A study by the University of Valencia shows the different social services policy followed in 20 municipalities in L'Horta Sud region between 2003 and 2012. The study formulates a series of models for managing municipal social services based on how and by whom decisions are made and implemented in local governments, and on the relationship with external social actors.
This not only allows us to better describe and evaluate local social policies, but also to transfer this analytical tool to other scenarios. And furthermore, it may help us understand what’s at stake in processes of change and, especially, assess what to preserve and what to improve, in each case, in the support staff who ensure an efficient operation.
Between 2003 and 2012, researcher and professor at the University of Valencia Marcela Jabbaz conducted a study on the different policies of social services established in 20 municipalities in the Valencian region of L'Horta Sud. For performing her test, this researcher from the Department of Sociology conducted a total of 62 interviews with experts and qualified staff, as well as with politicians and officers of the municipalities, and made use of the data published by the Spanish Statistical Office (INE), the Valencian Institute of Economic Research (IVIE), La Caixa bank in its yearbook, the Eurostat agency and the Welfare areas of the Generalitat Valenciana and of the municipalities studied.
The study shows that, although there are common rules and similar institutions, indeed the practical implementation is remarkably divergent, as a result of the different coverage and extension of social benefits, but especially of the management model applied by each town. This article not only delves into the structural factors that determine this very different implementation, but it also provides a classification of the management arrangements under which social problems are dealt with, including the strength and weaknesses of each model. And that, apart from helping us understand local social policy, serves as a diagnosis that can facilitate decision-making in complex situations like the current crisis.
Professor Jabbaz has created a map on which she places the different policies of social services, generated from three dimensions: the design of the policy, the programmatic implementation linked to the government plan agreed with the citizens, and the partocratic implementation (the political struggle for the power of government). She has also considered a number of factors including the size of the local organisation and how it is structured, and its relationship with the social environment. As a result, she has obtained two vectors (from technical to political and from internal to external), a power relationship, a determining factor (the value orientation of social policy) and a consequence, i.e., the degree of coordination between the players concerned. Thus, the article shows the current variety of social services policies from a typology built around political orientations (programmatic and partisan) and the links established between municipal councils, citizens, the third sector and the market.
Depending on the design of the policy applied and its coordination with external players, one can speak of two types of models: the transformation/institutionalisation model and the cosmetic participation model. According to the political vector, we find the populist model and the unstable coalition model. Depending on the technical vector, we find the preventive-pedagogical model and the articulated model of social participation. Finally, according to the internal support staff, we have the comprehensive model and the professional-focused.
The author’s proposal is to present pure theoretical models, which are tools that facilitate the understanding of actual cases, either by rapprochement or distance. However, these models are created from empirical research, taking some attributes from municipal social service policies studied in the region of L'Horta Sud. Therefore, the assignment of models to the specific cases indicated below must be taken in a heuristic global sense, since theoretical models do not completely match the specific cases.
Thus, it can be said that the municipalities of Picanya, Beniparrell, Albal and Alcàsser are close to the comprehensive programmatic model, which is an essentially technical internal model that seeks to respond to social needs by using all the technical resources available in the municipality to meet the demands from a multidisciplinary approach. This type of social policy is often implemented when there are areas of services directed by a single line manager, which allows the smooth flow between the actions of the different technical sections. The effectiveness of this model depends on simple and streamlined administrative processes that avoid bureaucracy in order to respond to demand in a timely manner.
According to Marcela Jabbaz, "the most common model in the study is the one called programmatic-focused, found in the municipalities of Alfafar, Benetússer, Xirivella, Picassent, Paiporta, Silla, Quart de Poblet, Sedaví and Manises, which is characterised by its large presence of political directors who strictly supervise the technical implementation in each of the areas of the municipal administration". This model combines technical decentralisation (implementation is exclusive to officers) and political centralisation, because the strategies are defined through the government plan or programme for the legislative period.
Torrent, and also Aldaia to a lesser extent, present a model with marked social connotations coordinated by officers. This is the articulated programmatic model of social participation, which grants the population greater access to scarce resources such as residential homes, supervised apartments, occupational centres, etc., and promotes participation of citizens, of social players, through networks, forums or committees, coordinated by city council staff. The nature of this approach is to make the local social resources available converge. Participatory social committees define the list of priorities, which may be different from those proposed by the political actors in the city council.
Away from this model is the so-called partocratic-populist model, studied in the town of Massanassa. In general, it emphasises the implementation of leisure programmes. This type is geared towards sustaining the political elite. Officers report their actions to their political heads and do not coordinate with the rest of officers from other areas. According to Jabbaz, in this type of model "political interference in technical decisions is normal and people usually go directly to the politician to obtain benefits for their social situation". Each area is a feudal political space that acts independently of the others, creating a climate of tension far from the most appropriate technical decisions. In this model we can say that suspicion, lack of trust, lack of autonomy and low motivation in the exercise of professional tasks are the norm. The figure of the mayor is the only one that gives some coherence to the municipal organisation.
The article also describes other types of models, as that prevailing in the city of Catarroja, the partocratic of unstable coalition, which is a variation of the programmatic articulated and usually employed when the governing elite is composed of a coalition of parties on a balance of power. The struggle between the councillors of the various parties generates a lack of collaboration between the teams of officers in the different areas, as well as a lack of confidence. In these cases the goal of politicians is not only winning elections, but also the factional fighting within the governing coalition, because none of the forces is clearly hegemonic. The figure of the mayor loses political strength, since he or she belongs to one of the warring factions, thus limiting the mayor’s power to give coherence to the system of organisation.
Also noteworthy is the preventive-pedagogical model, in which there is great coordination between municipal officers and schools, as in the case of Alaquàs. Its goal is prevention. It is based on the creation of a network of child protection complementing, and in some cases replacing, the family institution. The goal is to prevent problems before they arise. The counterpart to this model is excess public protection and the transfer of family responsibilities to the institutional level.
The researcher believes that from a pragmatic point of view one might be tempted to choose one as the ideal model to follow, but it is not that simple. If we adopt the preventive-pedagogical model to try to provide solutions before problems arise, we must not forget that this is a one-dimensional approach to social policy focused on families, while social problems are multidimensional. In addition, the articulated model of social participation has only been developed in medium-sized towns, and if participation is not institutionalised through a specific law, it may be made conditional on political or economic factors.
Jabbaz concludes that "each model brings an element of interpretation of the complex reality experienced in the municipalities, but in no way do they prescribe policy formulas. By thinking with models we get a systematic perspective of the structure of community, professional and political work according to a number of elements that are mutually dependent on each other, but there is no single best model of social policy. Each municipality establishes its own on the basis of a series of contingency factors and their particular institutional path".
Jabbaz, M. «La variedad de políticas de servicios sociales municipales: articulación institucional y comunitaria». Revista Española de Sociología, nº 22, 2014, p. 27-50
Last update: 13 de february de 2015 11:15.
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