new social risks; community work; empowerment; participation

Welfare officers have been confronted with a paradoxical situation. Although the possibilities to change the structural aspects of oppression are very limited, they are expected to empower their clients. The aim of this article is to critically analyse the concepts of empowerment and participation in the area of community-oriented social work because these two concepts are frequently used in social policy concepts as well as in specialised theoretical literature, very often, however, without any clear content. Another aim of my contribution is to reflect on the theme of power, the issues concerning the possibilities of political influence of welfare officers as well as clients and finally also the role welfare officers have in their work with disadvantaged groups. The theoretical concepts will be related to the current situation of social work in the Czech Republic.