Community Programs

[WNYresident]

How are community programs organized throughout erie county for social services?

Are there a lot of areas of duplication?

[ESP]

Smaller agencies are generally contracted out to do basic social services such as child abuse prevention, foster care prevention, family preservation, foster care services, etc. Generally speaking, the quality is better since the agencies aren't as "overloaded" as the county and the costs are generally kept down because case planners are not paid as much as the traditional case workers, however, it's usually county funds that pay for this.

Other social services such as housing assistance (including emergency housing services and fema fund distribution) are also done on a smaller basis in a community organization. This is done by private funds, city & federal funds but doesn't seem as common with DSS funds.

Educational services can come from a variety of sources such as Buffalo Public Schools (for the SES programs driven by "No Child Left Behind"), Department of Labor (for career and vocational exploration programs), City of Buffalo (Mayor's Summer Youth) and private sources for basic tutoring and remedial services as well as Scholarship programs and distribution.

There are alot of areas of duplication, however, each agency generally has it's own population it serves (usually because of physical location.) Also, what is considered "housing" assitance to one agency may have a different definition to another.

Some agencies are bound by physical lines (such as streets that border a certain section of the city) as to whom they are "allowed" to serve while others can cover all towns and cities within a county or multi-counties.

Other social services programs are funded from mother agencies such as the United Way. They have their own terms as to how they're organized and who gets the grants.

Basically, it all depends on the funding sources and what the contractual terms are and what the agency specializes in.

[WNYresident]

Smaller agencies are generally contracted out to do basic social services such as child abuse prevention, foster care prevention, family preservation, foster care services, etc. Generally speaking, the quality is better since the agencies aren't as "overloaded" as the county and the costs are generally kept down because case planners are not paid as much as the traditional case workers, however, it's usually county funds that pay for this.

Is there any oversight on how the money is spent within these agencies? I could see "political" people setting thier friends up as agencies to collect these funds and then do a half ass job at it. With a lot of higher paid employee administration than needed. OR am I looking at this the wrong way?

[WNYresident]

Other social services such as housing assistance (including emergency housing services and fema fund distribution) are also done on a smaller basis in a community organization. This is done by private funds, city & federal funds but doesn't seem as common with DSS funds.

But the community organization is ran by the "government" or is this another agency for profit?

[ESP]

I'll try to answer your questions as best as I can, but I'm not an expert on non-profit agencies. The information I'm sharing is mainly based on observation.

Is there any oversight on how the money is spent within these agencies?

Yes, there's oversight, especially if its a government funded program. It all starts out when the RFP goes out. The agency has to describe the services, how it proposes to fill the need of the RFP, and how it will provide deliverables. Usually in the proposal package an agency overview is provided, as well as documentation that shows non profit status, an agency wide budget, a programmatic (proposed) budget, board of directors list, narratives, etc. I've seen proposals of 100+ pages go out already.

The budget has to include everything from the overhead and administration costs (anywhere from 15-23% usually) to staff salaries to postage.

If it's deemed appropriate and the agency gets the contract, there are very specific tracking measures that usually have to take place. For instance, in a housing program, certain milestones may need to be reached or specific objectives may have to be met. These milestones may include an "Intake Session", "Budget Counseling", "Pre-purchase homebuyer training", (which is usually something that people have to take before they can get mortgages with certain interest rates), "landlord/tenant dispute counseling", etc. etc. Many times other agencies (legal services, HUD) may be contacted depending on the case.

Each milestone must be attached to the person who receives these services. Files which include documentation, casenotes, progress notes, budget information, etc. must be kept for 7 years (usually). If the agency is lucky enough to have a systems designer create tracking methods and data gathering tools, then a comprehensive database may be able to generate these reports.

These reports and files could be audited at any given point in time. Also, an agency wide financial audit will usually be conducted on an annual basis.

Even if it's not funded with government monies, the funding source (which may be the United Way or other public and private foundations) may require and uphold the same standards or may have their own terms which could stray from the examples above.

If there is any budget change (staff salary change, unexpected supply needs, etc.) permission to change the budget has to be obtained by the funder and a new budget must be submitted. The total dollar amount of the budget isn't changed, just the distribution of funds is.

I could see "political" people setting thier friends up as agencies to collect these funds and then do a half ass job at it. With a lot of higher paid employee administration than needed. OR am I looking at this the wrong way?

I'm not sure there's a "right" way or "wrong" way to look at this. The government usually (notice I say usually since I cannot speak for all agencies) does not give money away to programs who do not suit the needs of the clients or who do not have a proven track record. When new programs are introduced, unless a new agency has the pieces in place and the credentials to start the program immediately, the contract is granted to an agency with a history of filling this need. Also, support letters from other community agencies, clients, school districts, places of worship, etc. may be required to show that the agency has a worthwhile cause.

I'm sure that there are corrupt agencies around. An agency was recently closed due to the mismanagement of funds and supposed internal corruption and scandal. When this agency fell out of compliance with the county, the county pulled all their funds and distributed the money, as well as the caseload, among other agencies who have proved they're successful. http://www.wgrz.com/news/news_articl...?storyid=35382

If you research it, you'll find that there are many agencies who have employees that do not make anywhere near the salaries that they would in a "for profit" organization. You may also find high employee turnover since the employee may receive training and experience then take it to a higher paying position within a different organization. It takes a certain type of person who truly believes in what their agency does to last more than a few years.

An agency may have a surplus of funds at the end of the year. This isn't generally a "profit" but will be rolled right into the next year to enhance existing programs or to add smaller program pieces such as scholarship funds or maybe even a food pantry.

Some contracts restrict the funds to the point where no administrative overhead can be supported from those funds. The agency has to supply the management of the program (other than the direct staff and supply costs) out of surplus funds or other unrestricted funding sources.

But the community organization is ran by the "government" or is this another agency for profit?

The organization is not "run" by the government but it's deliverables are determined by the government and the contract itself. The agency and it's management (if it's good management) tracks the progress of clients, conducts site visits, offers ideas, suggestions and problem solutions to the program operators and is the liason between the funding source and the organization. This is all intertwined within the non profit itself.

In addition, funds may be private in nature. This may come from a bank or a foundation. These funds may be unrestricted for the agency to use as necessary which could include covering a deficit in a program (more clients than the program is budgeted for), administration and overhead, etc. They could also be restricted to certain program initiatives, loan programs, rehab services, educational funds, etc.

I hope my very, very longwinded observations have given you some insight. Again, I'm not an expert. If I didn't answer your questions, I can try again

[atotaltotalfan2001]

Thank you. That was a clear, concise explanation of the situation. Sounds like you've been around it for a while. Do you find that these agencies are more effective than county-run programs?

[ESP]

I've been around the non profit world for 12 or so years. I've never dealt with the grant writing itself or with the financial aspects of it (which is why I don't consider myself an expert,) but I've read more than my share of contracts and designed many, many systems used for tracking and reporting.

Personally, I believe that non profits can be more effective. There are several reasons:

1. The overhead is much lower than government run programs. There is more money available to assist a much larger pool of clients.

2. It takes a special person to work in a non profit. Dedication and determination makes it a more personal experience. Counselors are willing to spend more time per client since they're not covering the entire city or county. They're covering a specific area with specific needs.

4. There's a broader range of services.For example: A person loses his job, defaults on his mortgage and now his house is going to go into forclosure. Instead of this person only receiving a loan or repayment package from a bank (or government agency) to temporarily help with the missing payments, the non profit may provide budget and credit counseling, assistance with finding repayment terms that they had no clue existed, and legal assistance in the case of unreasonable or fraudulent loan terms. They may also receive employment counseling to get them back into financial self sufficiency and referral to a food pantry to fill in the gaps. This is not a government handout because nothing is actually being handed out. It's a way to educate a person on getting themselves out of the situation that they may have inadvertently gotten themselves into.

Not all non profits have the capabilities of dealing with every problem of the client, but, there's generally a network available of reputable organizations that referrals can be made to.

3. There's a committment to the community it serves. It's not about the numbers and profit to be made.

Again, not all non profits are like this. I can only speak from what i've observed.