Community-Based Social Work and Poverty Alleviation in Taraba State Rural Communities

Community-based social work offers a participatory framework for poverty alleviation that builds on existing community assets while addressing structural barriers to wellbeing. This study examines community-based social work approaches to poverty alleviation in rural communities of Taraba State, North East Nigeria, focusing on communities in Wukari and Donga local government areas. A mixed-method design is employed, with 70 social workers, community development workers, and rural households participating through questionnaires and key informant interviews. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis are applied in interpretation. The study finds that community-based social work in these communities integrates livelihood skills development, community group facilitation, resource mapping, and advocacy for basic social service access. Interventions facilitated by social workers in partnership with local NGOs show modest but measurable improvements in household income and food security among participating families. Barriers to programme scale-up include poor road infrastructure limiting social worker mobility, inadequate funding, and limited inter-sectoral coordination between social welfare, agriculture, and health agencies. Recommendations include institutionalising community development social work within the Taraba State social welfare system, providing vehicles and operational support for rural outreach workers, and developing cross-sector poverty alleviation frameworks that leverage social work's community facilitation strengths. Keywords: community-based social work, poverty alleviation, Taraba State, rural communities, participatory practice