SOCIAL WORK WITH PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN THE NON-PROFIT SECTOR

The paper presents a qualitative research aimed at getting insight into the experiences and reflections of social workers employed in the non-profit sector about the scope of their work in the civil sector with people with disabilities. The participants of the research were sixteen social workers employed in the non-profit sector. The data were collected by a half-structured interview method and analyzed by means of qualitative methods. The analysis of the results revealed the fields of social work with persons with disabilities in the non-profit sector, problems faced by social workers as well as the possibilities of the improvement of social work with persons with disabilities in the context of the social model of disability. The results showed that social work with persons with disabilities includes a wide range of activities. The difficulties faced by social workers working with people with disabilities are created mostly by the inefficient legal system, followed by inadequate working conditions, absence of information in social environment and financial problems. The social workers believe that social work with persons with disabilities in the non-profit sector in the context of the social model should evolve towards improving education and lifelong competencies development, inclusion of persons with disabilities in the community and development of formal and informal support networks.