Child and Family Welfare Agencys Services

NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.

NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.

Obstacles to Accessing Services

When people want to access any services across agencies, they may often encounter a range of different impediments. The main obstacles, when turning to agencies, are the inevitable bureaucracy and formalism, long processing times, and general scarcity of information on the services furnished by the agencies (Braham, 2013). These obstacles prevent people from getting critical and timely services; therefore, it is crucial to remove these barriers to raising the quality of the services provided (Brown, Marquez, Perkins & Kennedy, 2015). The accessibility of information is the leading issue that should be improved across all agencies.

In this era of information communication technologies, information technology (IT) solutions encourage a drastically different perspective on spreading information and present new possibilities for eliminating issues involved in service provision. However, apart from IT-based means, there are other ways of enhancing the current bureaucratic capacity as well as the organizational structure of community-based agencies.

Facilitating Client Care and Access to Services

Consultancy Agency

One of the ways to augment the accessibility of services is to establish a consultancy agency, which will alleviate the process of accessing services across different organizations (Hull, 2012). By creating individualized programs for clients, the agency would enable their customers to receive the services they need, rapidly and in a convenient way. However, this solution can be costly, and if poorly planned will lead to an even higher level of bureaucracy.

Client Supervision

Client supervision is an excellent way of solving the current problem involving client care. Social workers can collect their clients information and consult them accordingly about supporting steps to follow. At this point, the workers interaction with agencies is essential, so that he or she would be able to facilitate the customers access to the corresponding service. The social worker will need to communicate with different agencies in order to provide accurate and timely information to clients and assist them in arranging appointment times and addressing other current tasks.

Informational Support

Many agencies furnish joint community services; for that reason, every organization should provide relevant information on the contiguous services offered by other agencies in the area, so that clients can get detailed information on the spot. Introducing information desks will facilitate easier access to the requested information (Taylor, 2013). Apart from that, agencies can provide internet connection as well as space for clients with laptops, allowing a customer to be self-sufficient while gaining instant access to the necessary information.

Documentation Package

Intake time can be reduced, by the procedure of collecting all relevant information and documentation at the primary meeting. Collecting necessary documentation during follow-up meetings frequently prolongs the whole procedure drastically (Braham, 2013). By informing the client in advance about the entire document package, agencies can decrease the amount of time needed for handling the case and speed up the intake procedure.

Presently, clients meet barriers during the whole intake process. The intake offices are often situated in geographically separated, different places, far from each other, such that the process of document delivery can last for quite a while. By eliminating this logistical obstacle through streamlining, applicants will be more likely to get their results faster, and the amount of unhelpful, repetitive work would be reduced.

Uniformity in Regulations

Agencies should develop uniform rules to ease customer access to multiple agencies, thus promoting their comprehension of the rules and policies. Practically, the development of common rules and standards will regularize the inherent bureaucracy, and adjust the services and operations as per a single format (Taylor, 2013). Consequently, customers will have to follow a common path when turning to services across different agencies (Braham, 2013). In fact, by coordinating the policies of the service providers in the area, the problem of improper community service accessibility will be streamlined through an efficient approach to delivering greater access to the services.

IT Solution

The introduction of a single integrated information repository will provide a new perspective on delivering services. The repository will serve as an informational and analytical platform for the services in the area (Anthony, Appari & Johnson, 2014). The system will provide data from government statistics and various departmental resources, and will interface with other databases. The electronic exchange will be implemented according to the HIPAAs rules regarding information exchange and administration. The application of HIPAA standards will create credibility for the systems, in terms of protection and confidentiality of the information.

The system will allow multi-criteria searches based on set parameters, as well as carry out flexible customization of the displayed information. It will also provide detailed background information on the requisite indicators and will be promptly updated. After refining their search procedure and obtaining the necessary information, people will be able to apply for specific services, set appointments, and more. The suggested system would facilitate client care between many different types of agencies (for instance, food banks, mental health agency, welfare to work, and so on), and promote flexibility and ease of access. It will also define eligibility for programs, reduce the load of paperwork on the part of clients and staff, and decrease the intake time, as well.

The Effectiveness of the Proposed Solutions

The leading idea of the current plan is not to abolish the existing bureaucracy, but to improve upon the current system and refine its guiding policies and principles. The plan can be considered as effective, due to the fact that it will follow the main guidelines of the bureaucratic system (Hull, 2012). This implies that the competence of each of the bureaucratic levels will be clearly regulated, as the hierarchical organization of the bureaucratic structure will be based on the established principles of the subordination; all the formal corporate activities (for instance, dissemination of information, decision-making, preparation of documents) will be implemented in the form of standardized documents subject to subsequent storage.

The staff members will assist people in following the rules, regulations, and procedures of the agencies with regard to the requested services. The proposed plan will allow improved client care across agencies.

It will enable shortening the time required to gain necessary information and avoid unneeded, time-consuming follow-up steps. The assistance of the social workers, who will provide relevant information as well as guidance, will ensure that people who are less skilled in IT technologies will gain similar access to all the services they need. In addition, the customers will get faster access to detailed information about any service they need, through information desks in local agencies. In summary, eliminating the time wasted on searching for needed information will enhance the efficiency of the institutions, while customers will have greater access to the services they need.

References

Anthony, D. L., Appari, A., & Johnson, M. E. (2014). Institutionalizing HIPAA compliance: Organizations and competing logics in U.S. health care. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 55, 108-124.

Braham, P. (2013). Key concepts in sociology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Brown, T.M., Marquez, M., Perkins, G., & Kennedy, D. (2015). The value of a social work degree: Public social service agency directors views. Journal of Sociology and Social Work, 3(2), 16.

Hull, M. S. (2012). Documents and bureaucracy. Annual Review of Anthropology, 41, 25167.

Taylor, T. (2013). Paperwork first, not work first: How caseworkers use paperwork to feel effective. Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, 40(1), 9-27.

Click Here To Order Now!