Client progress toward referral for discharge to the community: an illustration of an evaluation technique.

Data on referral and discharge from a short-term habilitative facility are used to illustrate the "survival analysis" of the rate at which institutionalized mentally retarded persons are released to the community and regression analysis of factors which help predict time to release. These techniques can be used to assess the degree to which habilitative facilities and community agencies achieve their stated goals, to help community agencies plan placement requirements, to compare the progress of various subgroups of clients, and to assess the overall benefit of deinstitutionalization efforts for the entire population at which it is aimed.     

Local response to planning mandates. The prevalence and utilization of needs assessment by human service agencies.

Federal and state needs assessment mandates have traditionally been criticized both by their originators and by the local human service agencies that are required to conduct these studies as part of the planning process. This paper presents some preliminary evidence that local opposition to assessment may be shrinking as agencies gain a new appreciation for the varied uses of assessment information. Using data from a sample of Wisconsin agencies the prevalence of assessments between 1979 and 1980 is described and the conditions surrounding the practice of needs assessment are outlined. Particular attention is given to factors that affect the utilization of needs assessment results, including the characteristics of the sponsoring agency, the attributes of the study, and the structure of the assessment process.     

New ways of looking at management information systems in human service delivery

The functional aspects of management information systems (MIS's) in human-service delivery agencies are critically examined from the viewpoint of a behavioral systems analysis model. This model distinguishes between MIS as an information-gatherer and as a system to control agency behavior and administrative decision-making. The choice of a particular MIS involves the consideration of the agency 's informational objectives, the extent to which the MIS exerts control over the decision-making process, and its cost-effectiveness. The behavior-analytic approach to MIS requires an evaluation of the way in which the system affects the behavior of agency personnel and, ultimately the clients.     

Interagency Collaboration with High-Risk Gang Youth

This study examines the process of collaboration between agencies working with high-risk gang youth. Using semi-structured interviews with direct practitioners and observations of a collaborative event at a juvenile prison, this theory-generating study examined the strengths of and barriers to collaboration between adolescent-serving agencies. Practitioners indicated the importance of communication and cooperation as elements of a successful collaboration. In practice, however, these elements were often replaced by premature termination of collaborative arrangements, blaming other agencies for failure of youth, and diffusion of responsibility (passing the buck). This study proposes agency fear as a factor separating desired from actual practice, and proposes potential causes and outcomes of agency fear.     

The impact of citizen evaluation review on community mental health center programs

A field study of techniques for involving local citizens in the evaluation of Community Mental Health Center (CMHC) services shows that lay citizens can make recommendations that service agencies will use to improve services. Seventeen citizen groups received evaluation information from participating CMHCs and developed 310 recommendations. Seventy-one percent of these suggestions were used by the CMHCs. Staff and governing board attitudes, fiscal pressures, and other organizational characteristics affected the success of the citizen groups.     

Institutional child abuse

Although various forms of child abuse have been extensively investigated, other forms of psychological and institutional abuse continue to exist. This paper will focus on a variety of experiences occurring in institutions and residential centers that, in effect, cause a variety of detrimental effects and harm to those in those agencies who are supposedly “in treatment.” The various forms of institutional abuse will be examined and ramifications and repercussions explored.     

Planning for permanency planning in foster care

The perceived severity of the problem of “drift” in the foster care system has encouraged agencies nationwide to accept permanency planning, but perhaps with limited attention to the planning process. This article examines the phenomenon of permanency planning from a planning perspective by focusing on: (a) definition of the permanency planning problem, (b) understanding of issues relevant to permanency planning (caseworker, program and systemic), (c) appreciation of the operational context (political, economic and social factors), and (d) evaluation of available options and possible consequences in developing or improving a permanency planning program. Permanency planning is not a simple, ready-made program applicable to any situation; it involves coordinated efforts by workers, service systems, and society in general, and requires time, commitment and resources. Successful planning for permanency planning can permit more children to grow up in homes providing continuity and stability.     

Virtual Volunteering: Online Volunteers Providing Assistance to Human Service Agencies

SUMMARY

A growing number of agencies involve volunteers via home or work computers and the Internet. The Virtual Volunteering Project [http://www.serviceleader.org/vv/] has researched and worked with more than 100 organizations involving online volunteers to document the benefits of online service for agencies, volunteers and audiences served, and to disseminate ways agencies can incorporate virtual volunteering into their organizations. This paper describes the Virtual Volunteering Project and summarizes data from a variety of sources that highlight the activities of agencies and volunteers engaged in virtual volunteering and the factors associated with success in virtual volunteering programs.     

The impact of general accounting office program evaluations on government

General Accounting Office (GAO) audit reports have an impact on government operations by encouraging growth in the size and scope of the state and by encouraging the Congress and executive agencies to attend to the auditor's dominant values of economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in government. Through its financial, management, and program audits, the GAO program evaluators seek to rationalize agency management and programs so that more resources are required. The GAO's program evaluation efforts also serve Congress by providing for oversight of public policy, a bludgeon to coax agencies into pursuing activities preferred by congressmen, and a tool for electoral activities. In the end, the evaluation auditors are doomed to frustration in achieving their ideals for effective democratic government. This is so because “practical business policy” is irrelevant to government operations and inconsistent with the core values of a democratic state.     

Government and voluntary agency relationships

The concept of "voluntary agency" is being radically but almost imperceptibly revised under the press of events in the world of social welfare organization and finance. The term now embraces traditional nonprofit social agencies, proprietary agencies offering similar services often financed by the public sector, social programs financed by industry for its employees, and the family as a primary service provider. This evolution demands a major reconsideration of the new relationship between government and the voluntary agency.     

Coping by nonprofit organizations during the Reagan years

Contrary to expectations that a divested federal role would lead to the demise of nonprofit agencies, the relationship between nonprofit and government sectors in New York at the end of the 1980s was stronger than ever. This article presents longitudinal data for six nonprofit agencies in Rochester, New York, to demonstrate "management by groping along" during the Reagan years, behavior that resulted in increased reliance on state and local governments for funds and programs and in different ways of doing business.     

Strategic Appointments

This article develops an institutional spatial theory of presidentialappointments to administrative agencies that falls within thespirit of a recent line of theoretical research toward an institutionaltheory of the presidency. We show that when bureaucrats implementpolicy that results from negotiation with constituents, theally principle—appointing political allies—holdsonly as a knife-edge condition. Presidents are better servedby appointing administrators whose preferences partially offsetthe influence of organized interests. The incentives describedhave implications for the selection of a whole range of bureaucraticpersonnel at various levels, generating significant implicationsfor the study of public management on issues such as personneladministration, representative bureaucracy, and the devolutionof administrative authority.     

Administrative structure theory and evaluation: An example from the Community Services Administration

Concern about the inability of existing theories of utilization to explain the use (or lack thereof) of evaluation research on policymaking in public agencies leads the authors to postulate an “administrative structure theory.” Utilization is then explained, in large part, by the structure and behavior of administrative agencies. Administrative structure theory rests on four propositions which relate evaluation research to the development and maintenance sub-systems (within the administrative structure). These propositions are illustrated in the context of the recently abolished U.S. Community Services Administration.     

A Survey of Australian Human Services Agency Software Usage

Human Services agencies use a wide range of software systems to manage caseloads, maintain records, deliver services to clients, and for interagency communication. Some systems are generic, such as Word or Excel, while some are specialized to the organization, such as specialized databases for tracking case notes. Some software systems are shared across organizations. We surveyed nearly 40 Australian Human Services agencies to ascertain the range of software currently in use by agencies and their opinions on it, with a view to identifying promising new Human Services applications. We interviewed representatives from a selection of smaller agencies. This resulted in detailed feedback on key issues to consider when developing and deploying new Human Services software.     

A protective service system

This article presents the results of a small scale study of the protective service caseload of a mid-western metropolitan area. The basic characteristics of the caseload match the national picture presented by the American Humane Association's National Study on Child Abuse and Neglect. The present study focused on the degree to which “systematic” vs. “random” forces appear to be at work in the progress of cases through the system. The overall picture is of some systematic efforts to conduct the process of referrals to community agencies but of a great deal of “randomness” in the bureaucratic closing of cases. This is a major area of concern.     

The impact of P.L. 93-641, the National Health Planning and Resources Development Act, upon health and mental health programming

Federal legislation regarding health care in the U.S. has increased rapidly in the past few years. A major law with potential far-reaching effects was enacted as a result of increasing legislation and rising health care costs. This law,The National Health Planning and Resources Development Act,has created a network of over 200 local, mostly nongovernment units, called health systems agencies. These agencies are responsible for areawide health planning, plan implementation, review and approval of federal health care expenditures for local programs, and facilities review. They will affect health and mental health programs at the local level. The article is directed to local health and mental health care providers who will, of necessity, deal directly with the local HSA's.     

In the Eye of the Storm: Frontline Supervisors and Federal Agency Performance

This study examines the role of frontline supervisors in thetwenty-two largest federal agencies and explores their contributionsto organizational performance and effectiveness. Specifically,this study develops a measure of federal agency performanceand tests a hybrid model that predicts it. Several researchquestions on the nature and importance of supervisory managementare tested within this framework. Data for the study come fromthe 2000 Merit Principles Survey, U.S. Merit Systems ProtectionBoard. The findings show that "management matters." Frontlinesupervisors play an important role in organizational performanceand effectiveness, and supervisory management is an importantdeterminant of high performance in federal agencies. In addition,high-performing agencies tend to have skillful upper-level managers,strong cultures that value employees and emphasize the importanceand meaningfulness of the agency's work, and policies that empowerthose employees. These agencies also tend to have a strong performanceorientation, and they strive for workforce diversity. Thesefindings are explained further, and their implications are discussed.     

Making Practice Learning Part of Our Core Business: A Case Study of Organisational Change

Implementing the new degree in social work in Britain will require practice agencies to deliver an increased number of practice learning opportunities to students undertaking social work training. Indeed the Practice Learning Taskforce (2004 Practice Learning Taskforce. ‘Making change work for us’. London [Google Scholar]) estimates that, in London, a 70% increase from 2002/3 to 2006/7 will be needed. In order to achieve this practice agencies are being urged to transform themselves into learning organisations. Given that social work programmes in many areas are already struggling to find sufficient placements for their students this is likely to be hugely challenging. Research carried out by Lindsay &; Tompsett suggests that, in order to achieve this, social work agencies need to bring planning for practice learning more centrally into the organisation's strategic planning. This paper presents a case study of the author's experience in an English social services department that attempted this. It concludes that practice agencies, in moving towards becoming learning organisations, need to pay attention both to the structural arrangements they develop and the organisational processes involved.