The elaboration of a Social Needs Analysis (SNA) is a regulatory obligation for the Communal Social Action Centers (CCAS). Since June 2016, it is no longer mandatory to conduct an annual SNA. Many CCAS alternate the realization of an ABS in the strict sense with the realization of a qualitative analysis on a specific theme.

The CCAS of Marseille has just devoted a chapter of its Social Needs Analysis 2018 to the consequences of dematerialization for both social workers and users, in order to identify target audiences affected by digital insecurity and avenues to promote digital inclusion.

The CCAS and the Department of Social Action and Animation (DASA) of the City of Marseille met with social workers from the CCAS of Marseille, directors of social centers, as well as various associative and institutional partners (CAF 13, Departmental Council, Regional Council, Carsat Sud-Est, CPAM, Pôle emploi) in order to evaluate the consequences of the dematerialization of administrative procedures.

The interviews with the social workers of the CCAS of Marseille highlighted problems that recur in all surveys of this type.

• "This raises questions of ethics. Indeed, the purpose of social work is to bring users to autonomy".
• "Dematerialization places social workers in sometimes difficult situations. Some of them carry out procedures that create rights in the place of users, and without appropriate training, errors can be detrimental.
• In some organizations, such as the CAF, the MDS or the CCAS (as part of the digital safe experiment), several people in civic service have been called upon to provide digital support at several reception points. "This is only a temporary solution, as the civic service contracts have a maximum duration of nine months.
• The results of this use of civic service workers are mixed, given "their inexperience, the total lack of training in social action and the dropouts. The objective would be to train people to be proactive in the manner of the CPAM or the CAF, where the agents go towards the public while guiding them towards autonomy. They all advocate the use of their online platforms, and support is also provided by telephone if needed for specific procedures.
• Many social workers of the CCAS of Marseille have, moreover, reported "the transformation of their relations with users. The latter, and of course the most vulnerable who are digitally ill-equipped, ask them to do the dematerialized procedures for them because they do not know how to use the computer, are not equipped with it or feel lost and are therefore afraid of doing it wrong on the different computer sites of the CAF, the CPAM or others with consequences they consider dramatic, which can go as far as the loss of their social rights.

• "Ethical issues: social workers often enter or even create user IDs and passwords and keep them... sometimes in a notebook in their office, which obviously raises the question of the confidentiality of the data to which the agents have access;
• Questions that concern the professional posture of social workers: social work is supposed to be done with the person, not in his place. However, in many cases, it is observed that the agents substitute themselves for the persons they receive;
• Finally, there are questions about the professional skills of the agents themselves, some of whom have almost as little mastery of the digital tool as the person in front of them.

Local initiatives...

• The association Médiance 13 has forged several partnerships with structures (such as the CAF, the CPAM and the social centers). After carrying out a diagnosis of the territory, Médiance 13 developed its skills and know-how with several local reception points, while obtaining the "Maison de Service au Public" (MSAP 11 ) label.
• The EPNs in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region (under the label Espaces Régionaux Internet Citoyen, the Erics) are now labeled Sud Labs . They rely on Arsenic, the Regional Association for the Support of Digital Information and Communication Spaces.
• The Grande École du Numérique (GEN) label includes 42 training courses in the PACA region
• Supported by Agefos-PME in the South Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, the Digit'elles program helps women who are digitally excluded to acquire all the necessary digital skills.

And at the CCAS to promote digital inclusion

• The CCAS of Marseille offers digital training workshops for seniors in its Seniors Plus Clubs. The computer courses are given by elderly volunteers who have computer skills, with a dozen computer stations being made available to them in each club. Thematic courses by level allow seniors to learn how to communicate via social networks, to make online purchases or to carry out administrative procedures.
• The Marseille CCAS has also set up a digital safe experiment (CFN) to help and support people in difficulty.
• The social workers of the CCAS North reception and social services agency have set up a workshop called Forma'tri aimed at "sorting, classifying and throwing away"administrative paper documents. "People are identified by social workers during appointments when they are overwhelmed by the mass of administrative documents to bring, not knowing which documents to bring back or having too many supporting documents that are sometimes not up to date. These people are then invited to these workshops at their convenience. At the end of the four workshops, a digital passport is distributed. This passport contains all the necessary identifiers and passwords for various organizations. This administrative memo was created by the social workers because they find it very useful to quickly find the identifiers and passwords to access the CAF or Pôle Emploi websites, for example.
• "The social centers in Marseille are affected by the changes brought about by the dematerialization of administrative procedures. For example, since the school grant applications have been dematerialized, the social centers have been besieged without warning by the colleges, especially by parents in order to make the application online. An organization had to be set up very quickly in order to meet this high demand".
• Associations, as well as Pôle Emploi, are welcomed in some social centers in order to allow them to use the computer equipment and to carry out their actions. Digital workshops are also set up for the elderly.
• Young people in civic services from the CAF are deployed in certain social centers to help beneficiaries with their procedures, which is a real reinforcement.
• A digital training plan is currently being deployed at the Marseille CCAS. This digital training plan, which is part of the establishment's project, provides for 600 training sessions over two years.
• The Marseille CCAS is also considering a partnership with Emmaus Connect in order to relay its actions to users and refer them to it.

"Digital inclusion work can't be improvised"

Although many actions are carried out in the field, some associative partners "feel weakened because they are sometimes isolated in territories that are geographically distant from each other".

• "In addition, the lack of sustainability of some funding means that projects are not completed.
• To alleviate these budgetary difficulties, foundations such as Orange allocate financial aid to social centers and associations and welcome them in their premises.
• The actions underway "could undoubtedly gain in effectiveness if they displayed a global and common purpose .
• The need for coordination between partners thus appears more than essential.

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