School social work in Hungary aims to provide services to children and their families to ensure that they have the opportunity to complete their education. Aid is particularly focused on impoverished areas with higher proportions of at-risk children and youth.
History The first steps toward school social work in Hungary were taken after World War I, when school nurses (referred to as green cross nurses by Emőke Bányai) started working at schools in the late 1930s.Bányai, E. (2000). Az iskolai szociális munka és lehetőségei az ezredfordulón Magyarországon. In: Háló, August, pp. 3–5. Similar to that of a present-day social worker, they pursued individual case work and aided families in the field and at school. The nurses had a college or university degree in education and belonged to the staff of the school, with the scope of their duties shaped according to its needs. The nurses offered family care services mainly for families residing in the slums of Budapest in order to prevent academic failure and school dropout.Pik, K. (1994). A ferencvárosi Gyermekjóléti Szolgálatról. Család, gyermek ifjúság, No. 5, pp. 8–11.
Following World War II, the Hungarian political elite declared that education was the primary requirement for child protection. The first significant change in child protection took place in 1964, when teachers were appointed child protection workers in the kindergartens and schools of Budapest. Elements similar to those in the work of school social workers appeared in the scope of activities of family care workers employed by educational advisory services, which were launched in 1967. In 1975, child protection supervisors were appointed to advise child protection workers at schools. Such child protection supervision functioned until 1985.
Employees of family-care centres established in the mid-1980s developed a committed social worker identity. They made regular contacts with local schools, kindergartens, and offered various services to the children, parents and teachers. As a form of youth protection, a so-called afternoon-care system was functioning in the 1970s and 1980s with elements resembling present-day social work.
Social and economic changes taking place in the late 1980s and the consequent increase in the rate of unemployment, declassing and dramatic impoverishment of certain social groups, changes in social norms and values, and the related emergence and extension of deviant behaviour challenged schools. It became apparent that these sudden and intensely rising problems were preventing schools from fulfilling their basic tasks, and could not be addressed by traditional educational tools. Child protection workers, whose positions were filled by teachers, did not have the qualifications or the time necessary for the management of complicated cases. Finally, schools stated their claim to employ professionals who provide personal social services for pupils, parents and staff members.Fiszter, E. (1994). Hetedik féléves terepgyakorlat a ferencvárosi gyermekjóléti szolgálatnál. (manuscript)
Resolutions of the 1990s To resolve the problems which had arisen, three basic concepts were developed by the early 1990s: the appointment of dedicated full- and part-time child protection workers, specialized schools for underprivileged areas with large numbers of at-risk children, and teams of social workers based in local child care centres.
Appointing teachers to the duty of child protection
Employment of child protection workers The management of some schools sought to enhanced child protection service by partially or wholly freeing the workdays of teachers willing and suited to the task of assisting troubled children and their families. Teachers so appointed usually did not have proper qualifications nor were they sufficiently equipped (with an interview room, telephone and supervision). As they were expected to act according to the interests of the school which employed them, it was difficult for them to advocate for the children and their families against the school administration. Colleagues often overwhelmed them with feelings of frustration and unreasonable demands, and they were frequently called to serve as substitute teachers on their days off.Bányai, E. (2006). Az oktatási, nevelési intézmények gyermekvédelmi szolgáltatásainak jellemzői, a szociális szolgáltatások kapcsolódási lehetőségei, fejlesztési hangsúlyai a gyermekszegénység csökkentése érdekében. Gyerekesély Füzetek
Employment of independent child protection workers To improve upon the above model, child protection workers were separated from schools in the early 1990s and employed by the Educational Service Cabinet, in districts XV and XVI of Budapest. Their assignment and supervision was made by the educational department of the local government. This ended the conflict of loyalties but it continued to use educational means and an educational approach. The model was criticized as it continued to employ people who were teachers by training, rather than social workers; and as a government employee the school social worker could not stand against the state schools administration.
Despite these problems, the employment of child protection workers remained standard practice at schools.
Internal school social work Alternative schools established in the early 1990s sought to provide education satisfying the individual needs of children coming from underprivileged social backgrounds and being unable to manage in a traditional school. In these schools, educational and social work overlap; the educational concept requires the staff to utilize social expertise in educational work. Success of the model is presumably due to the staff's awareness in handling problems that pupils face outside school and a supporting attitude toward pupils. Despite facing some of the same issues of conflict of interest, such schools continue to employ school social workers even when traditional schools ceased to offer services. Both the need among the pupils and the academic mission of the alternative schools legitimized the role of the school social worker.
External school social work Recognizing the important role that schools played in child and youth protection work, the first school social work teams in Hungary were formed in the early 1990s (Gedeon 1996). Social services provided by external experts were introduced in several schools at the same time. On the basis of such work launched in autumn 1991 from a local child care centre to a school in District VII of Budapest, a team was set up with the help of the local government in 1992. In District VIII, it was also a child care centre that posted a school social worker to a local school. In 1993, the Child Protection Group initiated services in District XI. At the outset, the group belonged to the Educational Service Centre, and later was converted into a child welfare centre (Bányai 2009, Molnár 2009, Mihály 1991). These were distinguished from the independent child protection workers under the educational department of the local government.
Perhaps the best-known experimental project carrying out "external" school social work was the "Ferencváros" Network of School Social Workers. The network was started in summer 1992. Later it was renamed "Ferencváros" White Raven Child Welfare Service. In District IX of Budapest, the local government promoted the establishment of the child welfare service in 1992. The concept was developed by Dr Mihaly and her colleagues. The main principle on which they stood was: "Child protection must be removed from schools, but it must not be handed over to the system of authorities. A child protection system independent form authorities has to be created" (Dr Mihaly, 2008). It is a characteristic of the model that it considers the community surrounding the school, including the network of supporting organizations. They aspired to create and run a region-based child protection system. The social worker did not want to take up the child protection worker's duties, but focused on the role of a mediator, co-ordinator, and "catalyst". Working with pupils was reduced, since social workers were on duty at schools only once a week. The range of activities covered group work, organizing club sessions, summer camping and playrooms, and offering homework help – instead of doing case management for individuals. Furthermore, they worked with families and were entitled to offer them financial and in-kind assistance. A structure of services different from that of the traditional school social work evolved due to the lack of modern child protection services and institutions providing customized care for clients in Hungary. In particular, services were offered to families to prevent children from being removed from their birth parents, as there was no basic child welfare services separate from the operation of authorities. "Ferencváros" Child Welfare Service attempted to fill this gap.
This work led to the Child Welfare Act that came into effect in November 1997. After the law came into effect, the "Ferencváros" Child Welfare Service underwent a transformation: child welfare activities began to outweigh school social work, which had previously been of primary importance. The Child Welfare Act created new conditions for the operation of the other networks of school social workers and child welfare services as well, easing the burden on local governments. As a consequence, classical school social work became overshadowed by the corrective tasks of child welfare. As since 1996, Annex 1 of Act LXII of 1996 have been obliging schools to employ a part-time child protection worker, schools should have increased capability of support for students. However, in practice schools continued to give this work to teachers without adequate qualifications.
Post-2000 Since 2004, school social work has been expanding, with increasing employment. Child welfare services also focus more on school social work. Since the national register of school social workers is currently being prepared, exact data is unavailable.
At present, there are three main approaches to school social work in Hungary: Internal school social work or the so-called traditional model External school social work or the Ferencváros model The Pécs model Employing teachers as child protection workers is no longer a viable option following the introduction of university degree programmes in social work and social education, which provided qualified professionals.
Traditional model In the internal or traditional model, the school social worker's employer is the administrator of the school. The school social worker offers various social services while present at the school, and is familiar with its functioning. The social worker may form a team with a school doctor or nurse, but generally does not have supervision or team case management available. This model is applied mainly by schools maintained by (e.g.: Burattino Általános - és Szakképző Iskola, Forrás Szakiskola, Gandhi Gimnázium, Világ Világossága Alapítvány), but a few such state schools also exist (e.g.: Radnóti Szakközépiskola in the city of Pécs, Éltes Mátyás Iskola, Magyarmecskei Általános Iskola). The first school social work programmes in Hungary followed this model.
External model