The contribution of professional social work skills to Maltese NGOs

Abstract

Social work in Malta is somewhat, a new profession; yet, the matters with which it is concerned are old. History shows that there was a time when charitable or voluntary organisations played an important role, especially before welfare services were introduced. Through the introduction of the welfare state, many church organisations had closed down and consequently voluntary organisations had shrunk in number. At that time social care was not yet fully developed. Although policy makers had already encountered financial restraints, they continued to expand welfare services. When the sustainability and adequacy of welfare services were threatened, other means of providing social care were sought. Indeed policy makers realised that a restructure in social policy thinking was needed. It was in 1990 that the minister for social policy, Dr Louis Galea, launched a white paper titled, "A caring society in a changing world: Proposals for a social welfare strategy for the nineties and beyond' (1990), wherein the transition from a welfare state to a welfare society was introduced. In this policy document, the minister assured that the social workers' status would be uplifted. Moreover, he introduced the mixed economy of care as the latest trend in social policy whereby the government purchases services from non-profit making voluntary organisations. It was then that voluntary organisations started to be referred to as non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The aim of this long essay is to chart the contribution of professional social work skills to NGOs in the light of the developments that have taken place both in NGOs and in social work as a profession in Malta.