Non-governmental Service Providers Research Articles

Understanding the Lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women with Traumatic Brain Injury from Family Violence in Australia: A Qualitative Study Protocol.

Globally, there is growing recognition of the connection between violence and head injuries. At present, little qualitative research exists around how surviving this experience impacts everyday life for women, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. This project aims to explore the nature and context of these women's lives including living with the injury and to identify their needs and priorities during recovery. This 3-year exploratory project is being conducted across three Australian jurisdictions (Queensland, Northern Territory, and New South Wales). Qualitative interviews and discussion groups will be conducted with four key groups: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women (aged 18+) who have acquired a head injury through family violence; their family members and/or carers; and hospital staff as well as government and non-government service providers who work with women who have experienced family violence. Nominated staff within community-based service providers will support the promotion of the project to women who have acquired a head injury through family violence. Hospital staff and service providers will be recruited using purposive and snowball sampling. Transcripts and fieldnotes will be analysed using narrative and descriptive phenomenological approaches. Reflection and research knowledge exchange and translation will be undertaken through service provider workshops.

Threats of fire in the context of domestic and family violence: views on prevalence, forms and contexts from service providers in Queensland

ABSTRACT A perpetrator’s use of fire to coerce, control and punish a current or former partner has been the subject of increased attention in media reporting and research, particularly following several high-profile murders of women in Queensland. Building on this, the study set out in this article examines threats of fire in the context of domestic and family violence. These threats may involve the dousing of persons or property with flammable substances (commonly petrol), as well as purely verbal or implicit threats where there is no use of accelerant. This article draws on interview data with 17 Domestic and Family Violence (DFV) non-government service providers collected in 2021 and analyses participants’ views on the prevalence, forms and contexts of threats of fire. It concludes that such threats take a variety of forms, likely occur as part of an escalation of a pattern of previous abusive behaviour, and can be difficult for law enforcement and other service providers to identify. This article identifies the need for better responses to threats of fire and further research into this manifestation of coercive and controlling behaviour.

Does contracting out governmental clinical health services to non-governmental service providers (NGPs) improve the use of clinical health services and health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)?

Does contracting out governmental clinical health services to non-governmental service providers (NGPs) improve the use of clinical health services and health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)?

A comparison of structural features and vulnerability between government and nongovernment alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment providers

ObjectiveBoth public (government-run), and not-for-profit (nongovernment) service providers provide alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment services. Research has rarely studied the structural features of these providers, such as workforce characteristics, procurement arrangements, and funding security. The study reported here sought to document and analyze the differences between these two AOD treatment provider types in Australia. MethodsThe study administered an online survey instrument targeted at managers of AOD treatment sites. The survey comprised three sections: (1) the service (e.g., treatment types); (2) workforce (e.g., total number of staff); and (3) funding and procurement arrangements (e.g., contract length). The study completed a total of 207 site surveys. The studied compared government and nongovernment services on structural features that may create a more or less sustainable or vulnerable service (funding arrangements, payment mechanisms, and contract length). ResultsGovernment providers were more likely to provide medically oriented treatment types such as withdrawal management and pharmacotherapy, whereas nongovernment organization (NGO) providers were more likely to offer rehabilitation. Consistent with this, government services were more likely to employ medical professionals and nurses, indicative of a more medically oriented workforce, while NGO services were more likely to employ AOD workers, youth workers, peer workers, and counselors. Our data illustrate that NGO services were more likely to be subject to competitive tendering and to have shorter contract lengths, compared with government services, and overall to be more structurally vulnerable. ConclusionDespite the reliance on NGOs to provide the majority of specialist care (71% of all treatment episodes in Australia), these services are more vulnerable than their government counterparts. To ensure that a comprehensive suite of treatment services is available, procurement arrangements that support stability and security in nongovernment service providers and government service providers are essential.

The Removal of Children in Domestic Violence: Widening Service Provider Perspectives

A range of service providers support mothers and children who are experiencing domestic violence (DV). However, research tends to focus on the role of service providers in child protection services and DV services. This potentially excludes valuable insights from a wider range of nongovernment service providers on the systemic issues that mothers experiencing DV and child separation may experience. This research explored the perspectives of 16 different nongovernment service providers about working with women who have had their children removed while experiencing DV. The study used an intersectional feminist approach that highlighted intersecting gendered and racialized power relations in service responses functioning to reinforce multiple dimensions of disadvantage. The study found that mother blame was a pervasive issue both within and outside of child protection services. Service providers described the challenges of navigating a system that revictimizes women, with particular impacts for Aboriginal and culturally diverse mothers. The findings reinforced the importance of preventing mother blame, holding perpetrators of DV more accountable, and improving collaboration across services and for more flexible responses to women living with violence.

The Power in Stories That Cannot Be Replaced

This paper is based upon research that included interviews with 61 experts across Manitoba, including police, First Nations and other political leaders, government and non-government service providers and sex trafficking survivors, who collectively represent over 1,000 years of experience combatting victimization in the sex industry. It describes a researcher’s experience taking a qualitative, story-based approach to investigating the modern social problem of sex-trafficking. Based on his thesis, “Modern Day Slavery and the Sex Industry: Raising the Voices of Survivors and Collaborators While Confronting Sex Trafficking and Exploitation in Manitoba” the author highlights the power that the stories hold, emphasizing how no other method of research would be quite as effective. The power of the stories told simply cannot be replaced.

Use of the Essential Nutrition Actions framework improved child growth in Bangladesh.

The Essential Nutrition Actions (ENA) framework is an evidence-based set of cost-effective, integrated tools for training health and community workers to promote optimal nutrition practices for the first 1,000days. This ENA pilot project (ENAPP) was implemented with United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funding from August 2008 to September 2009 in six unions of the working area of an existing USAID-funded, Title II programme in southern Bangladesh. ENAPP, which targeted governmental and non-governmental service providers, was intended to strengthen the behaviour change component of the nutrition strategy of this project. Following a qualitative review of ENAPP's activities, this evaluation uses administrative (growth monitoring) data and propensity score matching of pre-intervention characteristics to create multiple counterfactuals for difference-in-difference estimations of the impact of ENAPP on child nutritional status. Records indicated that government and community healthcare workers received intensive training, and these staff reported that they could effectively integrate ENA messages into their existing responsibilities. Both longitudinal and cross-sectional analyses indicate that ENAPP was successful in increasing children's weight-for-age z-scores, and the difference in z-scores between the treatment and the comparison group increased with time. The materials and methods used in this pilot project should be scaled up, based on the success of these tools and the project's ability to link with and influence the local health system.

The Challenges of Providing Free Education in Papua New Guinea

Introduced in 2012, the Tuition Fee Free (TFF) policy has become a flagship policy of the Papua New Guinea (PNG) government. Since 2012, further changes to this policy have been introduced; these changes continue to reduce financial barriers to school attendance and attempt to recentralise control of education funding. What have these policy changes meant for schools, administrators, non-governmental service providers (such as the church), and other key stakeholders? This paper draws on qualitative and quantitative research conducted in 2012 and 2016 in East New Britain and Gulf provinces – the former performs relatively well in delivering services, the latter relatively poorly. Interviews were conducted with education representatives, community members, government and church officials and other stakeholders to assess the impact of PNG’s fourth and most enduring attempt at providing free education. Researchers visited 10 schools, four district administrations and two provincial administrations. The research approach allows for a comparison of progress and regress in these schools between 2012 and 2016. It is argued that while the TFF policy has helped improve access and strengthened school autonomy, recent policy reforms have threatened school-community relations, undermined school quality and weakened conditions for effective service provision. The paper will provide recommendations about how PNG policy makers and others might address some of the challenges.

Implementing peer support workers in clinically oriented sub-acute mental healthcare teams: New approaches - new challenges

Introduction: Arguably, an approach including peer support workers and peer-operated service provision is the future of the public mental health workforce. However, to date, the inclusion of peer support workers in clinical teams has not been trialled. This research reports qualitative data regarding the integration of peer support workers in clinical mental health care teams. Theory / Methods: Normalization Process Theory guided data collection and analysis to answer the research question: “How were peer support workers integrated into care delivery processes?” Participants were recruited from a recently implemented sub-acute mental health care team in South East Queensland, aiming to provide intensive case-management for people with mental illness. Participants were interviewed face-to-face prior to the commencement of the program (n=24) and six-months after the program was established (n=21). A total of 16 participants were interviewed at both time points. Data were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim and checked for accuracy. Data were analysed thematically. Two researchers independently read each interview and developed initial categories. Data were then collectively aggregated into higher order themes, continuing until all data were accounted for and the most parsimonious representation of themes was achieved. Results: Clinicians did not fully understand the role of the peer support worker, or how to engage them in clinical care. Beyond their lived experience of mental illness, a common ground from which peer support workers could develop their role was lacking. Some peer support workers were employed for their cultural background as much as, if not more than their lived experience of mental illness, which further diluted and diversified roles. Discussion: Although clinicians enthusiastically embraced the idea of including peer support workers in care teams, poorly defined parameters of care provision in the peer support worker role within interactions with consumers sometimes caused tension. Never-the-less, peer support workers were valuable brokers of existing community capacity to support people with mental illness; working effectively with, and facilitating relationships between consumers and non-government organisations. Conclusion: Peer support workers are new and valuable members of sub-acute clinically oriented public mental health teams. Their role is important in integrating service provision between public mental health teams and non-government service providers. Lessons Learned: There are multiple complexities associated with introducing people without a defined disciplinary background into health service provision teams. However, peer support workers are valuable team members, clinicians do learn how to work with them over time and they are able to support people who experience mental illness in ways that clinicians are not. Limitations: This research occurred in the context of a pilot program. Therefore, generalizability beyond this context cannot be assured. Some of the issues regarding working with peer support workers may have been related to the formation of new teams, rather than because the peer support workers were non-clinicians. Future Research: Further research is required to establish the influence of clinical staff on the work of non-clinicians within clinical service provision teams, and to better understand the impact of the integration and connecting role that peer support workers adopted in this team.

Measure of Utilisation of Government Schemes & Support by Small and Medium Enterprises (SME): Service Providers Perspective

The small and medium enterprises (SME) play a vital role in improving the Indian economy. The central and various state governments announce various schemes directly and indirectly for the SMEs.Other SMEs are supported by Government service providers such as Ministry of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Small Industries development Corporation (SIDCO), and non-government service providers like Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) etc. Despite several support and facilities, the SMEs are still struggling to run the company. In this regard, authors have decided to study the effectiveness of utilization of various schemes by the SME in the service provider’s perspective. The schemes described in this paper lay emphasis exclusively on the manufacturing sector. Interviews were conducted with officials from different service providers and several flaws were detected in the implementation of these schemes, especially on the schemes reaching the industries. The analysis carried out in the research gives us several findings which elucidate the reason behind the flaws detected. The results of the article will also provide solutions to few critical research questions and provide recommendations which would further enhance the motive behind the schemes being established and reach the industries especially the small and medium-scale ones which would further stabilize the Indian economy.

Help, harm or hinder? Non-governmental service providers’ perspectives on families and gender-based violence against women with intellectual disabilities in South Africa

Through in-depth interviews with service providers from non-governmental organisations (n = 58), this article describes the intricacy of familial relationships for women with intellectual disabilities in South Africa who experience gender-based violence. The findings suggest that families navigate social stigma, limited resources and isolation, whilst trying to be vigilant against gender-based violence and disability-related violence, and respond to it as it happens. However, family members are also simultaneously implicated in violence perpetration. We suggest that a social relational model of disability could help account for these crucial intra-familial dynamics.

Funding Impermanance: Quantifying the Public Funds Sent to Closed Schools in the Nation's First Urban School Voucher Program

Since the 1990–1991 school year the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) has provided vouchers to tens of thousands of mostly low-income Milwaukee children attending private schools at public expense. The Milwaukee voucher experience, as a free-market government reform reliant on the use of non-government service providers, sits firmly in the new public management framework. This analysis uses fiscal and enrollment data to quantify the amount of public money sent to the 128 voucher schools that exited the MPCP. The author finds that about 12% of the total program expenditure was on closed schools between 1991 and 2013. The authors conclude that policymakers should consider the likelihood of substantial investment in failed institutions when considering the implementation of new public management reforms.

Moving Toward Mixed Service Delivery: The Growth in Schools Run by Non-Governmental Providers in Ten Cities

ABSTRACTThe delivery of public services by a mix of government and non-governmental organizations can offer many public policy benefits. When direct governmental provision has predominated, however, achieving these benefits requires building the supply of non-governmental service providers, which requires understanding how to improve their availability and quality. Integrating the literature on contracting and mixed delivery, this article specifies three categories of supply-building tactics: creating markets, buying smart, and managing markets. We then report on 10 cities that have nurtured the supply of schools run by non-governmental organizations. We find that cities’ supply-building efforts fall along a continuum from passive to active, and they employ some types of tactics (creating markets, buying smart) more than others (managing markets). Differential changes in market share across the cities we studied suggest a relationship between supply-building activities and movement from exclusive governmental provision toward the mixed delivery of schools. These findings suggest hypotheses for future research on governmental efforts to build the supply and capabilities of non-governmental service providers in order to pursue mixed service delivery.

The US Eligible-to-Naturalize Population: Detailed Social and Economic Characteristics

Naturalization has long been recognized as a crucial step in the full integration of immigrants into US society. Yet until now, sufficient information on the naturalization-eligible has not been available that would allow the federal government, states, localities, and non-governmental service providers to develop targeted strategies on a local level to assist this population to naturalize and to overcome barriers to eligibility. This paper remedies that deficiency by providing detailed estimates on the naturalization-eligible from data collected in the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS). Naturalization rates have traditionally been calculated by dividing the naturalized or the “naturalization eligible” populations by all foreign-born persons; i.e., the naturalized, legal non-citizens, and undocumented residents. By including the unauthorized in this calculation, naturalization rates have appeared misleadingly low for populations that can naturalize. By contrast, the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS) provides “naturalization eligibility” rates, which it calculates by dividing the “naturalization eligible” by the foreign-born population, minus undocumented residents and legal residents who arrived after mid-2008. The paper reports that 8.6 million US residents were eligible to naturalize in 2013. This figure approximates the 8.8 million estimate of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Mexican nationals constitute the largest naturalization-eligible population at 2.7 million, followed by Indian (337,000), Chinese (320,000), Cuban (316,000), and Canadian (313,000) nationals. Fifty countries have 25,000 or more naturalization-eligible persons. The large number of legally resident Mexican nationals and this population's high naturalization eligibility rate mean that US states with large Mexican populations have relatively high percentages of legal foreign-born residents who can naturalize. The overall “naturalization eligibility” rate was 31 percent in 2013, including 48 percent for Mexican nationals. Nine of the 25 largest US naturalization-eligible populations by source country have naturalization eligibility rates in excess of 40 percent, including Mexico (48 percent), Canada (45 percent), El Salvador (42 percent), the United Kingdom (41 percent), Guatemala (44 percent), Japan (56 percent), Honduras (48 percent), and Brazil (41 percent). On a state level, California, Texas, New York, and Florida contain roughly five million of the US naturalization-eligible or about 58 percent of the total population. The paper finds that a large number of naturalization-eligible immigrants may have difficulty meeting the naturalization requirements or may need intensive support to do so. This population likely includes substantial percentages of the 2.87 million naturalization-eligible who have lived in the United States for more than 25 years; 1.16 million who do not speak English; 3.0 million with less than a high school education; and the 1.8 million with incomes below the poverty level. On the other hand, high percentages of eligible immigrants would seem to be well-situated to naturalize, including those who have lived in the United States for more than 10 years (78 percent); are age 35 or older (74 percent); are married (64 percent); speak English well, very well, or only English (65 percent); have access to both a computer and the internet (74 percent); earn income above the poverty level (79 percent); and have health insurance (72 percent).

The US Eligible-to-Naturalize Population: Detailed Social and Economic Characteristics

Naturalization has long been recognized as a crucial step in the full integration of immigrants into US society. Yet until now, sufficient information on the naturalization-eligible has not been available that would allow the federal government, states, localities, and non-governmental service providers to develop targeted strategies on a local level to assist this population to naturalize and to overcome barriers to eligibility. This paper remedies that deficiency by providing detailed estimates on the naturalization-eligible from data collected in the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS). Naturalization rates have traditionally been calculated by dividing the naturalized or the “naturalization eligible” populations by all foreign-born persons; i.e., the naturalized, legal non-citizens, and undocumented residents. By including the unauthorized in this calculation, naturalization rates have appeared misleadingly low for populations that can naturalize. By contrast, the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS) provides “naturalization eligibility” rates, which it calculates by dividing the “naturalization eligible” by the foreign-born population, minus undocumented residents and legal residents who arrived after mid-2008. The paper reports that 8.6 million US residents were eligible to naturalize in 2013. This figure approximates the 8.8 million estimate of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Mexican nationals constitute the largest naturalization-eligible population at 2.7 million, followed by Indian (337,000), Chinese (320,000), Cuban (316,000), and Canadian (313,000) nationals. Fifty countries have 25,000 or more naturalization-eligible persons. The large number of legally resident Mexican nationals and this population’s high naturalization eligibility rate mean that US states with large Mexican populations have relatively high percentages of legal foreign-born residents who can naturalize. The overall “naturalization eligibility” rate was 31 percent in 2013, including 48 percent for Mexican nationals. Nine of the 25 largest US naturalization-eligible populations by source country have naturalization eligibility rates in excess of 40 percent, including Mexico (48 percent), Canada (45 percent), El Salvador (42 percent), the United Kingdom (41 percent), Guatemala (44 percent), Japan (56 percent), Honduras (48 percent), and Brazil (41 percent). On a state level, California, Texas, New York, and Florida contain roughly five million of the US naturalization-eligible or about 58 percent of the total population. The paper finds that a large number of naturalization-eligible immigrants may have difficulty meeting the naturalization requirements or may need intensive support to do so. This population likely includes substantial percentages of the 2.87 million naturalization-eligible who have lived in the United States for more than 25 years; 1.16 million who do not speak English; 3.0 million with less than a high school education; and the 1.8 million with incomes below the poverty level. On the other hand, high percentages of eligible immigrants would seem to be well-situated to naturalize, including those who have lived in the United States for more than 10 years (78 percent); are age 35 or older (74 percent); are married (64 percent); speak English well, very well, or only English (65 percent); have access to both a computer and the internet (74 percent); earn income above the poverty level (79 percent); and have health insurance (72 percent).

Whānau Ora and the Collaborative Turn

In the context of the ongoing evolution of the field of public management, this article first explores the two interlinked concepts of collaboration and accountability. It suggests that these are understood and applied in a number of different ways. Using research and semistructured interviews with a number of government officials and nongovernment service providers, the article then explains how these approaches are reflected in a current New Zealand initiative of devolved governance—Whānau Ora. The different, and at times conflicting, perspectives of New Zealand’s formal model of public sector management and that of traditional Māori culture are explained.

Whanau Ora and the Collaborative Turn

In the context of the on-going evolution of the field of public management, this paper first explores the two concepts of collaboration and accountability. It suggests that these are understood and applied in a number of different ways. Using research and semi-structured interviews with a number of government officials and non-government service providers, the paper then explains how these approaches are reflected in a current New Zealand initiative of devolved governance – Whanau Ora. The different, and at times conflicting, perspectives of New Zealand’s formal model of public sector management and that of traditional Māori culture are explained.

Beyond Mutual Acculturation

In this paper we examine intercultural relations from a three-way perspective (among immigrants/refugees, Anglo-Australians, and Indigenous Australians) through the lens of social cohesion and its dimensions (belonging, inclusion, participation, recognition, and legitimacy). Our data are drawn from three community case studies involving 15 focus group discussions (138 community residents) and 54 key informant interviews (government and nongovernment service providers and community representatives). Our findings highlight the complexity of intergroup relations, with tensions driven largely by realistic threat concerns and perceived relative deprivation among Anglo-Australians and Indigenous Australians. These concerns intersected with intercultural recognition and national identity. Finally, there was a general lack of the kind of intergroup contact that would decrease prejudice. The findings are discussed in relation to acculturation research and the complexity of intergroup relations in plural societies.

NATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND INTERAGENCY COORDINATION TO PREVENT FAMILY VIOLENCE

BackgroundThe New Zealand Government remains firmly committed to eliminating all forms of family violence. It is everybody's responsibility to make the difference so that our homes are always places of...

Negotiating Citizenship on the Frontlines: How the Devolution of Canadian Immigration Policy Shapes Service Delivery to Women Fleeing Abuse

This article examines how nongovernmental service providers navigate devolutionary trends in Canada, in both immigration control and integration policy, when responding to migrants who come to them for help and support. Drawing upon conceptualizations of citizenship as a “negotiated relationship” (Stasiulis and Bakan 2003), I explore how social service providers, who work amidst a complex interplay of federal, provincial, and local policies, can influence both who is deemed worthy of social membership and what rights an individual can successfully claim from the state. Empirically, this article focuses on observation of community meetings and conversational interviews with service providers in violence against women shelters in Toronto, Ontario, Canada's most populous and diverse city. While service providers navigate different levels of government to advocate for women's rights to seek safety from abuse, I argue that both individual service providers and the organizations in which they work monitor and constrain the degree to which they openly challenge state authority to restrict immigrants' “right to have rights” (Arendt 1951 [1979], 296).