Authors

Nataliia Lomonosova¹;  ¹ Visiting Researcher 'UNET' at the Center for East European and International Studies, Berlin, and a PhD candidate in sociology at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Ukraine

Discussion

As a result of the territorial-administrative reform (decentralization) that began in 2015, local self-government bodies in Ukraine gained extensive powers in providing public services. These include responsibilities in providing social services such as visiting care, daycare for persons with disabilities, social work with vulnerable families, and many others. Many local self-government bodies have reported difficulties maintaining these responsibilities for years due to their limited financial and administrative capacities. 
The socio-economic consequences of the full-scale war that began in 2022 have been particularly severe for vulnerable populations, such as low-income families, older adults, people with disabilities, and others. The war has also increased the share of those who find themselves in a vulnerable situation due to forced displacement inside the country, loss of housing or income, acquired disability, and deterioration of the social network that has been supplementing municipal and state support. 
This paper is based on semi-structured interviews with social workers in the Ukrainian municipalities (hromadas) and municipal public servants responsible for social protection. 
It is focused on defining and describing: 1. What coping strategies have these workers used to ensure the provision of social services on the local level in the context of existing structural problems caused by decentralization and long-term issues in social policies. 2. How the full-scale war exacerbated existing problems in social services provision on the local level due to the infrastructure damage caused by hostilities, massive displacement, intensification of vulnerabilities, and the growing need for support. 3. How have the coping strategies of the workers on the local level changed with the impact of the war. 
This paper shows social workers' agency in mitigating structural problems in social policy and argues that their coping strategies at work are crucial to maintaining social service provision during the war.