Moc a(lebo) pomoc v sociálnych službách. Vzťah sociálneho pracovníka a klienta v kontexte nízkoprahového zariadenia

The paper analyzes relations between social workers and the users of social service in the context of youth drop-in centers for socially excluded teenagers. The first way to look at this relation is through the Michel Foucault´s theory of power. According to Foucault, power can only exist when a generally accepted discourse exists, which assigns what way of living is “normal” and what is the right way to cope with those, who do not live in a normal way. One of these ways is social services – a special type of institution. The position of social worker is thus a one of power – his goal is to influence the acts of his clients. For better illustration of the functioning of social services the youth drop-in center is compared to a total institution presented by Bridgewater State Hospital for the criminally insane presented in the documentary by Frederik Wiseman called Titicut Follies (1967). The documentarist uses special methodology in his work that looks much like ethnomethodology – a theory from the field of social anthropology. It focuses on observable every day activities and the members of the society as active creators of what is considered real. According to this approach my field notes from the youth drop-in centers are analyzed. Emphasis is put on different member groups and the ways they influence the relations between social workers and clients, as well as on active power of clients in an institution in contrast with the Foucauldian view of them as only being subjected to the power of the institution.