Provision Of Public Social Services Research Articles

"Poster girl": The discourse constructing the image of "girls in distress" as existential epistemic injustice.

The present study is focused on understanding how the image of the girl designated "in distress" in official regulations guiding the provision of public social services to girls in Israel can be structured. The study takes a qualitative approach, and employs the critical-feminist paradigm to the analysis and interpretation of discourse, combining thematic content analysis and deductive critical discourse analysis. Its main findings disclose an organized process of establishing the normative authorities dominating the discourse on public social services for girls; classifying groups of service recipients to which a girl can belong; constructing their forms; and ultimately circumscribing the girls thereto, determining the performative acts on which receiving state assistance is conditional. Through discursive maneuvers of construction, the image of the girl is "born" as an undisputed "truth" deriving from the deviance attached to her every move. In this trajectory, basic epistemic injustices are perpetuated and solidified, and a new form of epistemic injustice-existential epistemic injustice-is revealed. This process's implications are proposed.

Institutional Business Power: The Case of Ireland’s Private Home Care Providers

AbstractThe marketisation of European home care has given rise to significant private for-profit providers growth. However, little research has focused directly on commercial companies to examine the mechanisms through which they emerge, grow and shape long-term care policy – this is this paper’s task. Drawing on the literature on business power, the recent concept of “institutional business power” is introduced, defined as the power flowing from the entrenched position of business actors in the provision of public social services. The paper identifies the mechanisms through which private providers have grown and assesses the extent of their institutional power by examining their influence on policy and the support they obtain from relevant home care stakeholders. The limits of providers’ institutional power are also discussed. The paper relies on semi-structured interviews with representatives of public, private and non-profit home care providers.

Volunteering as a Human Resource in Provision of Public Social Services in the Municipality

The research aims to identify the main factors and obstacles supporting the development of volunteering in municipalities as a basis for volunteering as an additional human resource in the provision of social services in the municipality. It has been achieved through qualitative analysis and generalization of academic literature and other publicly available sources. The article adheres to the opinion that volunteering is a phenomenon that is becoming increasingly important in democratic societies. In the analyzed context of public administration, we treat volunteering as follows: activities that create social benefits for society; freely assumed obligations authorized by agreement; activities appropriate to mutual assistance; unpaid activities of public service; useful work; activities satisfying the needs of human self-realization; activities allowing to acquire professional skills. All the components of this multifaceted definition evidence the social benefit to society, and at the same time to the municipality, where volunteering is being developed.
 The analysis of academic literature and the good practice of other countries in the development of volunteering showed that the social benefits created by volunteering are complex, the social impact is a long-term and systemic. The social benefits created by volunteering affect the volunteer him/herself, the organization that hosts the volunteer, the community of service provision, the service recipient and his/her family members, society.
 The study revealed the following factors activating volunteering in the municipality: recognition of volunteering benefits and support at all levels of government; determination and periodic analysis of obstacles to involvement of volunteers in social activities; formation of volunteers’ involvement mechanism and administration of activities thereof; material and information resources for the coordination and support of volunteering activities; competent human resources to activate and involve volunteering; mutual co-operation of the municipal administration units and departments; cooperation of the municipal administration with NGOs and state-financed organizations in developing volunteering in municipalities; dissemination of good practice; inclusion of volunteering activities in curricula of pre-school educational institutions.

Outsourcing Public Services to the Social Services System

Goals and objectives . The article is devoted to the issue of modernizing the Russian sphere of providing public social services to the population with a social service system using outsourcing technology. The problems inherent in traditional industry of the distribution of social order for the production of social services are highlighted. Approaches to the introduction of outsourcing technology into the provision of public services in the social services sector of the population have been analyzed. Methods. The study used a set of general scientific methods, such as analysis, synthesis, generalization, comparison, system-functional and integrated approach. Within the framework of the stated theme, theoretical provisions and modern approaches have been organized by studying the works of various authors, regulatory documents and official statistics. The theoretical and practical significance of the study is to flesh out and organize modern strategic approaches of Russian state policy in the sphere of providing public services to the population with a social service system. This area of state social policy has not yet been sufficiently researched by the national science. The analysis provides an opportunity to reveal the extent of the solution to the problem of introducing outsourcing technology into the Russian practice of social services at the present stage, actualizes the importance of public policy on the development of public-private partnership in the provision of social services to the population. The results highlight the advantages and weaknesses of new approaches in the provision of public services based on outsourcing technology, which may further develop public policy in the provision of public services and social services. Results and conclusions . The article presents the results of a study of The Russian State Policy on the provision of public social services to the population. The peculiarities of the organization of the provision of public services by the system of social services on the basis of outsourcing technology are shown, and opportunities for developing partnership with SONKO in this direction are considered. The weak and strong sides of the state social policy to modernize the delivery of public social services have been revealed. Conclusions have been drawn on ways to improve the introduction of outsourcing technology into the practice of social services.

The politics of preserving gender inequality: de-institutionalisation and re-privatisation

ABSTRACT A backlash against gender equality is a core component of the contemporary tilt away from liberal democracy in some contexts. The backlash has been enabled by two developments that can de-institutionalise women’s rights. First, the privatisation associated with neoliberalism, and the austerity imposed by financial crises, have hollowed-out public provision of social services. The loss or erosion of public social protection systems reinforces the demand for unpaid care work, imposing a partial re-privatisation of women in their mothering roles. Second, security and immigration crises have inflamed nationalist right-wing populist movements that make the de-institutionalisationof liberal equality protections – including attacks on women’s rights provisions – a core signifier of anti-establishment credentials. The result is a stagnation at the global level since 2016 in the rate at which the gender gap is closing. Today, the active construction of inequality by gender – and its contestation – are more explicit features of national and global politics than ever before.

Contemporary changes and civil society in Portugal and the Russian Federation

ABSTRACTPortugal and the Russian Federation share some aspects of traditional culture and similar experiences in modern history, but they also exhibit significant differences that determine specific modes of civil society’s development.Results of a comparative and diachronic analysis show that the major differences between the two countries reside in civil society’s openness and composition. Organized civil society is not very distinct in relative size when comparing Portugal and the Russian Federation, but it is globally more autonomous, expressive, trusted and institutionalized in Portugal than in the Russian Federation and among the factors that contribute to this condition are an earlier and revolutionary transition to democracy, a larger middle class, a greater prevalence of the value of interdependence, and a regime that endorses bigger public social expenditure in Portugal, all this within the framework of the European Union that has a longer history of social demand and institutional incentives for civil society. Despite those unequal conditions, civil society faces similar current challenges in both countries, mainly with the outsourcing of the public provision of social services.

Winning a Battle but Losing the War? Third Sector and Social Policy in Latin America: The Case of Uruguay

This paper analyzes some aspects of the third sector’s involvement process in the provision of public social services. Using evidence garnered in previous research based on in-depth interviews, I offer elements toward an assessment of the consequences this process has produced not only in terms of the gains and losses it has produced for social policy, but also for the very identity and constitutive characteristics of the third sector. The evidence hereby compiled strengthens skepticism toward the hypothesis that sees a transformative potential in the role of the third sector in social policy in Latin America. This skepticism arises from issues detected by involved actors themselves and that are linked to the weakness of the sector as a whole.

Does Government Spending Crowd Out Donations of Time and Money?

The authors examine data on giving and volunteering to determine whether public provision of social services and other public goods affects donations of time and money and provides evidence of crowding out. They find a negative and statistically significant relationship between government spending and donations of money and time. They also find that volunteers have demographic and other characteristics that are associated with high values of time and money.

Non-profit Sector in Pakistan: Government Policy and Future Issues

The non-profit sector remains relatively small and underdeveloped in Pakistan. During the decade of the 1990s, it has demonstrated some nascent growth resulting from a number of favourable factors like the return to democracy, the growing push towards deregulation and privatisation, the process of globalisation and the emergence of international coalitions of civil society and the deterioration in the financial position of governments which has limited the public provision of social services. The objective of this paper is to examine the role played by government policy in fostering this process of growth of the non-profit sector of Pakistan and to review the key issues faced by the sector at this time. Of particular concern are, first, the overall posture of the government towards the non-profit sector, the types of policies in place, and the underlying philosophy or principles that guide policy-making. Second, the forms of support to the non-profit sector by different levels of government. Third, the posture of international organisations and supranational governments towards local non-profit organisations and, forth, the major issues facing the non-profit sector at the present time.

All Change? Men, Women and Reproductive Work in the Global Economy

Gender analysis of globalisation has focused exclusively on women and production — that is the impact of changes in the global economy on women's labour force participation. There is little analysis until now either on the implications of globalisation on the gender division of labour in reproductive work either in the monetised economy or the household in spite of extensive research on the impacts of economic reforms and structural adjustment policies on public provision of social services, such as health and education. This study argues that a focus on men's roles is essential in order to capture the wider dimensions of the gendered processes of globalisation and inform the current debate on global social policies in the context of labour flexibility and welfare reform.

Corruption and the Provision of Health Care and Education Services

Government intervention to correct market failures is often accompanied by government failures and corruption. This is no more evident than in social sectors that are characterized by significant market failures and government intervention. However, the impact of corruption on the public provision of social services has not been analyzed. This paper reviews the relevant theoretical models and users’ perceptions of corruption in the public provision of social services. It then provides evidence that reducing corruption can result in significant social gains as measured by decreases in child and infant mortality rates, percent of low-birthweight babies, and primary school dropout rates.

Corruption and the Provision of Health Care and Education Services

Government intervention to correct market failures is often accompanied by government failures and corruption. This is no more evident than in social sectors that are characterized by significant market failures and government intervention. However, the impact of corruption on the public provision of social services has not been analyzed. This paper reviews the relevant theoretical models and users' perceptions of corruption in the public provision of social services. It then provides evidence that reducing corruption can result in significant social gains as measured by decreases in child and infant mortality rates, percent of low-birthweight babies, and primary school dropout rates.

To Prevent Unnecessary Separation of Children and Families: Public Law 96-272—Policy and Practice

Federal policy mandates the provision of public social services to families to prevent unnecessary separation of children. In practice, a national survey found variation in 34 states' implementation of this mandate. Five state-level variables were found to have statistically significant association with states' prevention effort in fiscal year 1985–86: disposition of the governor, the key legislator, and the child welfare director; citizen support; and proportion of children living below the state's poverty level. When all five variables were considered simultaneously in regression analysis, citizen support and proportion of children living below the state's poverty level emerged as significant predictors of prevention effort. These findings suggest practice strategies for social workers to influence social policies and programs.