giving away

things (new and used) which are needed by these non-profits. Bridging this gap is the goal of

Needs and Feeds.

JobLinks

JobLinks is an initiative by Bhoomika Trust to provide a link between unemployed tsunami-

affected individuals in Chennai and employers. It serves as a link between the community and

the corporates through grassroots NGOs.

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True Gifts

True Gifts is operated by Bhoomika Trust, effectively linking your contributions with program

needs at various NGOs, providing you the satisfaction of knowing where your funds have been

used, while adding an additional stream of revenue for NGOs

Funds for StepOne would be mobilized through True Gifts program.

Bhoomika Trust executes its various programs by effectively networking with other field based

organizations.

Role of the social worker in the agency

The Social Worker is employed in the organization in the capacity of Program Manager. Job

profile includes evaluating proposal, monitoring ongoing programs, and developing programs in

line with the goals and objectives of the organization. The Social Worker is also partly involved

Administration, Fund Raising, and Public Relations activities of the organization.

The learning environment provided by the Trust enabled the Social Worker to develop a suitable

intervention program to address the employment needs of visually impaired persons.

Social Work Administration enables one to transform policy and plans of the organization into

workable program, which could be developed and executed in a professional manner.

Focus of the Trust is to address the educational and livelihood needs of the underprivileged. The

Trust also has rich experience as a donor intermediary and collaborating with partner NGO’s.

Based on the experience gained at Bhoomika Trust the Social Worker in consultation with the

Trustees and colleagues developed an intervention on the principles of Social Work

Administration. The program titled StepOne aims to create job opportunities for persons with

visual impairment.

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Potential employers would be identified and contacted in consultation with the Trustees and

colleagues of the organization.

To know more about persons with visual impairment and to identify 10 such persons the

program would be done in collaboration with Nethrodaya.

Funds required for the program would be generated exclusively by contacting potential in a

systematic manner. Appeals, consent forms, donor management, official correspondence, and

every other aspect of the program would be documented and recorded on the principles of Social

Work Administration.

Social Casework would be employed to understand each of the candidates and to assess their

skills and abilities, and to match them depending on the availability of jobs.

Social Group Work would be employed to enable the candidates to share and learn from one

another.

The Social Worker has thus planned to apply the methods of Social Work, to provide one month

job opportunities for 10 visually impaired persons work with the candidates in a systematic

manner involving the methods of Social Work and ensure that all the 10 are offered regular jobs

in the same concern on completion of one month.

The program:

StepOne - An appeal with a difference

Not many employers are aware of the fact that disabled persons are skilled, far more dedicated,

and regular and switch jobs less often, then their non-disabled counterparts. This was found in a

study conducted by a UK based organization which facilitates jobs for the disabled.

But the widespread misconception among employer is that disabled persons are generally

dependent, and are non-productive in commercial terms, hence not suitable for employment.

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In a study conducted in the city of Chennai in 2002, by Nethrodaya (an NGO for persons with

visual impairment), it was found that several of the visually impaired persons seeking alms in the

suburban trains, were actually graduates sans jobs.

While persons with disability lament on the lack of opportunity to showcase their abilities,

employers need assurance of their capabilities before they are taken on board.

StepOne is a unique opportunity addressing the concerns of the employers while giving the

disabled an opportunity to display their skills and abilities.

Employers who have never utilized the services of disabled persons are welcome to offer a one

month “Office Experience Opportunity” for qualified candidates. As it’s a FREE TRAINING,

the employer need not be concerned about paying the candidate or offering them a job at the end

of the training program. They just have to provide guidance and supervision during the training

and offer a completion certificate at the end of the training period. This will enable the candidate

to include it in their resume.

While the candidate gets office experience, it could also be an opportunity for the employer to

have a first hand experience of having disabled member in their organization.

StepOne is an initiative of Bhoomika Trust, which facilitates such opportunities by networking

employers and NGO’s in Chennai with differently-abled persons. Bhoomika Trust does not

charge any fee for this venture.

This is actual appeal which was sent to various commercial organizations.

Partner NGO:

Reason for choosing Nethrodaya:

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Having developed the framework the first task was to collaborate with an organization that

works for the welfare of persons with visual impairment. In this regard the Social Worker had

discussions with Mr.Gopi, Founder Trustee of Nethrodaya. Bhoomika Trust has already been

supporting Nethrodaya through their True Gifts programs. This already existing relationship with

Nethrodaya was tapped for this program.

About Nethrodaya

Nethrodaya was established in the on October 2, 2002, by C. Govindakrishnan (Gopi) an

individual from the community of visually impaired to provide hostel facility for visually

impaired candidates pursuing studies in the city of Chennai. Though there are avenues to get

higher studies, visually impaired students are not able to utilize it for want of staying facilities.

This hostel addresses these issues.

The organization was established with the following vision, mission and goal:

Vision

Creation of a suitable environment for nurturing the abilities and talents of the visually impaired,

by means of which they would be able to live their lives with a sense of dignity and self worth as

productive members of society.

Mission

To light up the path of the visually impaired by enabling the fulfillment of their true potential.

Goal

To act as a resource centre and liaison body for the visually impaired and to lobby with the

government for the rights of the differently abled.

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The organization endeavors to help the visually impaired stand on their own feet, through a

variety of vital services in keeping with its vision, mission and goal. Nethrodaya’s services go

beyond the mere provision of basic needs and focus on facilitating the development of the

potential that the visually impaired have.

Jyothir Bhavan is Nethrodaya’s user-friendly hostel for poor, visually impaired college going

students in Tamil Nadu state. Here, students with satisfactory academic credentials from all over

Tamil Nadu receive all the support they need to pursue their education. Services include

provision of nutritious food and facilities for stay, free of charge. Access to a well coordinated

reader services. In addition the hostlers are also provided training in Yoga, Spoken English and

on JAWS, computer skills.

The planned social work intervention –

Action plan:

The first step would be to discuss with the Trustees about the problems of persons with visual

impairment and the need to initiate an intervention. This would be followed by a series of brain-

storming session with the colleagues at Bhoomika Trust to develop the program.

An appeal would be circulated to potential employers, who would be interested in offering this

program. Based on this appeal, employers who have not employed persons with disability earlier

would be contacted, both individually and through forums.

Depending on the type of vacancies available and the profile of the candidate needed a vacancy

list would be prepared.

Simultaneously seven persons with visual impairment who have completed their studies and

ready to join work would be contacted through Nethrodaya.

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Candidates would be enabled to prepare their resume. Candidates would be oriented and

prepared for the program. Vacancy list and profile of candidates would be matched, in

consultation with the placement officers of the commercial organization.

Candidates would be placed on the job and would be regularly followed up. Candidates would be

provided needed support to do well and to excel. The Social Worker would be periodically

visiting the place of work to interact with the employer and the candidate to offer help.

Candidates as a group would be met on weekends at a common place to assess the progress. This

would provide an opportunity to share and learn from one another.

As it’s a free training, the candidate would not receive any salary from the employer during the

training period. To cover for travel and food during the training period, it is also planned to

provide a small monitory incentive for those who complete the training. Funds for this stipend

would be mobilized.

Its targeted to offer this training opportunity to five persons with disability. Success of the

program would depend on the number of candidates securing a regular job at the organizations

that do their training. The over all program would also be assessed and evaluated.

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Chapter - III

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“The problem is not how to wipe out the differences but how to

unite with the differences intact”. – Rabindranath Tagore (quoted in Alur)

Intervention involving Social Casework

Social Casework:

Linton B.Swift refers to Casework as “the art of assisting the individual in developing and

making use of his/her personal capacity to deal with problems which he/she faces in his social

environment”.

Dr. Grace Mathew explains Social Casework as one of the methods of social work used by social

workers, working in social welfare agencies. The method is used to help clients to deal with

problems of social functioning. It is a personalized service, rendered to individuals and their

families through a one to one relationship.

While working with the visually impaired individuals at Nethrodaya it was soon realized that

unemployment among them was just the tip of an ice berg. Getting them job may not be

sufficient to enhance their social functioning. Visually impaired individuals have difficulty in

getting job due to a combination of social, psychological and physiological factors that have

been affecting them since they lost vision, at birth or later.

It was necessary to help them in such a way so that they are enabled to mobilize their internal

and external resources and are assisted in taking a lead role in meeting their difficulties. In this

process Social casework was indispensable.

Social casework method has its foundations on certain philosophical values, principles,

knowledge of behavioral and social sciences, tools and techniques of helping. Interviewing and

relationship are two important tools of social Casework that aid in understanding the client in

totality, and aid in intervening. The caseworker brings about the required change in the client

through the special relationship that is developed in the process.

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Basic philosophical assumptions of social casework are

i) Every human being has to be considered as a person with dignity and worth

ii) Human beings are interdependent

iii) There have common human needs that need to be met for growth and development of

individuals

iv) Every individual has within him/her the potential for growth and achievement and he/she

has the right to the realization of this potential.

v) Society has the obligation to help those who do not have the means to for the realization

of their potentials.

Principles of Social Casework

The following are the principles of social casework

i) The principle of individualization

ii) Acceptance

iii) Non-condemning attitude

iv) Client self-determination

v) Clients participation

vi) Confidentiality

vii) Controlled emotional involvement

In the process of enabling and empowering visually impaired clients, the following techniques of

social casework were used.

The tow major goals of casework is to render help to the client to cope with the problem which

the client cannot handle unaided and to enhance the operations of the clients ego function

whereby the client moves towards greater ability in handling their life problems. They are

equipped to carry forward and apply in other problem areas as well.

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The following are the various techniques of Social casework

Supportive Techniques:

Acceptance:

Assurance

Facilitation of expression of feelings

Allying feelings that are overpowering

Accrediting and building of self confidence:

Encouragement and reassurance:

Being with the client:

Emotional support

Action-oriented support

Advocacy

Techniques for Enhancing Resources

Providing material help

Change of physical environment

Enhancing information and knowledge

Counseling techniques

Reflective discussion:

Advice

Motivation:

Clarification

Correcting perception

Modeling

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Role Play

Reality Orientation

Remove guilt feelings

Partialization

Interpretation

Universalization

Setting limits

Confrontation

Reaching out

Renewing family links

Improving communication patters

Changing attitudes

The first task was to identify visually impaired persons from the organizations data base, who

have completed their studies and have not succeeded in getting job. Placement service is one of

the extended services of the organization. From the placement data bank the Social Worker

identified the following candidates who were seeking for jobs.

1. Mr.Janakiraman

2. Mr. Kutalamuthu

3. Ms.Kaladevi

4. Ms.Habi

Though it was planned to get 10 candidates, we managed only 7 who met the requirement of the

program. It was decided to begin with these seven and add on others as we progressed.

The following candidates joined in the subsequent sessions

5. Mr.Rajendran

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6. Mr.Sabarivendan

7. Mr.Rekha

The candidates were first met on 23rd October 2007. The purpose of the meeting was to explain

them about the program and to find out if they are interested in getting involved. The meeting

was held at Nethrodaya.

The Social Worker first of all introduced himself and his role in the organization. The program

was explained in detail with its objectives. The candidate were willing to get involved in the

program

After this common meeting the Social Worker met each of the candidates individually to know

more about them and to find out the type job that would match their skills and abilities.

Social Casework methods were used to identify and prepare the candidates. Several programs

are already on creating job for people with disabilities. But a closer look would reveal that may

do not stay for long on the job. Entry might by on sympathetic groups, but continuation is

definitely a matter of performance. Unless the person performs as expected on the job, it is

unlikely that believe would be retained.

Acceptance:

It is through supportive techniques that the client gets the experience of being helped.

Acceptance is one of the basic techniques of helping. It is both a principle and technique of

casework. It is an approach, an ongoing disposition through which the client feels that he / she is

welcome to social work agency and that the social worker wants to help them.

Initially the clients were little apprehensive when the Social Worker told the he would get them

opportunity to work in companies. This changed when they were actually taken to the companies

for interview. They started realizing that the Social Worker was actually taking effort and started

showing greater interest in what the social worker says. The clients begin to realize that they are

being helped and it’s genuine. Accompanying the client during the interview; contacting them

periodically aided this process.

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Through this program the candidates will be provided one month work opportunity to showcase

their skills and abilities. To make this happen, considerable preparation is required. Individual

sessions were conducted to get a detailed profile of each of the candidates.

Fist session would be an introduction of the program and to know if they would be willing to

take part. As there is no job guarantee candidates were a little concerned about getting involved.

Social Casework method was employed to prepare the candidate for the job and to enable

him/her to do well as required of the talk so that the employer would retain them on their

performance and worth as individuals.

To begin with a baseline assessment is done of the candidates on the demographic variables.

This assessment is done at all level 1) emotionally 2) psychologically and 3) socially.

Casework sessions enabled the candidates to ventilate their feelings of rejection. Candidates

were also assessed on their capabilities; what they could do and what they cannot. Unless this is

known it would not be possible to find a right job for the candidate. The challenge in placement

services is to find the right candidate for the right job.

All the candidates were well qualified graduates with the varied training experiences. They were

processing certificates issued by organizations of national repute, vouching for their skills. But

when actually assessed it was very different. Candidates who were qualified as a telephone

operator lacked basic communication skill. Similarly candidates with a pass certificate in JAWS

could not work on computers. Such discrepancy between their certificate and their actually will

reflects the quality of the training offered at their centers. Such deficiency would greatly

undermine their chance of getting jobs.

Some candidates were sharp and they able to follow oral instructions, but some were show and

required additional clarifications. Candidate who stayed in hostel were independent than whose

staying with parents. Out of the requirement of the candidates for the program was that they

should be able to travel independently any where in the city. The program aims to make them

less dependent on others, getting used to travel alone was in that direction.

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Candidates living with family were not willing to travel alone, but persons staying in hostels

were willing to travel. For candidates living with parents some one as the other would always

accompany them, but candidates who stayed in hostel were really to trained to travel any where

in the city all alone. They just required one orientation to the places were difference require this.

The need for job was felt greater among those who were staying alone in hostel, but this degree

of keenness and commitment was not reflected in those staying with parents. The entire program

was purely voluntary and without any compulsion. There was no form of payment collected

from the candidates for this program. Candidates had the option of joining or leaving at their

choice but they were required to do it formally inform in advance.

Advocacy

Having got a fair knowledge about each of these candidates, the next challenge was find out

companies which would be willing to give them one month work opportunity. Advocacy

involves making a request to a third person in support and on behalf of the client. The most

important aspect of the StepOne program was advocacy. Having understood the skills and

profiles of the client, the social worker advocates on their behalf. Social worker contacts

employers and their human resource team and discuss jobs which could be done by the client.

In India it is not mandatory to provide jobs for persons with disability. Hence generally they are

avoided. The social worker extensively used this technique to get one month job opportunity for

five visually impaired persons.

Accrediting and building of self confidence:

The social worker cannot solve all the clients’ problems. Social casework is a process of

enabling the client to deal with their problems. They are provided support so that the client faces

and solves it on their own problems.

All the clients were given telephone based jobs. Though some were ready from day one, others

were very nervous and lacked confidence. When they shared their difficulty with the social

worker, helped them to build their self confidence.

Encouragement and reassurance:

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One of the questions that the social worker would ask the client during the first week was about

the colleagues in the department. Generally the clients keep to them selves. Due to fear of being

rejected and earlier negative experiences, they require encouragement to speak out and make

friendship with others in the department. Generally others in the company would avoid reaching

out to the clients. Social worker would tell them that unless the clients are proactive, it will not

be possible to develop relationship and goodwill with others, which would later play a significant

role when the management considers them for employment.

Reflective discussion:

Reflective discussion is a counseling technique. This is the discussion between the social worker

and the client based upon the clients deep thinking on the different areas of his/her life that have

a bearing upon his/her problem.

Persons with visually impairment are generally avoided and not given and responsibility. Such

treatment makes the impaired person to believe that that they are incapable of taking

responsibility.

But unless they show interest to take up responsibilities, employers are not going to give them a

job. Job and responsibility go together. It was observed that the clients preferred to do simple

routine tasks and avoided taking responsibility.

This tendency was shared with the social worker during the discussion he had with the employer.

Based on this the social worker had sessions on reflective discussion who were avoiding

responsibility. This enabled the clients to change this behavior.

Due to this change in behavior this client was assigned the responsibility of distributing snacks

for night shift staff. This was followed by telephone code for locking STD facility. When the

client started showing interest gradually responsibility also increased. The employer was greatly

impressed by this. Casework helped in bringing about a change in behavior of the client.

Motivation:

In casework, motivation refers to influencing the client to take a course of action that is

considered good for him or is necessary for solving the problem he faces.

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One of the clients was going late to office too often. The employer expressed displeasure about

this, and this was increasing clients negative scoring. While discussing it was clear that the client

had no valid reason for going late and was taking it lightly.

At another place, the client was exceptionally punctually, which really stunned the employer.

The social worker discussed with the client and explained how punctuality could affect her job

prospects. She was staying quite close to the company. Sharing the incidence of stunning

punctuality of the other client, the social worker was able to motivate her.

By motivating the social worker was able to influence the clients in improving their work

performance, which greatly aided in getting job.

Intervention involving Social Work Administration

Modern Social Work may be defined as a professional service to people for the purpose of

assisting them as individuals or in groups to attain satisfying social relationships and economic

standards of life in accordance with their wishes and capacity and in harmony with those of the

community.

Social Work Administration:

This refers to the process of applying professional competence to implementing certain programs

of social welfare through social agencies in fulfillment of the objects and policy of the agency. In

order to make the program more effective, the agency adopts certain administrative, financial

and procedural practices.

As social welfare services are becoming increasingly more complex, with multiple partners, a

sound administration is vitally important.

The purpose of social work is to render human service according to certain techniques;

administration is the business of social work. Effective management and human service are

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therefore supplementary to each other. Sound administration and competent professional services

are the head and heart which are essential to the effective activity of the body of the organized

humanitarian endeavor.

Purpose of Social Work administration:

The purpose of administration is to facilitate combined efforts of a group of persons to achieve

some common objectives. It is process of

i. Getting facts pertinent to the agency’s objectives and programs as the basis for taking

decision

ii. Analyzing available pertinent facts and making guesses about the future

iii. Identifying and selecting for action one of several alternatives available to the social

welfare agency, considering the forecast that have been made

iv. Making plans for effectively carrying out the objectives of the agency on the basis of the

alternatives selected

v. Arranging a division of work into such units that each unit can be assigned to persons for

execution

vi. Establishing continuous use of appropriate measures, procedures and practices to ensure

that all the activities in the agency contribute to the attainment of the objectives of the

agency programs

vii. Lying down and following financial practices in order to ensure economical and wise

utilization of public funds

viii. Lying down standards of work in an agency and mechanism of their enforcement

ix. Establishing sound communication and supervision system and maintaining effective

community relations

x. Evolving mechanisms of coordination within an agency and with other agencies

xi. Arranging a system of monitoring and evaluation of agencies work.

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The administrative process should be based on democratic norms with shared responsibility.

There should be arrangements for periodical evaluation of the administrative process, procedures

practices and the results achieved.

Functions of the administration:

According to Ray Jones, following are some of the functions of the sound administration.

i. Determining the purpose, aims and objects of the organization

ii. Working with the board

iii. Providing financial administration

iv. Marinating effective public relations and proper coordination with the other agencies

v. Evaluating accurately the total outcome in relation to the established purposes

Major areas of administration

i. Program development and use of sound methods and techniques

ii. Coordination

iii. Supervision and leadership

iv. Reporting

v. Monitoring and evaluation

vi. Mobilization and maintenance of resources, budget and fiscal controls and the concept of

accountability

vii. Maintenance of proper records

Purposes without programs are meaningless. Programs with out policies are undirected. Policy

offer support for the program. Bhoomika Trust has clear objectives, well defined mission and

vision, which forms the basic philosophy and principles underlying the various services.

Implementing the program in a social work agency in collaboration with other agencies makes it

imperative to base the program on the sound principles of Social Work Administration.

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StepOne was based on the following techniques of Social Work Administration:

Planning:

Every program in a social welfare agency is based on public funds, so every care has to be taken

to meticulously plan the program. The democratic process that is followed at Bhoomika Trust

enabled the Social Worker to plan the program in a systematic manner.

Planning – is the conscious and deliberate guidance of thinking so as to create logical means of

achieving agreed upon goals. Social planning is needed to the following reasons a) efficiency, b)

effectiveness, c) accountability and d) morale

Aspects of planning

i) To lay down objectives

ii) To identify problem

iii) To gather facts

iv) To create working methods

v) To analyze facts

vi) To define goal and fix priorities

vii) To locate resources

viii) To anticipate outcome

ix) To consider alternatives

x) To evaluate achievements and to revise methods

Principles of planning

i) It’s a continuous process

ii) Should come from top, and should be done at all levels

iii) Ensure participation

iv) Clear objective

v) Should grow out of the needs of the people

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vi) Should have adequate factual data

vii) Requires skills and leadership

viii) Must take into consideration the needs and resources of the community

ix) Needs effective methods of evaluation

The method of Social Work Administration is applied in the context of developing and executing

the program at Bhoomika Trust. Social work administration is a method of converting social

policy and plan into action. Focus of Bhoomika Trust is to support education related projects.

The Social Worker was able to convince the Trustee on this new initiate to help persons with

disability. As the program falls in line with the intermediary role of the organization, the

Trustees gave a go-ahead to this venture.

Once the concept was conceptualized the Social Worker had a series of discussions with the

Trustees and colleagues at Bhoomika Trust to plan the program. In a systematic manner the

Social Worker started with discussions with the Trustees. The discussions revolved around how

the program would reflect the overall vision and mission of the organization. Discussions with

the colleagues were concerning the day-to-day activities of the program.

The plan was broken down into daily and weekly activities, with continuous discussion with

colleagues and Trustees respectively. Planning was done on a SMART basis, where S-Specific,

M-Measurable, A-Achievable, R-Realistic and T for time bound.

As an ongoing process course correction were made as when it was necessary. Initially it was

planned to provide the opportunity for 10 visually impaired persons, but at start we had only 4

candidates, so it was discussed and decided to begin, and include candidates as we go along.

Decision making:

Decision making is an essential component. Social Work Administration is a process of making

decisions, making choices of the available options. As a systematic process it was based on the

proper understanding of the situation. The democratic atmosphere prevailing at Bhoomika Trust

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enabled the Social Worker to discuss the possible alternatives and choose the most appropriate

option.

Personnel Administration:

One of the important tools of administration is having the proper staff. The small team at

Bhoomika Trust, consists of 2 Program Managers, 1 Field Officer, 1 Management Trainee and 1

Office Assistant. All the staffs were well oriented on the program.

The various tasks of the program were discussed by the Program Managers, keeping the Field

Officer in the loop and allocated accordingly.

In the initial stages the tasks were mainly assigned between both the Programs managers and the

Field Officer. However in the later stages, the Management Trainee was gradually roped in. The

Management Trainee is a visually impaired person. As the program develops it is planned to

assign more and more routine tasks to the Management Trainee.

Office Procedure and methods:

The business functions and methods of a social agency would include all those activities which

are concerned with getting the routine business of the office done efficiently. These relate to all

the office work – receipt of letter, sending replies, filing papers, proper filing, and indexing,

The Social Worker systematically followed office procedures for efficiency in doing the routine

day-to-day activities. Replying to emails, indexing and filing documents (Soft copy and Hard

copy) time in respective folders / files, making entry of all inward and outward correspondence

in appropriate registers are some of them. The importance of this would be felt only when we

have to locate a particular file or document. If such routine work are not done properly can be a

source of botheration. Such procedures will also make the work system dependent and not

person dependent. Work can continue irrespective of change in personnel.

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Budgeting:

A statement showing the various sources from which money is to be raised during a particular

period and the programs and activities on which it will be utilized. Budgetary process is therefore

a fundamental part of planning process. A budget is a complete financial forecast based on

available data about the financial condition of the agency. It is process of determining

distribution of funds for the certain welfare services based on examination of needs.

Budgeting forms the preparation for fundraising which address the following questions

- activities for which money is required

- total amount required

- possible available sources

- methods to be adopted

As public funding is the basis for social welfare programs, it is essential to have a statement

prepared for every program showing the amount required for the various components and how

the money would be raised, and the source.

Social Worker did budgeting for StepOne in consultation with the Trustees and the colleagues of

Bhoomika Trust. With regards to this program the expenses was under two main heading. One is

the stipend for the client to take care of the costs that they incur towards traveling and food

during the one month work. This was worked at Rs 50/- per day, thus for each candidate

Bhoomika Trust would pay Rs 1500/- on completion of one month. The others expenses includes

travel, postage, telephone, stationery, internet and other miscellaneous expenses. Except the

stipend for the candidate, all the expenses were covered under the operating expenses of the

organization. Thus it was necessary to raise funds to meet the stipend costs.

Fund raising:

Fundraising is an important activity of social welfare agencies, which requires systematic

planning and preparation. Preparation attempts to address these issues:

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Preparation

I) Activity for which it is required

II) Total amount required

III) Period for which it will be used

IV) Possible resources

V) Contacts for these resources

VI) Time required

VII) Methods found useful (earlier experiences)

VIII) Cost of fund raised

StepOne was being done as pilot project, on a small budget. The Social worker in consultation

with the Trustees and colleagues worked out a suitable fund raising strategy. As the cost was

worked on a stipend basis it was decided to follow ‘support a candidate’ sponsorship appeal.

Appeals were prepared seeking funds for the programs and were sent to two potential

foundations. Street Source Foundations showed interest in the program and invited Social

Worker for a discussion. Representation of foundation was given a presentation of the project. In

response to the appeal and the subsequent discussion Street Edge Foundation provided funds to

support the stipend of five candidates.

Coordination

Coordination is the process of bringing together logical and organic relationships. Bhoomika

Trust has rich experiences in coordination during the tsunami intervention work. Some of the

ongoing programs of the organization namely True Gifts and NFTC, are based on coordination

with several organizations.

A similar strategy was applied in StepOne. A strategic alliance was established with NGO’s

working for the welfare of persons with disability and with employers who have not employed

persons with disability and were willing to consider them.

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Success of coordination would depend on adjustment, harmony and cooperation among the

partners.

Some of the advantages of coordination are:

a. prevents duplication of efforts

b. economizes expenditure

c. promotes best practices

d. prevents competitive fund-raising

e. improves general efficiency

Coordination with Nethrodaya

Having developed the framework the first task was to collaborate with an organization that

works for the welfare of persons with visual impairment. In this regard the Social Worker had

discussions with Mr.Gopi, Founder Trustee of Nethrodaya. Bhoomika Trust has already been

supporting Nethrodaya through their True Gifts programs. This already existing relationship with

Nethrodaya was tapped for this program.

The program was discussed in detail with the Founder Trustee and other members of the

organization, who readily agreed to offer full support for this initiative.

To know more about persons with visual impairment the Social Worker volunteered to read for

them. As many of the hostlers are doing their graduation they required assistance to read their

books. By offering reading services to a group of them, regularly for almost ten days the Social

Worker had to great opportunity to know them personally. This experience helped during the

later intervention with them.

.

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Coordination with employers:

Having got the approval of the Trustees, the next big challenge was to identify Companies which

have not employed persons with disabilities. The next task was to involve the Bhoomika Team in

the program in a systematic manner.

Efficiently tapping on the referrals provided by the Trustees of the Bhoomika, it was possible to

identify a handful of small organisation which fulfilled the criteria. The social worker

capitalized on the contacts provided by the Trustees. Getting approval from a large company

would be a tedious process. Hence it was decided to focus on smaller organization, as the

process of getting approval be simpler.

Based on the discussion had with the colleagues at Bhoomika Trust, organisation which would

be interested in the program was identified.

Then next step was to contact them initially through e-mail with a write up of the program

followed by a personal visit to explain the details. For the purpose the social worker had

prepared a write up. E-mail provided very effective as it considerably same time.

Because of their other business consultants few could not consider the offer. Few said that they

would have anyone other than persons with visual impairment. Of the 6 companies contacted,

three agreed and called for further discussions.

Meeting with the heads of the organization was primarily to explain the programs and to identify

tasks which could be done by these candidates.

During the meeting the Social Worker would gave a presentation about Bhoomika Trust, its

origin and its activities. This was followed by a brief presentation on StepOne. The purpose was

to give an orientation on the program and to know if they would be interested in getting

involved.

As neither of them had employed visually persons earlier, the process involved visit to the work

spot and discussions with their HR team to explore and first out areas where they would fit into.

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“JAWS” is a screen reading software developed Freedom Scientific Inc. The software enables

visually impaired persons to work on computers. Using JAWS they could comfortably work on

MS office supported to program like MS word, MS excel.

The social Worker gave a demonstration about the Software to the heads of the commercial

organization to educate them and to identify tasks for the candidates.

All agreed to put them on telephone related talks and agreed to explore additions tasks as days go

on. However one agreed to add JAWS.

The process was formalized by putting the details into writing so that everything is in black and

white.

Intervention involving Social Group Work

Social Group Work:

The intervention process for enabling persons with disability to take up responsible occupation

roles will be done based on the Social Group Work Method.

According to Konopka, Social Group Work is a method of Social Work which helps the

individuals to enhance their social functioning through purposeful group experiences and to cope

more effectively with their personal, group or community problems.

Trecker defines it as a method through which individuals in groups and social agency settings are

helped through a worker, who guides their interaction through program activities so that they

may relate themselves to other people and experience growth opportunities in accordance with

their need and capacities to the end on individual, group and community development.

Objectives of Group Work:

The various guided group interactions, the individuals in the group are helped to develop their

personalities. Trecker explain these through these objectives

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i. Group Workers are interested in furthering the social adjustment of the individuals

and in developing the social consciousness of the group.

ii. It is an objective of the group work to help individuals develop their capacities and

participate intelligently in the groups

iii. Group work provides experiences that are relaxing and give individuals a chance to

create, to share and to express themselves.

iv. Group Work enriches community life when individuals learn how to take

responsibility for their own behaviour and how to become participating members of

the society.

Principles of Social Group Work

According to Trecker the following are the some of the principles of Social Group Work:

a. The principles of planned group formation

b. The principles of specific objectives

c. The principle of purposeful worker-group relationship

d. The principle of continuous individualization

e. The principle of guided group interactions

f. The principle of democratic group self determination

g. The principle of flexible functional organization

h. The principle of progressive program experience

Target Group:

This intervention was with a group of 7 visually impaired individuals who are doing one month

work at various companies through the StepOne program.

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Commonality of the group:

All the candidates are visually impaired. They have completed their basic education, some

graduates while some are post graduates. Inspite of having the basic qualifications required to

join work force, they have not been successful. Their impairment coupled with negative

discrimination has prevented them from getting job.

Through this StepOne program, all these candidates would get opportunity to work for one

month in companies that have so far not employed persons with visual impairment. This one

month would be a golden opportunity for the candidate to showcase their skills and abilities and

impress the employer.

There is no job guarantee in this program. The employer would take the decision of employing

them at the end of one month. If the candidate is able to prove that he/she will be an asset for the

organization, there is an increased opportunity for getting job.

The purpose of these Group Work sessions during the program is to enable the candidate to share

and learn from one another through the facilitation provided by the Group Worker, so that they

could impress their respective employer.

There are totally five sessions, each of fours hours duration. The first session before the start of

the program, followed four sessions while they are on the job. Sessions were held at Nethrodaya

on Sundays from 2.00 to 6.00 PM.

Each candidate views the opportunity differently. Though they have the required qualification,

the candidates do not have any work experience. It will be their first work experience. Working

in a new environment with new a set of people who have little understanding on visual

impairment posses its own challenges. As the nature of company is varied so are their individuals

work tasks. Some might be able to adjust well to the situation, while some may not.

When they are brought together as a group, it will be an opportunity for them to know about the

ways others are dealing with the challenges. By guiding them through a planned process of

interaction, the Professional Social Worker provides them the opportunity to share and learn

from others.

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Each session is carefully designed to meet this goal. Members would be guided to share their

concerns in a non-threatening environment. Since all of them are alike they wouldn't have the

fear of being ridiculed or stigmatized.

As the sessions progress members would develop effective ways of dealing with the challenges

at work. Sessions would be filled with lots of creative interaction and activities. Members would

also be enabled to take a realistic practical approach, where by they learn to make adequate

modifications in their work style in a way that enhances their performance, develop good

working relation ship with their colleagues and also help them to impresses their employers.

The first session would be an introductory session, during which the Social Worker would

explain the program, and clarify their doubts and concerns. During the subsequent eight to

twelve sessions the members would be made to interact in a guided manner, with plenty of

opportunity to share and grow.

In Social Group Work the Worker is interested in helping to bring out the individual changes,

growth and social development for the group as a whole and for the community as a result of

guided group interaction.

Intervention from an employer’s perspective

Effective utilization of men and materials in a coordinated fashion to achieve its preset goal is

the purpose of any organization. Profit reflects the success of any organization. All inputs are

measured in terms investments and the corresponding output as profits. To remain and grow in

business, the organization has to run profitably. All the actions and decisions taken by the

management is counted on these two vital components, how much do they have to invest, and

what will be the profit.

When it comes to employing persons with disabilities, these are two things that bother

employers. What special adjustments does one have to do, and how will it affect the

organizations profit. Will it make business to employ persons with disabilities. Experiences in

the US have actually proved that it does make sense to employ persons with disabilities.

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Persons with disabilities are more committed, regular, switch jobs less often, and the cost of

making the adjustments is very minimal. Going by these several companies US and UK have

employed persons with disabilities, and have reaped rewards. More over the statutory

requirements are adhered to more closely.

In India, PWD Act only recommends a 5% reservation. The employers do not have any statutory

obligation to employ person with disabilities. In this background employment is done purely on

the decision on the consideration of the individual employers.

While the Rights Based Perspective, of equal opportunity is just getting momentum in India. The

recent initiative of the government of India to contribute towards the Provident Fund is hope to

make a significant influence.

In this practicum the Social Worker attempts to create jobs for visually impaired persons in

organizations that have so far not employed persons with disability. The candidate would be

provided one month opportunity to work and prove their abilities. There is no job guarantee, if

the employer is satisfied, than there is an increased chance of getting job.

Job interview:

According to Scott and others, “an interview is a purposeful exchange of ideas, the answering of

questions and communication between two or more persons”.

Based on the discussion the Social Worker has with the employers, as assessment is made on the

type of skills required fro the job, then the social worker matches it with the available profile of

candidates, and then arranges for a formal interview.

The social worker prepares the candidate and accompanies the candidate for the interview.

During the face-to-face personal interview the employer gets to know more about the candidate

and takes decision on providing the one month work opportunity.

Process of matching abilities with job requirements:

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During the one month period the Social Worker has constant contact with the employers and the

others in the department. Being their first time work interactions with persons with disability,

they have mixed experiences.

Considerable changes happen during these interactions. It’s an opportunity for the non-disabled

members to understand and to know more about them. It is an opportunity to correct their myths

and misconceptions regarding persons with disability. The Social Worker prepares the candidate

to an ambassador in creating appositive influence, and to correct their wrong perceptions. The

feed back received from the employer is fed back to the candidates during the Sunday Group

Work sessions. Such inputs enable the candidate to improve their performances.

Appraisal:

According to Heyel, “it is the process of evaluating the performance and qualifications of an

employee in terms of the requirements of the job for which he is employed, for the purpose of

administration including placement, selection for promotions, providing financial rewards and

other actions which require differential treatment among the members of a group as

distinguished from the actions which require affecting all members equally”.

The decision to provide one month work opportunity could be on sympathy, but the decision to

employ the person would be based purely on the performance of the candidate. The employers

are asked to make an objective evaluation on the performance of the candidate.

In this program the candidate were appraised by their immediate Supervisor / Manager / CEO on

various parameters on completion of the one month program. Various components were covered

in the appraisal. It reflected an overall evaluation. Both the positive aspects and the ones which

required improvement were uncovered in the appraisal. The Social Worker developed a checklist

type of appraisal form for the purpose.

The decision to employ reflects the rating the candidate gets on this appraisal form. When it

comes to salary negotiations, and terms of employment, the Social Worker leaves it to the

85

candidate and the employer, while ensuring that the candidate is not exploited due to unfair

employment practices.

The Social Worker helps the candidate to take a decision with regards to employment based on

his/her experience, salary, and other terms of employment. Except one candidate, all the others

were keen on continuing the work, and were glad that they got the job.

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Chapter - IV

87

The only disability in life is a bad attitude. ~Scott Hamilton

The out come of an Eclectic approach:

The Social Worker used an Eclectic approach integrating the methods of Social Work namely

Social Work Administration, Social Casework, and Social Group Work. By integrating the

various methods appropriately it was possible to address the complex issue of unemployment

among person with disability. The complex nature of the issue challenge was such that, unless

the Social Worker adopted these three methods, it would not have been possible to address the

various dimensions of the challenge.

Three out of four visually impaired persons got jobs in companies which have never employed

persons with visual impairment in the past. This was made possible through StepOne. Strategy

adopted in the program enabled employers to observe the work of visually impaired persons for

one month and take a decision

Switching roles, switching perspectives, being with client, going beyond their immediate concern

of employment, seeing from the employers, taking a larger perspective of disability was a great

experience.

This integration helped in getting results from multi sides. The Social Worker was able to

empower visually impaired candidates, sensitized non-disabled on the issue of disability and

more importantly succeeded in getting jobs for them.

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Future direction

In the pilot phase, working at a micro and mezzo level, StepOne succeeded in getting jobs for

three visually impaired persons. This encouraging response made Bhoomika Trust to make it a

regular program.

With the learning gained in the pilot phase, the second phase of the program started in February

2008. The program is now open to persons with disability, who have difficulty in getting jobs.

Two visually impaired candidates and one orthopedically challenged candidate have already got

jobs, making the total number of candidates who got job through this program as six. Three new

donors have come forward to support the program. Efforts are already underway to contact other

NGO’s and Special School offering programs for persons with disability.

Loyola College, Chennai has agreed to provide space in the Social Work Department to conduct

the weekly Sunday Group Work Sessions. During these session candidate will be further

empowered based on the techniques of Social Work. They would be offered support to work on

Marco level issues on a Rights Perspective. The Department of Social Work would support

StepOne from a theoretical and academic angle.

It is hoped that this program initiated with the support of Bhoomika Trust would be replicated in

other places for the benefit of persons with disability.

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90

Time allocation

Sl.No. Details (22nd October 2007 to 6th December 2007) – 45 days Duration in

hours

1. Casework Sessions

- 8 to 12 sessions with each candidate

100

2. Group Work Sessions

- First session to explain the program and

- Four Sundays at Nethrodaya 2-6 pm during the one month

program

20

3. Social Work Administrations

-Meetings with Trustees

-Meetings with colleagues at Bhoomika Trust

-Meeting with Employers

-Fundraising

80

4. Discussion with guide 10

5. Library work, recording and documenting 10

Total 220 hours

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References

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94

95

96

97

98

99

THE PROGRAM CONTINUES

100

THE PROGRAM CONTINUES

101

THE PROGRAM CONTINUES

102

THE PROGRAM CONTINUES

103

THE PROGRAM CONTINUES

104

THE PROGRAM CONTINUES

105

THE PROGRAM CONTINUES

106

THE PROGRAM CONTINUES

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