Social assessment as a social work activity and needs assesssment in the field of social assistance in Turkey

This study aims to find out the place and importance of social assessment as a social work activity as well as practices regarding needs assessment in the context of social assistance system in Turkey. In this study, opinions and experiences of social workers making social assessment in the field of social assistance are taken into discussion. The data of the study have been collected by the researcher in accordance with qualitative research methods through semi structured in depth interviews with 34 social workers working in Public Institutions, Social Assistance and Solidarity Funds as well as Municipalities. The findings have been discussed under the following themes: descriptive features regarding education status and work experiences of social workers, their perspectives regarding poverty, neediness and social assistances, logistic support, work load and security risks, application and preparation phase, observation and interview phase, sources of information, ethical issues and dilemmas, reporting and conclusion phase, follow up and monitoring studies, as well as supervision. As a result of analysis and evaluation made, it has been found out that needs assessment in Turkey are conducted in different manners considering the different principles by various institutions and its scope and measures are not clearly defined. It is seen that the viewpoints of social workers on poverty and social assistance as well as institutional and administrative policies shape and determine needs assessment, and that the follow up and monitoring studies are inadequate therefore social assistances cannot achieve the goals of empowerment and social justice for clients. It is considered that the results of this study will shed light on the problems encountered in needs assessment and will contribute to develop necessary policy and legislation. Keywords Social assessment, poverty, neediness, needs assessment, social assistances, social work