SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND WELFARE SERVICES IN LAGOS STATE: A STUDY OF LAGOS STATE CHILDREN CENTRE, IDI-ARABA, LAGOS
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
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1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Social welfare is defined as the organized system of social services and institutions designed to aid individuals and groups to attain satisfying standards of living and personal and social relationships which permits them to develop their capacities and promote their well being in harmony with the needs of their families and the community. Social welfare is further defined as the quality of life that includes environment, level of crime, extent of drug abuse availability of essential social services (Bojeghre, 2000).
Welfare service is an organized function with a set of activities made to enable individuals, families, groups, and communities to cope with social problems of changing conditions. It plays a major role in contributing to the effective mobilization and development of human and material resources of the country to deal with the social requirements of change hereby participating in nation building. The quality and volume of social welfare services available through society are indicative of the nature of its socio-economic development (Majoroh (2002). Health and social workers provide individuals, families and communities with skills and services that improve their intellectual, health, social and material well-being. As they render health and social services, they assist individuals and groups to help themselves. People, who work in health and social services, provide links between individuals and institutions, that can enable children meet their personal and social needs (Ewhrudjakpor, 2004).
In the narrowest sense, social welfare includes those nonprofit functions of society, public or voluntary, which are targeted towards poverty reduction or at ameliorating the conditions of the casualties of the society.
The social development policy for Nigeria in 1989 conceptualizes these social welfare practices aforementioned, in terms of the organized system of social services and institutions designed to aid individuals to attain satisfying standards of life, health, personal and social relationships which permit them to develop their full capacities and to promote families and the community (Igunbor, 2004).
According to Nwoba (2012), Social development is the process of continuous improvement of the social structure, institutions and programmes in order to create a societal condition in which the rights of the citizens are advanced and protected; their welfare enhanced; and their effective functioning and self-actualization ensured. This definition of social development shows that it constitutes mutual and major concerns of interdisciplinary professionals in the area of health and social services management, for such professionals work in social welfare services where they can help individuals, families, group and communities experiencing problems in personal, physical, psychological and social functioning. The major areas of social welfare, according to the policy are; family and child welfare; rehabilitation counseling and correction and care of the elderly. Social welfare policies exist to help out these societal disadvantaged people like sufferers of leprosy disease. Those who have produced Nigeria’s development plans since independence have demonstrated little knowledge or understanding of the nature of the social development function, or of the value of an integrative social development sector to national development Nwoba (2012).
However, formal social work started in Lagos in the 1940’s during the second World War when there were many stray and abandoned children and juvenile cases. The service later spread to other parts of the country.
The historic perspective of social welfare is the organized system of social services and institutions designed to aid individual and group to attain satisfying standards of life, health, and personal and social relationships which permit them to develop their full cities and to promote their well-being in harmonywith the needs of their families in the community. Few years after the world war, the colonial handed over the welfare centers to the State government in the 1950’s.
1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
The inadequacies of the social development efforts in Nigeria cannot be blamed entirely on the failure of administrators and social scientists to produce relevant content. Part of the problem is that the structure and organization of the sector is in itself problematic. The establishment of the Federal Ministry of Social Development and Sports was not sufficient to ensure a relevant, national outlook. One problem lies in the fact that no effective mechanism was created to provide for the flow of relevant information from the grass roots up. The Federal Government makes decisions without the benefit of relevant information and feedback from the states.
The greatest challenge however is to rehabilitate patients so that they can be fully integrated into their respective communities both socially, psychologically and economically .This will not be realized unless they are enabled to be self reliant through relevant physical and occupational rehabilitation. This study’s pivotal objective is to assess the social welfare services rendered and inmate’s standard of living where gaps exist, suggestions shall be proffered in this study to fill these gaps.
The increasing rate of social problems in the society is quite alarming as it is unfortunate that the family is becoming more and more incapable of performing it’s basic duty of socialization. A lot of cases have been heard and reported at the various welfare centres in the State which involves Sexual Abuse, Physical Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Maltreatment, Children in conflict with the law, and Children in need of care and protection (lost and found children).
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
This study aim to examine Social Development and Welfare Services in Lagos State with special reference to Children Centre, Idi-Araba, Lagos. The specific objectives are:
- To examine the relationship between social development and welfare services.
- To examine the causes of social problems on young children from all perspectives leading them to welfare homes.
- To examine the benefits and impact of Social Development and Welfare Services to the Lagos State Children Centre in Idi-Araba, Lagos.
- To highlight the challenges of social welfare services in Lagos State Children Centre in Idi-Araba, Lagos.
.1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following research questions was buttressed for the study
- What is the relationship between social development and welfare services?
- What are the causes of social problems on young children from all perspectives leading them to welfare homes?
- What are the benefits and impact of Social Development and Welfare Services to the Lagos State Children Centre in Idi-Araba, Lagos?
- What are the challenges of social welfare services in Lagos State Children Centre in Idi-Araba, Lagos?
1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
Ho: Social Development and Welfare Services does not have significant impact on Children Centre in Idi-Araba, Lagos
H1: Social Development and Welfare Services have significant impact on Children Centre in Idi-Araba, Lagos
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This research study aims at Social Development and Welfare Services in Lagos State. For this reason, the research findings when successfully completed shall be beneficial in many ways to various categories of users.
Firstly, this study shall be useful to future researchers, especially university students and students in other institutions who may see the work both as a reference point for researchers in related areas as well as an indispensable source of literature in the course of their study. Furthermore, the recommendations to be made will be of immense benefit to education planners in making sound decisions.
Heads and supervisors of academic institutions will find the study to be of much benefit since it can serve as a basis for assessment, evaluation and possible adjustment for better performance.
Finally, since limited attention has been given to research of this kind in Nigeria, this study is likely to provoke many researches to be conducted in this area and other
1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This research study examines Social Development and Welfare Services in Lagos State with special reference to Children Centre, Idi-Araba, Lagos. The scope of the research is limited to the Lagos State Children Centre in Idi-Araba, Lagos.
1.8 DEFINITION OF TERM
Children: A child is a human being who is not yet an adult (Dworzynski, 2012).
Family and Child Welfare: The family is the basic social unit of any nation, and since the nation is built by members of the family (Riegel, Jaarsma and Stromberg, 2012).
Rehabilitation: Is the restoration of a drug addict to it’s fullest physical, mental, psychological, social, vocational and economic usefulness of which the individual is capable (Thompson, 2005).
Social development: Social development is about putting people at the centre of development. This means a commitment that development processes need to benefit people, particularly but not only the poor, but also a recognition that people, and the way they interact in groups and society, and the norms that facilitates such interaction (Tilly, 2004).
Welfare services: Welfare services are actions or procedures that cover the basic well-being of the individuals and the society (Atkinson, 1995).
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