This study is an interpretive analysis of the roles of NGOs in the social policy process, using the case of postcolonial Zimbabwe. Assessing the period between 2000 and 2010 and the prevailing unique socio-economic and geopolitical crisis, the study engages the major contextual factors influencing evolution of NGOs and their engagement in the policy process. It focuses on the conceptual and state – civil society contestations on the legitimacy of NGO’s as well as an assessment of their impact on the social policy process. NGOs in Zimbabwe have played two major and two minor roles in the social policy process as identified in the study in terms of their prominence and impact on the policy process. That is: policy implementer role complementing state social policy provision, democratisation to pluralism the social policy arena as the major roles; educational role to developing interventions for better social policy and watchdog role monitoring government and other state institutions in meeting the social policy needs of citizens. The thesis argues that analysis of NGOs is embedded in understanding the role of the state and dialectical relationship between state and civil society. Using a neo-Marxist perspective and social democratic approach to the role of the state in social policy, the theoretical generalisations of the study are that NGOs have a legitimate role to play in the social policy process. However, this is defined by the nature and role of the state itself as central driving agent in social policy. Therefore, the roles NGOs are not exclusive in themselves but are anchored within the contextual framework and its definition of societal spheres within it. The thesis established the evolution of the NGO sector in Zimbabwe, its impact on the social, political landscape and argues that the democratisation agenda in Zimbabwe requires a political solution embedded in a transformative state as the panacea for building a redistributive and participatory social policy agenda that engages with non-state actors, NGOs included within a developmental framework. Conclusively, the thesis proposes a theoretical distinction between NGOs as service oriented entities and CSOs as forums for associational life and civic engagement.

This study comprises the basic framework for the highly important but complex question: what are the areas in community welfare services where research is most needed and most likely to be valuable? Necessary preliminaries for such a study include consideration of (a) the definition of "social welfare", and its most immediately relevant history; (b) the possible kinds and directions of research; (c) a descriptive summary picture of existing welfare services. For the present study "the community" is at some points interpreted nationally (e.g., the social insurances) and provincially (e.g., social assistance), but particular attention is given to Vancouver agencies (many of which have metropolitan or provincial reference). The main sources of data are fourfold, (a) Significant examples of similar projects undertaken elsewhere (community surveys by Bradley Buell and Associates, Welfare Council Surveys in Philadelphia, Pa., and Berkeley, Calif., reviewed for their comparative value on method, (b) Annual reports of public and private agencies, and relevant studies made by agencies, including the Community Chest and Council, (c) Statistical data (including Census, D.B.S. bulletins and departmental reports, revealing incidence and trend aspects of welfare problems. (d) Finally, two comprehensive questionnaires, sent to over 130 agencies in Greater Vancouver. The agencies' appraisals of needs is analyzed through (a) service statistics, (b) estimates of unserved clientele, (c) direct evidences of potential need (such as waiting-lists, etc.) The subject-matter headings of Part I (Some Historical Perspectives) and Part II (Social Services Today) are: (l) income-maintenance and general social security; (2) personal services, counselling casework and social adjustment; (3) recreation and leisure-time; (4) crime,, delinquency, corrections. (Health services are to be the subject of a separate companion study, though consideration is given in the present survey to welfare services contingent upon medical and psychiatric care). Welfare and research needs, as interpreted by the agencies in the community and further analyzed in Part III., are brought together in Part IV. Most characteristic among these are (a) services which are seriously deficient or non-existent because of lack of funds, or qualified personnel (e.g., a residential treatment centre for emotionally disturbed children); (b) extensions or additions to service for particular groups, either for experimental purposes or demonstrated specialist attention (e.g., homemaker service for various kinds of family need); (c) several aspects of coordination, improved organization etc., of actual and potential community resources. Research needs illustrated include (a) proposals for the improvement of current administration, (including studies of incidence leading to predictive formulae), (b) causal studies (e.g., of the etiology of several types of dependency;) (c) better understanding of social work services in specific settings (e.g., residence projects for potential delinquents, and for discharged offenders.) (The next stage of the total project, which this "operational survey" now permits, is the formulation of a systematic "welfare research agenda". This is the subject of a separate study). / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

Municipalities have always been the crucial element in social assistance. But recent events which make a comparative study of social assistance policy timely are (a) the current community interest in the adequacy of social assistance allowances in Vancouver, and (b) the passage of the Unemployment Assistance Act amendment of 1958. The cities studied comprises cities of Vancouver, Burnaby, Edmonton, Regina, and Winnipeg. The aspects of policy particularly examined include: the determination of need, the extent to which the cities are willing to meet that need; residence policy; relatives' responsibility; assistance given to the able-bodied unemployed; income to low-income families; and the rehabilitation services offered the client. As introduction material the historical impact of the Poor Law tradition in Canada is reviewed, also the legal background of provincial social assistance. Questionnaires were formulated and submitted to the city welfare departments. Interviews were held with the public assistance administrators in Vancouver, Burnaby, Edmonton and Regina. Policy manuals are utilized wherever available. Several studies on rehabilitation approaches to public assistance clients in the United States were examined for comparative purposes. The similarity of social assistance legislation in the provinces shows as the first finding of this study. Only British Columbia and Saskatchewan, however, have so far abolished the local residence qualifications to comply with the signed Unemployment Assistance agreements. All the cities have made an effort to standardize and liberalize policies respecting assessment of resources and income. Limited dental and optical services are provided under each city's health program, which should be expanded. It is argued that the budget-deficit method for determining grants meets the clients’ needs more adequately than the flat-grant-plus-supplement method. Each city now provides financial assistance to the able-bodied unemployed but it is suggested that each city should examine their policy on supplementing income to low-income families. Multiple-purpose agencies (illustrated by Burnaby and Edmonton) appear as most effective in providing services to "multiple-problem" families. Coordination of services, public and private, optimum innovations in the use of personnel and the initiation of research are necessary for the most effective rehabilitation program. One informational contribution is the description of some of the components of resources and budget items within the social assistance program. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

While it is generally accepted that basic child welfare services are essential, insufficient attention has yet been granted to the problems of (a) the shortage of professionally qualified social workers in relation to the many types of need, (b) making the best use of professional personnel in relation to specific job content, (c) setting up criteria on priority indications for the different fields of social work, which, in a children's agency alone can be separated into many categories. As an approach to some of these patterns, a study was devised to review the main branches of the Vancouver Children's Aid Society caseload, using an administrative ''time study" made in 1955 as a base. Aiming at a group of cases representative of an average worker's share of responsibility, cases were selected proportionately from five main areas, (a) family cases, (including services to unmarried mothers), (b) foster homes, (c) adoptive applicants, (d) children in care, and (e) children on adoption probation. (1) Visits and interviews carried out in one month (June 1955) on behalf of these clients, are tabulated and compared with those undertaken by the "average worker" in the agency time study, (2) service rendered is qualitatively rated for each ease, and (3) case illustrations are employed as a further aid to evaluation. In a summary assessment, (4) the relation of availability of worker-time to the adequacy of service is examined. Using a threefold rating of service, it is estimated that in the 83 sample cases adequate or fair service was given in 66 cases. The quality of service in 45 cases was judged to be not affected by lack of worker-time, although it was an important cause of limitation of service in the remaining 38. The proportion of total time revealed as spent on visits and interviews, 23 - 28 percent, is similar to that of the few other agencies which have studied this matter, but must be regarded as low if direct service to clients is considered to be the chief responsibility of qualified social workers. Possible methods of increasing time spent on visits and interviews are suggested, and subjects requiring further research are indicated. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

This is the report of four social work students engaged in the process of developing a longitudinal study. The original concerns guiding the enquiry involved two general concepts: (I) non-utilization of agency services and (II) lack of awareness re such services. It was felt that a large risk population are not aware of the services available to them and thus they were unable to utilize community resources. The public relations program has also felt to be a factor which should be examined. In order to study this problem in an actual setting, the Family and Children's Service's Fernwood-GIadstone neighbourhood team was chosen as the vehicle for the research project. This study is an attempt to design a data collection instrument which will measure the level of awareness about a particular agency team and Its program in a specific community. The instrument developed was a questionnaire designed to elicit responses concerning: (I) what people know about a particular agency team and its program. (II) what people know about the general services of an agency. (III) what people think of the method of publicity used by the agency. The questionnaire was administered to a population selected through utilizing the multiple phase sampling of the random sampling techniques. The responses to the questionnaire are precoded to facilitate the use of the MVTAB computer program in the analysis of the data obtained. The material obtained from the pretest sample indicates that the instrument will obtain the desired Information. The highly tentative findings (due to the small sample size) suggest that the members of the community studied have a general knowledge about the Family and Children's Service agency but are not as aware of the agency team operating out of an office in their community. The respondents stated a general willingness to utilize the services of this team when needed. This suggests that advertising is important that methods utilized thus far have not been too successful. Based on the findings of the pretest it is recommended that the data collection instrument be refined and a full study be conducted. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / [co-authors, John Farr, Robert Leach, George Phillon] / Graduate

This study compared the effectiveness of a multi-family treatment program on court-mandated families and voluntary families. The participants (n=109) included 36 voluntary families and 38 mandated families. Demographically, the families in each group were similar in age and education level but were somewhat dissimilar in their ethnicity and presenting issues. Participants completed a pre and posttest questionnaire, the Family Assessment Measurement III, which revealed that both groups improved on overall family functioning and had high attendance and graduation rates. The implications of these findings for practitioners are presented. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Family and Child Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2007. / April 16, 2007. / Court-ordered Therapy, Multifamily Therapeutic Groups, Court-mandated Therapy, Psycho-educational Groups, Multifamily Groups / Includes bibliographical references. / Ann K. Mullis, Professor Directing Dissertation; Nicholas F. Mazza, Outside Committee Member; Mary W. Hicks, Committee Member; Ronald L. Mullis, Committee Member.

Bibliography: pages 277-302. / The study is a historical analysis of the development of social welfare services in the Transkei from 1968- 1983. The background idea to this study is that over the 20-year period, casual observations reveal that much has been done by way of social work service delivery but very little has been done to scientifically document the developments. The need for scientific investigation and documentation was therefore indicated. The first task was the basic definition and exposition of social welfare and related concepts like social work social policy and social administration. Theories examined included those of some Western writers especially British and American. The understanding of social welfare in the Transkei has been outlined and compared with the current western and Third World approaches. Progressive stages in the development of social welfare services from private bodies to the establishment of a state department of Social Welfare and Pensions have been reviewed. The traditional humanitarian and religious influences in the development of social welfare in the Transkei have been examined and the resultant current trends briefly outlined. Various agencies including state departments, corporations, welfare organisations and other social institutions have been focused in this regard. The training of social workers both in the Transkei, the rest of the Southern African region and overseas as an influential factor in the development of social welfare in the Transkei has been examined. In the summary, a brief review of the study has been given. The need for more intensive study emerged. Major recommendations included the following: 1. Structural : with a view to having the Transkei government not only maintain the existence of the Department of Social Welfare, but to transfer all the relevant functions like counselling and rural development to the relevant department. 2. Academic which includes a review of the academic requirements for grassroots social work practice and university staffing in such a manner that the practitioners and trainers are neither above nor below the standard requirements as recommended in the study. 3. General which include consideration of a pension scheme for labourers and deferred pay for the benefit of families left in the country by migrant labourers.

The practicum consists of a study of methods of identifying and working with natural caregivers, based on previous descriptions in the literature of natural caregivers and their networks, presented in handbook format, and addressed to social service delivery people. Most of the natural helping literature describes natural helpers and natural helping networks, Little is available about the worker - helper relationship itself, about how to find natural helpers, and about how to develop and maintain relationships with them. It is this relationship between the worker and the natural helper that we studied and about which we have written.

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