CLIENTS’ EXPERIENCES OF SERVICE DELIVERY AT THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL WELFARE (DSW) IN THE ASHANTI REGION OF GHANA

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CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

            Background of the Study

Social welfare are formalised services that are designed to protect citizens from the risks and insecurities of life (Kwok, 2003). The services are designed and structured in a way to improve upon the circumstances of people who are in need (Spicker, 2011). The focus of the provision of social welfare services is to bridge the gap between the poor and the wealthy in the society in order to ensure equality and equity (Kwok, 2003). Formalised social welfare services can be traced back to the early 16th century in England (Yarborough, 2008). During this period, the English locals saw the need to cater for the destitute in order to reduce poverty through the introduction of the poor laws in 1536. The catholic parishes in England were responsible for the welfare of the needy by collecting alms to feed the needy (Corbett, 2013).

This means of curbing poverty was intensified in 1601 through the enactment of the Elizabethan poor laws in 1601. The Elizabethan poor laws formed the basis for formalised welfare interventions, where direct public taxes were used to assist the poor (Sottie & Boateng, 2014). Under this law, the poor were categorised into two distinct groups; the worthy poor and the unworthy poor (Corbett, 2013). The former were people whom by no fault of theirs are unable to work. This category included people with disabilities (PWDs), orphans, widows, etc., and were placed in alms houses. The unworthy poor comprised drunkards, idle people, among others. These people were deemed able and as such, were placed in work houses and were given materials to work (Sottie & Boateng, 2014).

The Elizabethan poor law was later adopted by the United States in the mid-1800, as they became colonies of England (Yarborough, 2008). However, the adoption of the “poor law” as a means of curbing poverty did not yield much results since destitution kept increasing. In addition, the impact of the Great Depression greatly affected Americans and later spread worldwide. The impact of the Great Depression, followed by World War II in the 1930s, left several people jobless and homeless (Midgley, 2008). Consequently, a greater number of people sought help from the government due to their inability to provide for themselves. Governments in these developed countries then took charge of the provision of formalised social welfare, especially to vulnerable children and people with disabilities (PWDs) (Potts, 2012, Yarborough, 2008).

The introduction of social welfare in Africa and other developing countries was through missionaries and colonial administrations (Kreitzer, 2012, Safadi & Easton, 2014). Most of these colonial masters introduced their social welfare systems to their colonies which were implemented even after independence (Safadi & Easton, 2014). In Ghana for instance, missionaries who came into the then Gold Coast saw the need to provide health care, educational and other welfare needs to their subjects (Kreitzer, 2012). This was a means to gain the trust and attention of the indigenes in order to propagate the gospel. Providing for the welfare needs of the populace was intensified in 1929 when the British colonial masters passed the first Colonial Development Act of 1940 (Kreitzer, 2012). The government saw the need for this as a result of the destruction caused by the earthquake which occurred on 22nd June, 1939, rendering many people homeless. More so, many families experienced displacement as veterans from the World War I returned home, which made provision of social welfare, including counselling services, necessary.

The Government of Ghana is the main provider of formalised social welfare in Ghana, but it is supported by non-governmental organisations as done in most countries (Lidzen, 2008).

The DSW, which is under the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection, is the government statutory body that has the mandate to regulate and provide social services for Ghanaians. The Department began its operation in 1943 when the Secretary of Social Services of the British Colonial Administration created the Administrative Officer Class II grade to take charge of the welfare needs of the urban populace (Kreitzer, 2012).

In 1946, the Department of Social Welfare and Housing was created (Department of Social Welfare and Community Development (DSWCD), 2006). The Housing Unit of the Department was separated from the DSW to form a major unit on its own in 1950. The Housing Unit was separated because the administrative work was cumbersome as people had a lot of issues pertaining to rent and housing. The Department could not combine the growing issue of rent and housing with the primary responsibility of welfare, which includes providing for the poor and needy. A new section, Community Development, was added to the DSW in 1952 to make it the Department of Social Welfare and Community Development (DSWCD, 2006). According to DSWCD (2014), the Department derives its mandate from statutory orders that makes it responsible for services ranging from health to education.

The DSW runs three core programmes for clients, under which diverse services are provided (DSWCD, 2014). These programmes are community care, child rights promotion, and protection and justice administration. Under the community care programme, services provided to clients include the registration of persons with disability and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), community-based rehabilitation for people with disability, hospital welfare services, provision of vocational training for the poor and people with disability, income generation for rural women and poverty alleviation through livelihood empowerment against poverty (LEAP) programme. LEAP is a cash transfer programme for families who are extremely poor and disadvantaged in the society. Such families are given

monthly cash transfers from the government through the DSW to support their basic needs (DSWCD, 2014). Under the child rights promotion and protection, services provided range from child maintenance, custody, paternity, adoption to the running of children’s homes and supervision of day care centres. Under justice administration, services provided include probation and prisons aftercare, statutory duties in respect of juvenile courts and family tribunal and domestic violence cases (DSWCD, 2014). As at 2006, the DSW had only one- thousand and thirty-six (1,036) staff with only five-hundred and fifty (550) being social workers out of a staff requirement of two-thousand and two-hundred and forty-one (2,241). The staff has increased to one-thousand, two-hundred and nineteen (1,219) and are spread across the DSW’s two-hundred and sixteen (216) district offices in Ghana (Krueger, Thompstone, & Crispin, 2014).

            Statement of Problem

In the Ghanaian context, the family has been the bedrock in the provision of informal social welfare to its members (Nukunya, 2003; Lidzen, 2008; Yarborough, 2008). However, over the years, formalised social welfare services provided through the DSW has increased tremendously due to the gradual disintegration of the extended family system (Tanga, 2013; Kreitzer, 2012). As such, most Ghanaian studies (Frimpong-Manso and Mawudoku, 2017; Thompstone, & Crispin, 2014; Laird, 2011) which have examined the provision of services by the DSW have focused on the Department and the views and experiences of its employees. These studies have suggested that the DSW is limited in the provision of services to its clients due to some challenges they encounter. These challenges, as enumerated by the researchers, include insufficient funds, lack of logistics, inadequately trained social workers, among others, which could affect the provision of effective and quality services to clients.

Yet, the provision of services is a two-way affair, involving an interaction between the service provider and the client. As a result, emphasis must be placed on both the service providers and the clients, as their perception of an organisation has a significant influence on the survival of the organisation (Fraser & Wu, 2015). However, much attention has been paid to the DSW (the service provider) and less attention has been paid to the clients, who are recipients of the DSW’s services.

It is in the light of this gap that the study seeks to find out clients’ experiences of service provision at the DSW in the Ashanti Region.

            Objectives of the Study

The general objective of this study is to explore clients’ experiences of the services provided by the DSW in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.

                  Specific Objectives of the Study

The specific objectives of the study are:

  1. To identify clients’ level of satisfaction with service provision by the DSW in the Ashanti Region.
    1. To investigate the factors that influence clients’ satisfaction with the services provided by the DSW in the Ashanti Region.
    1. To explore clients’ suggestions on how service provision by the DSW in the Ashanti Region can be improved.

            Research Questions

  1. How satisfied are clients with the services provided by the DSW in the Ashanti Region?
  2. What factors influence clients’ satisfaction with service provision by the DSW in the Ashanti Region?
  • What are clients’ suggestions on how service provision at the DSW in the Ashanti Region can be improved?