A Self-Assessment of a Philadelphia Group of Children, Youth and Family-Focused Agencies on Father Friendliness: A Descriptive Study

This project explored the integration of Responsible Fatherhood within Foster Care Service within Philadelphia Pennsylvania. It was hypothesized that the key to reducing the number of children who are at risk of entering, re-entering and remaining in various systems of care are the social service programs and systems created to meet the needs of children. One element to improve the outcomes for children is to establish that engaging fathers of foster children can be important not only for the potential benefit of a child-father relationship but also for making placement decisions and gaining access to resources for the child. A diverse group of n=22 service providers voluntarily became involved in a multi-year participatory action research to explore the value of building capacity to integrate Responsible Fatherhood practices, programs, and/or initiatives within foster care service delivery and other children and youth servicing systems. The results from the study highlight a substantial distinction between baseline and post-evaluation of the agency’s father readiness. The findings suggest that there were significantly higher scores on the father friendly checklist in the areas of leadership, polices & procedures, staff development, parent programming, and fatherhood. The article summarizes key recommendation for social service agencies to develop initiatives that outreach to fathers not only to connect with their children, but to build a broader support network that enhances child safety, permanency and well-being.

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Marijuana use among older adults in the U.S.A.: user characteristics, patterns of use, and implications for intervention

International Psychogeriatrics ◽

10.1017/s1041610210002176 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 23 (5) ◽

pp. 732-741 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Diana M. DiNitto ◽

Namkee G. Choi

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Psychological Distress ◽

Social Service ◽

Illicit Drugs ◽

Service Providers ◽

Adult Population ◽

Marijuana Use ◽

Well Being ◽

Epidemiological Studies ◽

Social Service Providers

ABSTRACTBackground: Epidemiological studies show that the number of older adults using marijuana is increasing. This study aimed to determine the correlates and patterns of marijuana use among older adults that might help health and social service providers better assist this group.Methods: Data are from the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in the U.S.A. The sample consisted of 5,325 adults aged 50 years and older.Results: Of the sample, 2.8% were past-year marijuana users. Of them, 23% had used marijuana on at least half the days of the year. Past-year users were more likely to be younger (50–64 years old), black, and not married, and they had significantly higher psychological distress scores, but they did not rate their health as poorer than others in the sample, nor did they attribute many problems, including psychological problems, as being related to their marijuana use. Nevertheless, past-year users present a high-risk profile because, in addition to frequent marijuana use, they also are more likely to smoke cigarettes, engage in binge drinking, and use other illicit drugs.Conclusions: Health and social service providers should be alert to the small number of routine marijuana users among the younger members of the older adult population, especially those suffering significant psychological distress, so that these individuals can be encouraged to utilize services that will help alleviate this distress and promote a healthier lifestyle and increase general well being.

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Health Reform and the Safety Net: Big Opportunities; Major Risks

The Journal of Law Medicine & Ethics ◽

10.1111/j.1748-720x.2004.tb00153.x ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 32 (3) ◽

pp. 426-432 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Bruce Siegel ◽

Marsha Regenstein ◽

Peter Shin

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Service Providers ◽

Systems Of Care ◽

Well Being ◽

Safety Net ◽

Institute Of Medicine ◽

Health Care Safety Net ◽

The Many ◽

Health And Well Being ◽

Health Care Safety

Millions of Americans are dependent on what is often called the “safety net.” These loosely-organized networks of health and social service providers serve the many Americans who are uninsured, dependent on public coverage, or for a variety of reasons unable to access other private systems of care. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, America’s Health Care Safety Net: Intact but Endangered, called attention to both the fragility and the resilience of this health care safety net. The IOM report underscored the critical importance of the safety net to the health and well-being of millions of individuals and called for efforts to strengthen it and improve the nation’s ability to monitor its viability. Given this central role, any health care reform efforts need to be fully informed by an understanding of what the safety net includes, how it is financed, and how it is responding to a series of challenges it now faces.

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Challenges and Prospects for Digitizing the Social Service Providers' Activities

KnE Social Sciences ◽

10.18502/kss.v5i2.8331 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

S.E. Gasumova

Keyword(s):

Social Services ◽

Social Service ◽

Service Provision ◽

Service Providers ◽

Social Institutions ◽

Well Being ◽

Service Users ◽

Social Service Providers ◽

The Social

This article presents the author’s definitions of “digitization of social service provision” and “digitization of social services” concepts and identifies the difference between them. It presents the results of an interview with 18 experts — the heads of institutions and organizations of social service provision implementing the rehabilitation of disabled people in Perm region. The research was conducted in 2019 and sought to identify problems and prospects for the digitization of the social services sphere. Interviewees rated their satisfaction regarding the convenience and time cost of automated systems that are currently being used in their organizations; characterized their needs in introducing various innovative interactive services, mobile applications, and other digital software; and expressed their attitude to various innovations. Social innovations were developed by the researchers and offered to experts by interviewers (for example, services for assessing the quality of work of specialists by service users, quick selection of the right social service, filing a complaint, referring a citizen to another organization, counseling in video mode, electronic appointment service, etc.). The research has shown how innovations can improve the performance of social service providers’ work and the quality of their interactions with citizens, which will ultimately increase the satisfaction of social service users and will positively affect the level of social well-being in society as a whole. A number of problems have been identified that currently impede the development of digitization: they are related to staff resources, the level of computerization, the lack of motivation among managers and personnel of social service organizations to implement innovative IT, and a certain distrust that such technologies can facilitate the activities of the organization and increase its effectiveness. Keywords: digitization, social service provision, social services, social institutions, social work

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Comfort Among Older Lesbian and Gay People in Disclosing Their Sexual Orientation to Health and Aged Care Services

Journal of Applied Gerontology ◽

10.1177/0733464820925330 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 073346482092533 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Anthony Lyons ◽

Beatrice Alba ◽

Andrea Waling ◽

Victor Minichiello ◽

Mark Hughes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sexual Orientation ◽

Service Providers ◽

Care Service ◽

Internalized Homophobia ◽

Well Being ◽

Aged Care ◽

Care Providers ◽

Community Connectedness ◽

Lesbian And Gay ◽

Care Services

Being comfortable in disclosing one’s sexual orientation to health and aged care providers is important for older lesbian and gay adults, given that nondisclosure is associated with poorer health and well-being outcomes. In a sample of 752 lesbian and gay adults aged 60 years and older living in Australia, we found only 51% of lesbian women and 64% of gay men felt fully comfortable to disclose their sexual orientation to health and aged care service providers. For both the women and the men, those who felt fully comfortable to disclose reported significantly less internalized homophobia; had fewer experiences of discrimination in the past year; and reported greater lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) community connectedness. Feeling fully comfortable was also predicted by fewer experiences of lifetime discrimination among the men. These findings may help those seeking to assist older lesbian and gay people in feeling comfortable and being open with health and aged care service providers.

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Introducing the transformative service mediator: value creation with vulnerable consumers

Journal of Services Marketing ◽

10.1108/jsm-10-2018-0282 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 33 (1) ◽

pp. 5-15 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Raechel Johns ◽

Janet Davey

Keyword(s):

Service Providers ◽

Care Service ◽

Well Being ◽

Service Research ◽

Future Research ◽

Content Type ◽

Structure And Agency ◽

Future Research Agenda ◽

Vulnerable Consumers

Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify the role of mediators in supporting value co-creation for vulnerable consumers in a service context. The authors propose that in transformative services, the roles of actor mediators facilitate control and empowerment for the vulnerable consumer – labelling these transformative service mediators (TSMs). Design/methodology/approach The authors develop a theoretical framework for the activities of mediators in value co-creation considering the interrelationships of vulnerability, structure and agency. The authors then use Prahalad and Ramaswamy’s DART (Dialogue, Access, Risk Assessment and Transparency) model as the integrating framework to describe the TSM roles in the context of the foster care service ecosystem. Findings The authors introduce a future research agenda regarding TSM roles in transformational service experiences and value co-creation with vulnerable consumers. Service researchers and providers are encouraged to explore effective training and motivation of TSMs. Research limitations/implications Understanding value co-creation for vulnerable consumers is an emerging area in service research. The TSM concept introduces a new approach to explore how value co-creation and transformative outcomes can be enhanced in service contexts where consumers experience vulnerability. Practical implications This paper presents an agenda for future research. The outcomes of future research based on TSM roles may help guide service providers in identifying opportunities for enhancing well-being and reducing vulnerability in service delivery. Originality/value This paper suggests that exploring the role of TSMs in the service process offers new insights into reducing vulnerability in service relationships.

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Development of Accreditation Approach of Elderly Care Service Providers

Sustainable Health and Long-Term Care Solutions for an Aging Population - Advances in Medical Diagnosis, Treatment, and Care ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-2633-9.ch007 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 126-144 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Artie W. Ng ◽

Tiffany C. H. Leung ◽

Jacky C. K. Ho

Keyword(s):

Quality Assurance ◽

Hong Kong ◽

Service Sector ◽

Service Providers ◽

Care Service ◽

Elderly Care ◽

Well Being ◽

The Elderly ◽

Practical Experience ◽

Multiple Case

The purpose of this book chapter is to explore the similarities and differences in the development of performance measures and accreditation systems for the quality assurance of elderly care service providers of Asian and Western origins, focusing on Hong Kong, Macau, Australia and Canada. Building on a proposed theoretical framework, this study utilizes a multiple-case study method to examine the influencing factors for the accreditation approach adopted by a jurisdiction. The findings suggest that the quality assurance of the elderly care service operators of the Asian origins as selected appears to lag behind those of the Western countries and undergo their own peculiar paths of development. Thus, Hong Kong and Macau could learn from the practical experience of Australia and Canada in terms of their concerted approaches for funding, accreditation and assessments under an increasingly market-driven service sector in which the well-being of the end-users needs to be adequately protected.

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Impact Of Convergence on the psychosocial well-being levels : On Some Care Service Providers

Journal of the Korea Convergence Society ◽

10.15207/jkcs.2016.7.6.105 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 7 (6) ◽

pp. 105-113

Author(s):

Hyang-nyeong Kim ◽

Eun-Kyung Noh ◽

Seung-Hee Kim ◽

Mee-Jin Jun

Keyword(s):

Service Providers ◽

Care Service ◽

Well Being

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Organizational culture in social services – focused on the workers’ well-being

SHS Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/shsconf/202213103003 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 131 ◽

pp. 03003

Author(s):

Lenka Chlebanova ◽

Marketa Rusnakova

Keyword(s):

Organizational Culture ◽

Social Services ◽

Social Service ◽

Service Providers ◽

Qualitative Content Analysis ◽

Well Being ◽

Social Service Providers ◽

Client Care ◽

Current State ◽

Social Fund

Objectives: In the field of social services, the organizational culture today is defined mainly through professional values, for individual social service providers by vision, mission, goal, or organizational values. In the context of increasing the quality of services and culture supporting the clients’ wellbeing, the workers’ well-being is an important subject of interest. The aim of the research is to find out the current state of the documents defining the organizational culture of social services. Materials and Methods: Review and theoretical analysis of the literature on the topic. Qualitative content analysis of documents. Documents defining the organizational culture of social service providers in Slovakia were analysed. The documents on the provider’s web page encompassing vision, mission, goals, and values were found. Results: From the documents, it was found out that support to employees is still neglected. At the practical level, the support to employees was expressed as the support of education, supervision of employees, a social fund for cultural or sports activities, rewarding of employees. Employee s’ satisfaction or a committed approach towards employees were expressed rarely. Conclusions: The provision of social services today faces many demands and dilemmas that “social work services„ bring with them. Incorporating support for employee’s well-being into the organizational culture of social services can be an essential step towards better client care and higher quality services.

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Coproduction and cocreation in public care services: a systematic review

International Journal of Public Sector Management ◽

10.1108/ijpsm-10-2019-0259 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 33 (5) ◽

pp. 561-578

Author(s):

Teresa Sofia Amorim Lopes ◽

Helena Alves

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Service Providers ◽

Care Service ◽

Well Being ◽

Healthcare Services ◽

Service Research ◽

Public Healthcare ◽

Public Care ◽

Content Type ◽

Trust Development

PurposeTo analyze and discuss the research on the public healthcare services (PHCS) through the lenses of coproduction/creation by systematizing the antecedents, the process enablers and the outcomes of coproduction/creation in terms of organizational and individual/patients factors.Design/methodology/approachA systematic review was performed based on 46 papers found in ISI Web of Science and Scopus databases following the Prisma Protocol for the search.FindingsThe results show that antecedents of coproduction/creation are connected to organizational/institutional capabilities (e.g. codesign of services or trust development) or patient/individual factors (e.g. physical and mental capabilities). The process of coproduction/creation relates with enablers, such as interactive and dynamic relationships between public care service providers and users. Finally, outcomes have diverse nature, namely quality of life, compliance, behavioral intentions, among others.Research limitations/implicationsThis study addresses the overlooked topic of coproduction/creation of value within PHCS. It contributes to public healthcare services literature wherein concepts of coproduction and cocreation of value are still on debate. It contributes to the transformative service research (TSR) by underlining that healthcare factors, processes and approaches may have a positive or negative (value codestructing) influence on the well-being. It yields crucial implications for PHCS.Originality/valueIt is the first attempt to systematize scientific knowledge on this topic, therefore conferring some novelty potential.

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