新时代中国专业社会工作的体制健全与能力提升

Institutional Improvement and Capacity Raising of the Professional Society Work in China’s New Era

经过三十多年的发展,中国已经形成一套较为成熟的专业社会工作体系,在服务群众和缓解社会问题方面发挥了积极的作用。但目前也存在着体制不顺、能力不强的问题。新时代,中国式现代化的高质量发展、迈向共同富裕以及党委社会工作部体制的建立,为专业社会工作的发展提供了新的条件,同时也提出了进一步健全体制和提升能力的要求。为此,应该从加强党的领导、健全体制机制、坚持专业化方向、扩展服务内容和加强社会工作者队伍建设等方面进一步推动中国专业社会工作的发展。

Over three decades of development,China has established a relatively mature professional society work system that has played a vital role in providing social services and mitigating social issues.However,this system still faces challenges in institutional arrangements and service capacities,including inadequacies in the professionalization of society work,limited involvement in specialized service areas,and insufficient professional competency development.In the new era,the path of Chinese modernization,characterized by high-quality development and the pursuit of common prosperity,presents both opportunities and challenges for professional society work.This context necessitates the enhancement of social services through high-quality society work,strengthening social protection and promotion for various vulnerable groups and disadvantaged populations.To fully leverage the professional advantages of society work and contribute to public welfare,social governance,and national development,it is imperative to implement more comprehensive services and management,elevate professional capabilities,and improve institutional mechanisms.The recent requirements for society work outlined in the key document of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee,coupled with the establishment of Party-led society work department system,have significant implications for advancing society work development.These developments have resulted in a more robust leadership structure for society work,the potential for comprehensive expansion of society work service systems,increased emphasis on professional development goals,and integration of professional approaches with the Party’s traditional strengths in mass work.Under the new Party-led society work administration,the following aspects should be prioritized to further advance professional society work:Reinforce the Party’s leadership in society work,ensuring both political direction and practical implementation.This requires enhancing Party leaders’theoretical knowledge of society work and strengthening the coordination capabilities of relevant Party departments.Improve institutional mechanisms by clearly defining professional society work as an integrated occupational system,refining governmental management of society work,and establishing service structures aligned with diverse society work functions.Maintain a focus on professional development to increase service efficacy.This includes enhancing research and development capabilities,implementing more scientific and humanized management and services,and promoting professional autonomy in society work.Expand the scope of society work services beyond areas directly under Party society work authorities to broader societal domains.Strengthen the society work workforce by improving the quality of society work education in universities,optimizing talent evaluation systems,ensuring appropriate utilization of workers in professional society work departments in practice,and developing comprehensive incentive mechanisms for workers in professional society work departments.