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Making 'Welfare to Work' Really Work
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Program Intervention and Delivery
Successful Programs Are Mission Driven Yet Flexible
We all have common universal needs, but quite different individual circumstances. Effective programs recognize that interventions cannot be routinized or applied uniformly, and their interventions are adapted based on the client's personal circumstances (Schorr & Schorr, 1988). Some individuals may need to leave an abusive relationship to participate fully in an employment program. Others may need access to child care during evening hours or reliable transportation. Still others may need a combination of services. Successful programs recognize this and respond in kind.
However, successful programs also balance their flexibility with a mission statement of more general purpose. No single program can meet all the needs of all welfare recipients. An appropriate mission statement helps a program set a broad definition of its goals and the outside limits of what services it can provide. The mission statement serves as a stable core, and interventions are designed around it. Therefore, the program remains flexible and is capable of adapting to external changes to better attain its goals (Golden, 1992; Mueller & Patton, 1995).
Successful Programs Are Also Community Focused and Involve Collaboration
Because each individual program cannot meet all the needs of all its participants, successful programs have also incorporated some type of collaborative component and find mechanisms to circumvent professional and bureaucratic boundaries. In these programs, no one tells a client that "this may be what you need, but helping you get it is "outside our jurisdiction" or "not part of my job" (Schorr & Schorr, 1988).
Traditionally, most communities have a number of human service agencies that operate independently of each other. Often they are unaware of what the other is doing, they compete for resources, and, at times, they may even provide overlapping and redundant services. The result is a system of fragmented services, with each meeting only a part of a low-income family's needs. This fragmentation presents insurmountable barriers for clients with multiple needs (Edelman & Radlin, 1991). Effective programs have developed the ability to cross agency boundaries to help clients. Moreover, they use a variety of collaborative or case management methods to accomplish this, and they do more than just hand out referrals. Constructive efforts require contacts between agency personnel and an adaptation of services to community needs (Golden, 1992; Schorr & Both, 1991). For example, an appropriate job training program would develop contacts with local businesses to provide jobs for its clients. It might also provide or have collaborative relationships with counseling services, health services, and housing based on the needs of its clients.
Successful Programs View Their Clients as Individuals Who Are Part of a Larger Social Context
The recognition of the interdependence of family members, the importance of support from both family and the community, and a recognition of the powerful influences of environmental factors such as poverty, violence, current economic conditions, and job availability is essential for appropriate service delivery (Kagan & Shelley, 1987). Successful programs integrate this view of interdependence into their service efforts. They support families and help them support each other. They also provide opportunities for peer support (Kagan & Shelley, 1987; Pavetti, Olson, Pindus, & Pernas, 1996). Moreover, caseworkers in such programs recognize and appreciate the effects of the larger social context on their clients. Often, welfare recipients are unfairly labeled "unmotivated" when in actuality the complexities and stresses of their environments create serious barriers to participation in a workfare program. Nonparticipation simply may be a sign that other problems exist (Schorr & Schorr, 1988; Pavetti et al., 1996). In successful programs, service providers do not just assume that a client is unmotivated. They look at the entirety of a client's situation.
Successful Programs Allow Their Staffs to Establish Trusting, Personal Relationships With Clients and Maintain Appropriate Boundaries
The development of a trusting, personal relationship between client and caseworker is the essential ingredient for successful programs (Golden, 1992; Mueller & Patton, 1995; Pavetti et al., 1996; Schorr & Schorr, 1988). This connection helps to overcome many obstacles, such as isolation, hopelessness, and suspicion. For most welfare recipients, the programs developed from the new welfare reforms will not be the first programs in which they have participated. More than likely, they have developed a healthy suspicion of social service programs and their employees. Moreover, those most in need are also most likely to be socially isolated and mistrustful of professionals. It is difficult to reach such individuals and families (Golden, 1992). However, when a family begins to trust the human service professional, they are also likely to acknowledge that they have needs and to avail themselves of the services offered. In a qualitative investigation of low-income African American single mothers, the women defined helpful programs not by the services they received, but by the genuineness of the personal contact they had with professionals (McDonald & McKinney, 1996).
Good employee relations in the agency are also important for program success (Golden, 1992; Mueller & Patton, 1995; Pavetti et al., 1996; Schorr & Schorr, 1988). Paying attention to hiring issues and continued support of staff is crucial. How employees are treated affects how they treat those that they serve (Mueller & Patton, 1995). Professional staff cannot develop personal relationships with clients or create collaborative and flexible programs in rigid and bureaucratic environments. Successful programs encourage their staffs to take risks and to be creative. Thus, continued support, respect, and training of employees are needed for programs to work effectively (Pavetti et al., 1996). Effective programs also help their employees set healthy boundaries. Working with multiproblem families is stressful, and developing methods of avoiding professional burnout is important.
Successful Programs Are Well Managed and Funded
Programs that are flexible and collaborative and that empower employees and clients need appropriate management. Managers in such programs adhere to general mission statements, but also provide flexibility in day-to-day operations. They allow the program to evolve and remain responsive to client needs. This task involves an ability to take risks, to tolerate ambiguity, and to gain the trust of workers, funding sources, and the community (Schorr & Both, 1991). Research on successful managers finds that they also know how to exchange information and are open to continued learning. Moreover, they support high quality staff through supervision, training, appropriate caseload sizes, and consultation (Mueller & Patton, 1995).
Although successful programs are creative in their ability to gather necessary funds, long-term success means we must do more than rely on the ingenuity of good people who provide these direct services. The importance of adequate funding cannot be ignored. Often current methods of funding do not match the needs of programs that serve low-income families. Flexible programs also need flexible funding that allows for changes and the individualization of services. Moreover, funding sources need to fund long-term programs, replications of successful programs, and existing successful programs. The development of strong programs takes time, and the need to continually compete for funding and to develop new and innovative programs strains an agency's capabilities. For example, the McKnight Foundation advocates that funding last at least 5 years, and preferably longer. In addition, workers in effective programs have been found to have lower caseloads, which allows them to establish personal and individualized services. Finally, funding needs to be available for program evaluation (Mueller & Patton, 1995).
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