Week 4 - Social Agencies and the Delivery of Service

Question 1

residential centers;

Answer 1

provide living quarters, meals, and other services for people who require round the clock care, sometimes called institutions, ex. nursing homes for seniors, shelters for transient people, treatment centers for children/youth with emotional/behavioral disorders

Question 2

Define/explain: mixed economy of welfare

Answer 2

• various service delivery systems, all of which focus on the enhancement of wellbeing, that are organized, funded, and managed in their own distinct ways
• loosely defined division of labour between the public and private service sectors

Question 3

3 Broad Service Sectors, aka three pillars of Canadian society and economy

Answer 3

1. Public sector; all programs and services that are funded by tax revenues and administered and delivered by some level of government
2. Commercial sector; profit-motivated, and sells services to consumers for full market price
3. Voluntary sector, aka charitable/independent/third sector; nongovernmental agencies and organizations that fulfill a social purpose and deliver programs on a nonprofit basis

Question 4

Define: public programs

Answer 4

they belong to the public because they pay for them through taxes, government is accountable for how those programs are developed, managed, and delivered, ex. income security programs and social services

Question 5

What is the main social welfare department of the federal government of Canada?

Answer 5

Human Resources and Skills Development

Question 6

How each level of government delivers public social programs?

Answer 6

• federal government: directly delivers social services to identified federal ‘client groups’, ex. First Nations, federal offenders, the Canadian forces, veterans, RCMP, recent immigrants/refugees, also delivers federal national income security programs, ex. Old Age Security, Canada Pension Plan, Canada Child Tax Benefit
• provincial/territorial government: delivers social welfare programs that are legislated, that need to be delivered consistently across communities and that require a certain level of enforcement, ex. social assistance, child welfare, mental health services
• municipal government; since the 1970s-90s the provincial governments have been devolving responsibilities to the municipalities, ex. social housing, childcare, social assistance

Question 7

Examples of services offered in the commercial sector?

Answer 7

-childcare, addiction treatment, personal counselling

Question 8

Define: corporate social responsibility

Answer 8

-when a company engages in activities that are important, not only for the good of the company but also for the good of society, ex. donating profits to a charity can boost staff morale, raise company’s image, and increase profits

Question 9

Define: voluntary social agency

Answer 9

• focuses on meeting human need through the provision of social services
• about 12% of all voluntary organizations are social agencies
• includes relatively small, community-based groups, and national organizations, most are organized, nongovernmental, nonprofit, self-governing, volunteer-friendly

Question 10

3 Main Functions of Voluntary Social Agencies:

Answer 10

• 1. Do good works by delivering tangible or intangible goods (food/shelter vs counselling)
• 2. Advocate by educating public or lobbying government
• 3. Mediate by bringing together individuals or groups to find solutions/compromises to problems
• these services fill gaps of the government by tailoring services to local needs whereas federal and provincial government work at national and regional levels
• government is the largest source of funding, approx. 66% of all agency revenue

Question 11

Define: social agencies

Answer 11

a formally structured organization in the public and voluntary sectors whose main objective is to meet human needs

• operate on a nonprofit basis
• engage community members in local project
• mobilize resources to address community problems

Question 12

Basic Functions of Social Agencies:

Answer 12

• service delivery by assessing client needs and providing tangibles/intangibles to clients
• administration by developing and revising policies and procedures
• funding by securing funding and following budgets
• accountability by ensuring quality of service and evaluating the effectiveness of programs
• recruitment by hiring staff and volunteers
• public relations by fostering and maintaining positive relationships with the community

Question 13

Define/explain: community-based model

Answer 13

• a framework used by social agencies that recognizes the importance of responding to community needs, matching services to people’s needs and preferences, building on local strengths, and offering services in natural/normal settings vs institutional settings
• strengths-based approaches: cultivating existing strengths so clients become more self-sufficient, values natural supports (family and friends)
• comprehensive (a broad continuum of services from a wide variety of service providers) and outreach oriented (help people when and wherever they need it)
• often the result of local support/collaboration, community-driven, engaged in diverse needs and changes in community
• flat model, not top down, very democratic, not as bureaucratic

Question 14

Define: aging in place

Answer 14

principle that drives the creating of innovative housing options designed to help elderly people live at home longer

Question 15

Define: nonresidential centers

Answer 15

• provide services on a drop-in, appointment, or outreach basis
• cater to those who can look after many of their own needs, require short term help, don’t pose an immediate threat to themselves or society
• ex. drop-in, outreach, in-home services, online support

Question 16

Define: multi-service centers

Answer 16

offer a variety of social services under one roof, allowing people to obtain a wide range of support at one location, services can be aimed at a particular group or serve a variety of populations
-may be more common because of greater demand for services and more complex needs among clientele

Question 17

Define: system of care

Answer 17

-a mix of services and resources that, when offered in a coordinated and integrated fashion, is responsive to the varying levels and changing needs of clients

Question 18

Define: strategic framework

Answer 18

-an internal framework that a social agency uses to describe its priorities and how it plans to achieve its ultimate goal, mission, and vision

Question 19

Direct vs Indirect Services

Answer 19

• direct services; face-to-face interactions between front line workers and clients
• indirect services; services conducted off the front line, ex. administration, program planning, evaluation, development of policies/procedures

Question 20

Define: operational framework

Answer 20

-an organization’s practical plan for its direct services and indirect services

Question 21

Define: environmental scan

Answer 21

-a method of assessing a community’s social and economic conditions that may influence local needs or impact an organization’s ability to meet those needs

Question 22

Define: community needs assessment

Answer 22

• an evaluation used to determine the need for a particular program or service in a particular community, also for how a program can be designed/delivered, or for resources needed to provide the service
• information can be gleaned from documents, direct observation, interviews, and focus groups, members of the community, local health and social service professionals

Question 23

Potential Barriers to Help Seeking:

Answer 23

• denial that a problem exists
• age, (ex. fear of losing independence in the elderly)
• fear of stigmatization/labelling
• scarcity of programs

Question 24

Define: vision statement

Answer 24

-articulates an agency’s image of an ideal community, something to strive for

Question 25

Define: mission statement

Answer 25

-describes what the organization is, what is does, and for whom its programs are targeted

Question 26

Define: agency’s goal

Answer 26

• states in realistic terms what the organization plans to do in the long-term to achieve its vision and mission
• must be relevant in the long-term, match vision/mission, and appropriate for community needs

Question 27

Define: value statement

Answer 27

-reflects the organization’s core ideology

Question 28

3 Levels of Preventative Services:

Answer 28

• 1. Primary prevention; aim to prevent the development of social and personal problems by educating people, providing information, or promoting certain practices, targeted at large segments of healthy populations, to maintain or enhance wellbeing
• easier, less expensive, and more humane to improve the lives of people before rather than after a problem develops
• 2. Secondary prevention, aka early intervention; addresses problems in the early stages of development, before they become chronic or serious, ex. controlling/changing conditions that created the problem
• 3. Tertiary prevention; treatment aimed to reduce the negative effects of problems that have become chronic/complex, often mandatory/sanctioned by law, ex. child protective services, family therapy

Question 29

Define: administration

Answer 29

primarily concerned with the exercise of power/authority and decision-making

Question 30

Define: stakeholders

Answer 30

-staff, volunteers, funders, locals and other who have vested interest in the agency’s activities and achievements

Question 31

Governance vs Management Level of Administration

Answer 31

-governance level of administration: in voluntary sector, social agencies are usually governed by a board of directors/trustees who has ultimate responsibility/accountability for the organization, in the public sector, governance is the responsibility of a first minister and his/her senior staff
management
-management level of administration: designing programs, recruit staff, delegation of tasks, organization of people, allocation of resources, involves agency managers and supervisors, finding effective ways to achieve the agency’s goals

Question 32

Define: program planning

Answer 32

-involves a series of decisions related to how the agency’s programs will be designed, run, and delivered to client’s

Question 33

Define: program evaluation

Answer 33

-the process in which programs and services are examined to determine whether they are needed/used, how well they are run, whether they meet their stated objective, and whether they are worth the cost

Question 34

Define: outcome evaluations

Answer 34

• focus on the results of a program, and seek to identify how program activities have helped program participants, most commonly used evaluation type
• useful for improving/developing programs, ensuring continued/new funding, increasing agency’s credibility

Question 35

Define: policies and procedures

Answer 35

• a fixed set of rules used to guide and organization’s operations, how it intends to reach its goals, and specific activities/resources they plan to apply
• help staff organize their work, ensure only the intended people can take advantage of limited resources

Question 36

3 Common Policies that Govern the Stages of Programs:

Answer 36

• intake policy; criteria a person has to meet to be allowed into the program
• participation policy; clarifies what a participant has to do to remain in a program
• termination policy; states when a program participant can be expected to exit a program

Question 37

Define: organic models of organization

Answer 37

• a framework used to structure organizations that views organizations as living organisms
• emphasize flat hierarchical structures, flexibility, diversity, innovation, and cooperation
• relatively informal and decentralized structure means more flexibility

Question 38

Define: flat hierarchical structures

Answer 38

• fewer levels of middle management

- front-line workers with broader ranges of skills and who take on more tasks/responsibilities

Question 39

Define: intra-agency cooperation

Answer 39

-a management approach used by a social agency to create an environment of empowerment for its workers and clients

Question 40

Define: inter-agency cooperation

Answer 40

• a management approach in which the members of social agencies cooperate and work together to improve a community’s programs and services
• may lead to more streamlined client referral systems, shared locations, improved communication/information sharing, and integrated service delivery