Service sectors in delivering social welfare to Canadians

Service Sectors

• The chapter aims to provide an overview of the three service sectors responsible for delivering social welfare programs to Canadians
• The chapter will explore public, commercial, and voluntary sectors in a social welfare setting
• The chapter will describe the roles of a mixed economy of welfare, alternative service delivery, voluntary sectors, and social economy

Introduction

• A healthy Canada depends on the collaboration among all three sectors of society
• All sectors must be vibrant, strong, effective, share views, be more involved in decision-making, address challenges, and help to ensure Canada's values are reflected in world affairs

Evolution of Service Delivery in Canada

• From WWII to the mid-1970s, Canadians supported liberal governments balancing individual and societal interests
• Governments assumed responsibility for social welfare program delivery
• Canadian governments were reluctant to monopolize program delivery, preferring businesses and nonprofits to play a primary role
• Evolved into a variety of service delivery systems, also known as the mixed economy of welfare
• The mixed economy represents a loosely defined division of labor between public and private sectors
• The private sector can be further divided into commercial and voluntary sectors
• The mixed economy has three broad service sectors: public, commercial, and voluntary
• All three systems enhance well-being but are organized, funded, and managed differently

The Three Pillars + The Fourth Sector

• The Liberal Party of Canada (1997) called the public, commercial, and voluntary sectors the "three pillars" of Canadian society and economy for their contributions to Canada's development
• A fourth sector, the social economy, is emerging as a legitimate service provider in Canada's social welfare system
• The Government of Canada defines the social economy as a community-based (or grassroots) entrepreneurial, nonprofit sector
• The social economy has strong ties to the voluntary sector
• It aims to strengthen communities through entrepreneurial activities and improve conditions for disadvantaged groups

Service Sector Boundaries

• Service sectors are not discrete entities and considerable overlap exists
• Boundaries lack clear definition for the following reasons:
  • Government and private sector agencies often work together on/or share costs of projects.
  • Activities, functions, and roles of private and public organizations are often similar.
  • Governments participate in social welfare provision through regulation, planning, or funding and constantly adjust their involvement in service delivery.
• Since the mid-1990s, service sector boundaries have undergone significant realignment

Canada's Service Sectors

• Canada's Service Sectors include private, commercial, Public sectors, and social economy aspects
• Private sector includes childcare and counseling agencies
• Government sector includes social assistance and child protection services
• Social Economy supports employee programs and housing cooperatives

Service Sectors: Public, Commercial, and Voluntary Domains

• Each service sector has its own goals and functions and plays an important role in social provision
• The public sector includes federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments
• Profit motivates commercial sector companies, selling services to consumers for full market price
• Also called the charitable, independent, or third sector, the voluntary sector includes non-governmental agencies and organizations that fulfill a social purpose and deliver programs on a nonprofit basis

The Public Sector

• Canadians expect governments to protect them from poverty, unemployment, disability, illness, and other risks
• Social welfare programs meet public's social security needs
• Constitutionally, social welfare is the responsibility of provincial and territorial governments
• Income security and social services are public programs because the public pays through taxes
• The public expects elected officials to be accountable for program development, management, and delivery
• Government controls most aspects of income security programs from policy development to implementation
• Organizations in the private sector deliver social services, but certain services are fully controlled by government workers

Federal Government Social Services

• The federal level of government directly delivers a few social services, such as mental health services for identified "client groups," including:
  • First Nations and Inuit peoples
  • Federal offenders
  • The Canadian forces
  • Veterans
  • Members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
  • Recent immigrants and refugees
  • Federal public service employees
• The federal government directly delivers national income security programs, including:
  • Old Age Security
  • The Canada Pension Plan
  • The Canada Child Tax Benefit
• Human Resources and Skills Development Canada is considered the main social welfare department

Provincial and Territorial Governments

• Regional governments directly deliver mandated social welfare programs
• Mandated services include social assistance, where provincial and territorial governments have their own programs
• Regional governments also directly deliver child welfare, adult protection, and mental health services
• Most governments have ministries for delivery or funding of social services
• In some jurisdictions, social services ministries provide funding, structure, and leadership to social services while leaving delivery to local authorities

Municipal government

• Canada never had an established pattern for delivery of social welfare service at local level
• Since the 1970s, provincial and territorial governments have been devolving more responsibilities to municipalities
• Many municipalities deliver programs related to social housing, social assistance, child care, or community development
• Those programs are a segment of a larger provincial or territorial program
• City of Toronto delivers a significant portion of Ontario's social assistance and employment services programs
• Many cities struggle to meet growing responsibilities and provide adequate social services with limited resources
• Challenges in cities across Canada include:
  • Poverty
  • Rising numbers of working poor families
  • Growing income inequality
  • High unemployment

Commercial Sector Overview

• Social welfare implies a collective, public responsibility for social well-being, associated with government intervention that is not profit-motivated
• The commercial sector is not considered part of the social welfare system
• Businesses offer services to enhance personal well-being that includes private child care, addiction treatment, and personal counselling, all are available for a fee
• Commercial services can be paid for in various ways such as flat rate or sliding fee scale that adjust fees per client financial means. Common when government subsidizes costs for low-income clients

Exhibit 5.2: Edleun Group Inc

• Edleun is a leading provider of high-quality, community-based early learning and child-care centers in Canada
• Edleun's centers offer early education and child-care services to children ages six weeks-thirteen years
• Edleun is publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX-V:EDU)
• Company objectives include acquisition and improvement of child-care centers and development of new early learning and child-care centers in under-served Canadian communities
• The company has fifty operating centers in Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario, and is in the process of expanding
• Edleun will be able to provide approximately 5400 licensed child-care spaces

Increase of Privatization and services

• Selling helping services to Canadian markets is easier through government-issued licenses and privatization policies that encourage free enterprise
• Private helping services are legitimated due to increasing Canadians welcoming innovative ideas associated with business
• Affordability to purchase services (or being insured), and not wanting government involved in personal affairs
• Trade agreements (NAFTA) struck between Canada and its international neighbors make it easy for private enterprises to cross borders and offer specialized service for profit
• More businesses are leaning toward corporate social responsibility, activities important for the company and society
• Donating a portion of company profits to a children's charity benefits children, attracts shareholders and customers, boosts staff morale, raise company image, and increase profits

Voluntary Sector Overview

• The voluntary sector comprises organizations otherwise known as voluntary agencies, charitable or non-profit societies, or non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
• These organizations are highly diverse, covering the spectrum in sizes, causes, and activities
• 12% of all voluntary organizations focus on meeting human need through the provision of social services(Imagine Canada, 2006)
• Relatively small, community-based groups, such as family service societies, and large, national organizations, such as the National Action Committee on the Status of Women are among voluntary social agencies
• Most voluntary social agencies are:
  • Organized (internal organizational structure)
  • Non-governmental (structurally separate from government institutions)
  • Nonprofit (use any profits to improve the agency, not to benefit the agency owners or directors)
  • Self-governing (independent from other institutions and regulate their own operations)
  • Volunteer friendly (involve volunteers to some degree in agency activities or management)

Exhibit 5.3: Catholic Family Services

• Catholic Family Services is one of the many voluntary social agencies across Canada with a goal in meeting human need through provisions of social services
• More than 19 000 voluntary social agencies exist in Canada that employ almost 130,000 people
• 2 million Canadians predominantly women volunteer their time for these agencies
• In general, voluntary social agencies perform three main functions:
  • Do good works- delivering tangibles and or intangibles
  • Advocate by educating public about issues or lobby for laws or policies to improve living condition
  • Mediate by bringing together individuals or groups to compromise or common solutions

Role of Government and Funding of Voluntary Agencies

• Voluntary social agencies complement the work performed by government: while government responds to national or regional concerns, agencies in the voluntary sector apply their knowledge and expertise at the community level.
• In 1999, the Government of Canada formally recognized the voluntary sector as playing an increasingly critical and complex role in helping achieve the goals important to Canadians and ensure a high-quality life by working beside the public and commercial sector
• Most voluntary social agencies relies on diverse funding sources
• Government provides the bulk of funding and the second largest income comes from agency-generated earnings

The transformation of voluntary social agencies

• Focus has been shifted from the organization towards the markets
• Voluntary organizations need to be more accountable to the tax payer through the government rather than largely accountable to service users
• A shift from autonomous and independent towards collaborative and even merging with other agencies to share resources
• Diversifying their funding sources rather than just relying on government
• Satisfied with project based funding from the government rather than expecting government grants
• Compete for government contracts rather than just fund raising for special projects
• Deliver programs according to government specifications rather than meeting client needs
• Limit advocacy according to rules rather than freely advocate

Funding Mechanisms

• Canadian governments primarily gave grants to voluntary agencies
• Grants offered flexibility, for ongoing expenses such as rent, utilities, and retaining staff, or for agency priorities
• Neoliberal governments consider grants a form of "government charity," opposing the competitive spirit of a business approach
• In 1990's, governments began to phase out grants in favor of contracts; meaning a shift away from core funding to project-based funding

Core Funding Aspects

• Core funding is money that agency can apply to its core activities, such as administration, operational costs, agency promotion, and ongoing programs
• Project funding is money for a specific project or program, where it's lasting only as long as the initiative, and cannot be used to cover costs directly related
• Shifts to the project has forced agency to constantly develop and disassemble programs
• Project funding is unpredictable, with government funders being slower to approve or reject contracts and can subsequently delay program startup
• Project funding does not always cover service delivery costs and usually come with conditions such as diversifying funding sources

Professional and non-professional helpers

• Provision of social welfare has become the responsibility of professional and non professional helpers
• This is because volunteers provided bulk of assistance prior to expansion of welafre, after which professional became predominant, but economic conditions made needed them once again

Professional helpers

• Paid to provide services and expertise and trained to follow procedures and codes
• Social workers and service workers

Non professional

• Volunteers, carers, family members

Social workers

• Professional helpers that are mostly closely associated with welfare sector and also do community work
• Social workers work to meet needs as much as empower

Factors that have altered social work

• Changes in social economic policy
• Less recognizable as roles where grouped with other health professionals
  • Increasing number of workers without training to reduce the costs

Regulation of Social work practice in canada

• Province and territories have a professional association to govern
• 9 participate in CASW
• Legislation/regulations defines what can and can't do

Non-Social helpers:Clergy, Police

• Professional helpers that are also associated

Points of professional contact

• Team effort and multiple services from agencies

Social work values and knowledge

– Altruistic – Humanitaritarian

• Egalitarianism
• Respect and Service to humanity
• Maintain confidentiality

The Social Work's Multilevel Approach to Practice

• Micro Level: Helping individuals, families, and small groups improve their social well being, group counseling
• Mezzo Level: Strengthening relations, and programs and improving amongst social welfare organizations
• Macro Level: Advocating for social legislation or policy

Degrees needed

• need Degree in territories if not a BSW

Agency Volunteers

• 12% of Canadian adults donate time to social agencies
• Volunteers perform a number of duties:
  • Fundraising
  • Mentoring
  • Delivering resources
  • Driving to activities

Integration

• Integration in social agencies is becoming common where professionals and volunteers work in many organizations.
• Government cutbacks have made agencies rely on volunteer labour

Benefits of Volunteering

• Interest and concern for others.
• Understand human condition.
• Natural skills
• Give advice
• Encourage
• Build understanding

Volunteers help in organizations by

• Bring credibility
• bring enthusiasm, fresh

Peer Helpers

• Support that takes place between friends on an informal way
• A type of help that develops into structured situation such as groups for the purpose of providing support
• Helps with energy and empowerment

The Role of Peer support

• Improve well being
• Reduce reliance on hospital and mental health

Requirements for Peer supporters

• Know the support groups or community
• Identify who they are for

Unpaid Carers

• Government cutbacks have increased dependence on these as well as population aging
• Are Spouses, relative, or neighbors
• Provide high percent of elderly care across Canada

Caring is Trend in Canada

• more caring for seniors.
• women more likely

Problems when Caring

• distress about caring
• negative on financial situation

Need for Support

• Many receive help from informal sources like children or spouse