The Goal Effectiveness of Alberta's Preventive Social Service Program

Canadian Public Policy

The Goal Effectiveness of Alberta's Preventive Social Service ProgramAuthor(s): Leslie BellaSource: Canadian Public Policy / Analyse de Politiques, Vol. 8, No. 2 (Spring, 1982), pp. 143-155Published by: University of Toronto Press on behalf of Canadian Public PolicyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3550151 .Accessed: 14/06/2014 19:07

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The Goal Effectiveness of Alberta's Preventive Social Service Program

LESLIE BELLA/Department of Recreation Administration, The University of Alberta

Alberta's Preventive Social Service Program is unique in philosophy, scope and structure, and was introduced byAlberta's Social Credit government in 1966 as part of a general reform of welfare services. The province pays 80 per cent of the cost of 'preventive' programs initiated by local governments. Part of the provincial cost is shared by the federal government under the Canada Assistance Plan. This study evaluated this unique program in terms of the goals of those policy makers who introduced PSS in 1966. The goals included preventive welfare, improved general well-being, the development of social programs,municipal autonomy,municipal social planning, voluntary involvement, stimulating self help and federal cost-sharing. This evaluation of PSS shows the contradiction between these goals, as some are emphasized at the expense of others. Recent decisions to strengthen municipal autonomy in the program may result in sacrifice of the other goals.

Le Programme de Services Sociaux Pr6ventifs de l'Alberta (SSP), 6tabli en 1966, propose une philosophie, une structure et un champ d'action uniques. C'est le Cr6dit Social albertain qui, alors parti au pouvoir dans la province, avait pr6sent6 ce programme comme une des 6tapes en vue d'une r6forme g6nerale des services sociaux. La province d6fraie 80 pour cent des cofits des programmes 'pr6ventifs' mis sur pied par les administrations locales. Une part des coots encourus par la province sont alors partag6s par le gouvernement fbderal dans le cadre du Programme d'Assistance Canadien. Le present article fait donc l'6valuation de ce programme unique, en regard des objectifs des politiciens qui ont formula le SSP en 1966. Les objectifs comprenaient alors la prevention au niveau du bien-etre social, le d6veloppement des programmes sociaux, l'autonomie municipale, la planification sociale au niveau des municipalit6s, la participation volontaire, un appel a l'auto-assistance et le partage f6d6ral des cosfts. Notre evaluation du SSP demontre des contradictions au sein de ces objectifs, dans la mesure oih certains d'entre eux sont privil6gibs aux d6pens des autres. Par exemple, des decisions r6- centes dans le but d'accroftre l'autonomie des municipalit6s dans le programme pourraient bien avoir pour resultat de sacrifier d'autres objectifs.

Alberta's Preventive Social Service Program (PSS) was introduced by the province's Social Credit government in 1966, as part of a broader reform of welfare services. The provincial government assumed responsiblity for some existing municipal welfare programs (child pro- tection, for example), and introduced a new municipal social service program that was unique in both philosophy and structure. This Preventive Social Service Program, provided for the

province to pay 80 per cent of the costs of 'preventive' social programs initiated by munici-

palities. These programs have included counselling, day care, home care, information and referral, youth programs, volunteer recruitment, and community programs of various kinds.

CANADIAN PUBLIC POLICY - ANALYSE DE POLITIQUES, VIII:2:143-155

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144 / Leslie Bella

This preventive program (PSS) was one of the few innovative social programs to survive into the more fiscally restricted seventies. PSS has been recently evaluated by both the Alberta Minister, and independently by the Univeristy of Alberta with funding from Health and Welfare Canada.' As a result of these studies the program has been expanded and retitled Alberta Family and Community Support Services Program. This paper introduces the methodology and summarizes the findings of the independent study by the University of Alberta, and comments on the relationship between these findings and the subsequent policy initiatives of the Alberta minister.

The University of Alberta study was undertaken in two stages. First, an historical and political analysis of the origins of PSS allowed reconstruction of the goals intended for the program by the politicians and administrators who designed it in 1966. The politicians (Social Credit was in power) were found to have been primarily concerned with using the program to reduce dependency and thereby prevent the welfare state. In public statements, and in interviews conducted for the study, they emphasized goals 1, 2 and 3 below, with some concern for the more general goal 4. However, welfare administrators intended that the program strengthen social services, and become part of an expanded provincial welfare state. They placed more emphasis on the instrumental or sub-goals 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. The multiple and conflicting goals for PSS were then used in stage 2 of the study by the University of Alberta, which assessed the program's effectiveness in meeting those goals over its 15 year history.

THE MULTIPLE GOALS OF PSS

Major Goals 1. Preventive Welfare: to prevent people from becoming dependent on government programs

of financial assistance; as understood by the Welfare Minister and his colleagues, to 'prevent welfare'.

2. Prevent Marriage Breakdown: to prevent separation and divorce, which were perceived as leading to dependence on government and to child welfare problems.

3. Reduce Child Welfare Intake: soaring illegitimacy rates and a structural flaw in the child welfare program were flooding the province's child welfare system. PSS and associated reforms were intended to slow this influx.

4. Promote General Social and Physical Well-being: although its meaning was not specified, a general statement of this kind was presented in most public justifications of the new PSS program.

Instrumental Goals These instrumental or sub-goals were less important to the politicians, but welfare administrators, particularly at the middle management and line level, gave them greater emphasis, often seeing them as an end in themselves. 5. Social Programs: PSS was intended to expand the range and quantity of social services

available to Albertans. These were to include day care, home care, counselling, head start, family life education and various community programs.

1 The Minister's review was three-pronged, involving parallel review committees of MLAs, provincial administrators, and local PSS staff and volunteers. The University of Alberta study was conducted by the Depart- ment of Recreation Administration, with funding over four years from the Welfare Research Grants office of Health and Welfare Canada. The Province of Alberta also assisted by providing research assistance (interviewers' salaries) through their Summer Temporary Employment Program for students.

2 Bella (1978:260-261).



Alberta's preventive social service program / 145

6. Municipally Determined Priorities: Alberta's Social Credit government emphasized the need to strengthen the municipalities, and therefore supported the local autonomy in- herent in PSS. This theme was also echoed by some of the municipalities as they became involved in the program.

7. Municipal Social Planning: if local governments were to establish their own priorities, they would need to develop the capacity for social planning. Therefore each municipality opting into PSS was required to hire a PSS director to do needs assessment and to co- ordinate local social services. In the larger centres the social planning capacity expanded to a department of six or eight professional staff.

8. Involvement of the Voluntary Social Service Sector: private social agencies feared government interference through PSS and some attempt was made to involve the private sector through policy making or advisory community boards in each PSS district.

9. Local Initiative for Self Help: many of those involved in the promotion of PSS assumed that a community development perspective was implicit in the program. During this period community development was still in vogue, but was already the subject of controversy.

10. Federal Cost Sharing: federal funding under the Canada Assistance Plan was available for some PSS projects, but not all. This was of some significance to federal welfare administrators who sought to make CAP broader and more flexible.

METHODOLOGY FOR EVALUATING GOAL EFFECTIVENESS

The stage 2 study reported here used a variety of strategies to assess the effectiveness of PSS in meeting the multiple (and in some instances conflicting) goals outlined above. 1) Existing evaluations of preventive programs in Alberta (and in some instances elsewhere) were reviewed to discover indications of their effectiveness in meeting goals 1 through 10. Alberta studies were found to be almost totally non-existent.3 Studies from elsewhere increased skepticism about the effectiveness of PSS programs.4 2) The effectiveness of PSS in meeting goals 1,2 and 3 at the macro-level was assessed through analysis of relationships between various indicators of welfare dependency, family breakdown and child welfare problems, and indicators of the growth of PSS and of socio-economic changes in Alberta. 3) The effectiveness of PSS in promoting the general social and physical well-being of Albertans (goal 4) was assessed from community surveys in three Alberta communities. These surveys attempted to discover the extent of people's knowledge of and use of PSS programs, and to obtain self-reports of the effects of these services on peoples' lives.5 4) PSS annual and other reports were used to assess the effectiveness of PSS in developing social programs (goal 5) in Alberta. 5) The effectiveness of PSS in reaching goals 5, 7, 8 and 9 was assessed from a series of eight case studies of Alberta communities. Newspaper and municipal records were studied, supplemented by on site interviews with municipal councillors, board members and employees of

3 Several evaluations did exist, but had inadequate methodology or were designed in response to a specific local problem and did not meet our needs. An example of the former was an evaluation of Edmonton's AID Service conducted by the City's Social Planning Unit (Sheehan, 1978). An example of the second is a study by the same unit of the Volunteer Action Centre in Edmonton (City of Edmonton, 1973).

4 Evaluations of delinquency prevention programs, for example, raise questions about their value. (Lundman and Scarpitti, 1978)

5 The results of these three surveys have been published as separatemonographs (Bella,1980c, 1980d, 1980e).



146 / Leslie Bella

PSS agencies.6 6) Provincial and federal documents allowed reconstruction of the development of federal cost-sharing of PSS programs (goal 10). Document analysis was supplemented by interviews with current and erstwhile federal and provincial officials.7

THE GOAL EFFECTIVENESS OF PSS

1 Preventive Welfare In 1966 this had been the most politically attractive goal of the program. However, an analysis of welfare rates in the province showed that at the macro-level this goal was not attained. Dependence on public welfare actually increased through the early years of the PSS program, probably due to the transfer of municipal welfare programs to the province, which occurred throughout the 1960s, and due to other macro-level social and economic factors. (Bella, 1980b: 17-19)

In Alberta as a whole, unemployment rates have been low, so that welfare rates have not been closely related to unemployment. However, in some regions unemployment is a problem, and here 'preventive welfare' has been interpreted as synonymous with job creation and job placement. One of the case study communities, Lac la Biche, has experienced economic de- pression for many years. Here, therefore, PSS has become involved in economic development, with the long-range objective of job creation. (Bella and Tompkins, 1980) Another region (Barons-Eureka in Southern Alberta) has had the opposite problem of a labour shortage. As a result PSS became involved in creation of a drop-in centre and job placement service for transient workers. (Bella and Dorsey, 1980a) These two of eight case studies indicate that at the micro-level where unemployment has been a concern, PSS has been sufficiently flexible to be used as its designers originally intended - to prevent welfare.

Specific program areas within PSS have been emphasized by provincial politicians because of their capacity to prevent dependency on public welfare. Day care for the children of work- ing parents, for example, has been seen as an essential adjunct to programs to prevent welfare dependency.(Bella, 1980b: 19-20) The home care program has also been recognized as preventing dependency on the public purse, as services to the sick and/or elderly in their own homes obviate or delay institutionalization. (Bella, 1980b:20-21) These two programs have been given special emphasis by the province with additional provincial funds, eventually becoming separate from PSS. With a greater apparent capacity to 'prevent' welfare, these two programs have grown beyond their parent program PSS.

While PSS has generated projects to prevent welfare at the micro-level, at the macro-level this program has not significantly reduced welfare rates in the province. Instead the opposite has occurred, with welfare rates increasing as the PSS program expanded.

2 Prevent Marriage Breakdown Those promoting the program hoped that counselling and family life education programs sponsored under PSS would prevent marriage and family breakdown. There is no evidence, however, of any relation between the expansion of PSS and, for example, divorce rates. Most of the variation in divorce rates in the province can be accounted for by various social and

6 These case studies have been published individually and include: Bella and Tompkins (1980); Bella and Bozak (1980); Bella and Dorsey (1980a) (1980b) (1980c); Bella (1980a); Dorsey (1980); Bella and Bell- Lowther (1980).

7 For fuller discussion of methodology and findings of this entire study, see the final project report (Bella, 1980b).




economic variables (prosperity, urbanization).8 The anticipation that counselling could prevent marriage breakdown was perhaps naive, and surveys conducted for this study could not identify such a preventive effect. Counselling was, however, identified by respondents as helping them to make decisions, including the decision to end a marriage. Family life education was commonly associated with a general improvement in inter-personal relations and with a strengthened self-concept.9 Neither program was described by respondents as saving their marriage.

3 Reduce Child Welfare Intake In the early 1960s the rising rates of apprehensions, both of illegitimate infants and of neg- lected children, caused the provincial welfare administrators considerable anxiety. Reforms concurrent with the introduction of PSS were intended to solve this problem. The province took over all remaining municipal child welfare functions, with the explicit intention of discouraging apprehensions. This restructuring of child welfare services, together with the legalization of birth control and the popularity of the pill, produced a reduction in child welfare intake. Therefore, although this reduction was concurrent with the growth of PSS, the preventive program has not at the macro-level been a causal factor in the reduction. While specific projects focussed on promoting birth control among the young1o and improving parenting"1 appear to have been successful at the micro (individual and small group) level, this effect cannot be shown to be causally related to reductions in child welfare intake at the provincial level.

4 Promote General Social and Physical Well-being The capacity of PSS to promote general well-being was assessed in three community surveys. A random sample of residents of the City of Edmonton, the Municipal District of Smoky River and of the Lac la Biche region were surveyed to find out how many people had used PSS programs, and to discover their experience with those programs.

The penetration of PSS into these three Alberta communities has been remarkable. In Smoky River, where expenditures on PSS have been high, the penetration of the program was greatest. Nearly 70 per cent of the households contacted had used a preventive service, and 2/3 had used a PSS associated service. Also, the program appeared to appeal to the upper income portion of the community, with use lower amongst those on low incomes. (Bella, 1980e) In Lac la Biche expenditure on PSS was only 1/4 of that in Smoky River, but even here 2/3 had used a preventive service and around half a PSS associated program. In this region, in contrast to Smoky River, the program has reached both the middle class and those on low incomes. (Bella, 1980d) In Edmonton, where private sector and provincially operated social services are also available, preventive services had been used by 50 per cent of the households contacted, with 20 per cent using a PSS associated service. (Bella, 1980c)

Notable in terms of goal 4, the promotion of general social and physical well-being, most of those who had been involved in a PSS program were positive in their comments. The projects were perceived as predominantly helpful, with less than 10 per cent indicating some

8 Bella (1980b: 15-16). The reforms of 1968 caused a sharp increase in the divorce rate, but it continues to grow steadily.

9 Bella (1980c), (1980d), (1980e). 10 A birth control and information program was successful in Lethbridge, but was terminated after a stormy

history of conflict with conservative community mores. (Bella and Bozak, 1980). 11 Family life education program users did report improved relationships with their children. See surveys cited

in footnote 5 above.



148 / Leslie Bella

problem with the services received. Considering the small proportion of both municipal and provincial funds committed to this program,12 the extent to which it reaches into the homes and lives of Albertans seems remarkable. The program seems to have overcome the stigma so often associated with social services and to have made available to a cross section of the community a range of educational, social and recreational programs. Although PSS cannot be proved 'preventive' in the narrow sense of preventing welfare dependency, marriage breakdown or child welfare intake, the program does appear to have had a generally beneficent effect on the well-being of many Albertans.

INSTRUMENTAL GOALS

5 Social Programs In 1966, when PSS was introduced, social services in the provinces were underdeveloped. There were few provincial programs, and municipal and voluntary programs were almost non- existent beyond the major centres of Edmonton and Calgary. PSS was intended to develop new programs, to meet needs emerging across the province. By 1980 the province provided through PSS nearly $10 million a year to municipal and voluntary social agencies, with an additional $6.4 million contributed to day care programs that had originally been supported through PSS. By 1980 52 Alberta communities, with 83 per cent of the province's population, had entered into agreements to provide preventive services. These communities together operated 301 projects, with expenditures averaging $5.00 per capita across the province, but as high as $20.00 (in Smoky River). (Bella, 1980b:33-34)

These projects included day care and school readiness programs, although both are now operated entirely by the province. Home care services, counselling, community work, family life education, information centres, and drop-ins for seniors and for youth have all been successfully developed under PSS. PSS has certainly met goal 5, the development of social programs. The success of these programs, however, was to be dependent on the success of PSS in goals 6, 7, 8 and 9 - success in strengthening municipal autonomy, developing municipal social planning, involving the voluntary social service sector and in stimulating local initiative for self help.

6 Municipally Determined Priorities Because of Social Credit philosophy, local autonomy was a key word in the PSS program. But, local governments have not had the decision capacity originally intended by the politicians who introduced PSS. Five strategies have been used by the province to influence or control municipal priorities: rejection of municipal proposals, a provincial priority system providing additional funds in selected areas, supervision by provincial field consultants, provincial takeover of successful municipal programs, and a no-growth budget. 1) While not officially requiring specific structures and programs, where an agency did not meet the official image of a PSS agency (as in Barons-Eureka) the provincial officials have im- posed both programs and structures.13 2) Provincial priorities in the areas of day care and seniors led to provision of additional funds in these areas in 1975-76. This also contravened the principle of allowing municipalities

12 $1,916,000 provincial expenditure in 1970, or 2.2% of the province's welfare budget. Bella (1978:104). 13 Bella and Dorsey (1980a). Provincial officials resisted the Barons-Eureka proposal to link PSS with the

local health unit. After ministerial intervention a compromise was introduced, requiring that Barons-Eureka open a branch office. More recently provincial officials have refused to let Barons-Eureka hire another counsellor, and have instead provided funds for a community development worker.




to determine priorities. The lack of lead time led to budget under-expenditures in the priority areas. A number of project titles were manipulated to fall within the priority category. 3) Although frustration at the extent of form filling required continues to be expressed at the field level, supervision by provincial consultants has not interfered with local program operations. The exception is in Barons-Eureka, where Branch mistrust of the representativeness of local decision structures has led to closer supervision by consultants and a tendency to re- ject PSS project proposals. Otherwise consultants are seen as mildly helpful sounding boards. 4) Provincial takeover of major program areas of PSS (school readiness, day care, and to a less extent home care) has also weakened the municipal capacity for determining its own priorities. This problem is particularly felt in Edmonton, where both the co-ordinated home care program and day care were developed to a high standard under PSS. The City has openly criticized the provincial government. This tendency is possibly based in the Liberal dominance of Edmonton City Council, which lends a partisan flavour to conflicts between City and province. However, the day care initiatives in 1980 also met with disapproval in Calgary and other municipalities, so the province may have moved too far in removing municipal powers. 5) The PSS programs remaining after day care, preschool programs and home care have been removed leave a small area for local determination of priorities. In this small remaining area there is capacity for creative response to local needs, if the province will allow PSS funding to expand beyond the rate of inflation. If, however the program remains in a no-growth posi- tion Alberta's PSS programs will wither away. There is some indication of more expansion following the generally positive recommendations of the minister's review committees.

7 Municipal Social Planning Three forms of municipal social planning have expanded under PSS: social service co-ordination, social service development, and a variety of broader approaches to social planning. The effectiveness of social planning was found to be influenced by two factors: the homogeneity of the community, and political versus administrative control of the PSS program. Social service co-ordination was found to be most effective when administrative control of the program was high and political control was weak. Similarly, strong advocacy by social planners was also most evident under these conditions. However, these are also conditions which are contrary to other principles in the PSS program suggesting that it be an instrument of municipal government and responsive to the local democratic process.

When the converse was true, when political control of the program was maximized, the impact of social planners of service co-ordination was weakened. Less value was placed on their technical expertise. High political control in a community that was heterogeneous and divided led to a more neutral stance by social planners, who avoided being caught in contro- versies. In such situations services appeared to develop in response to the demands of the vocal majority, rather than the needs of silent minorities identified through the technical expertise of social planners.14

Those who created PSS in Alberta hoped that good social planning would result, but without realizing that this could conflict with other objectives for the program, particularly their wish for municipal government (and therefore political) control of the program.

The last problem with PSS sponsored social planning is its ever shrinking capacity. As the municipalities lose more of their social services to province-wide standards and programs, the scope for municipal social planning also shrinks. The municipalities cannot plan for services

14 Calgary and Lethbridge PSS programs are more politically controlled, and planners accept a more neutral role than in other communities studied. This has resulted in difficulties in getting programs under way for less privileged or less articulate minorities. (Bella, 1980a; Bella and Bozak, 1980)



150 / Leslie Bella

that are beyond their jurisdiction; nor can they plan for services that remain their responsibil- ity, but for which they have insufficient funds.

8 Involvement of the Voluntary Social Service Sector The growth of government involvement in social service has been associated in some minds with the death of voluntarism. Private agencies had feared government interference through PSS, and some attempt was made to involve the private sector in the program from its in- ception.

The growth of government can affect voluntarism in several ways. Private sector agencies become the administrators of programs legislated by government, and lose their autonomy; and the paid social service system employee replaces the support system provided by neigh- bour or the extended family. These effects remain a concern of the current minister of Alberta Social Services and Community Health, Bob Bogle.

Voluntary sector involvement in PSS was to be through a local committee or board, to guide the program. But inclusion of representatives from voluntary agencies in these committees has not been feasible, except with umbrella agencies purporting to represent all voluntary sector interests. Only in Edmonton has involvement of the United Way and the Social Plan- ning Council allowed for volunteer sector involvement through the PSS committee.1s Even here, however, private sector agencies have been dissatisfied with the remoteness of this committee's decision process. (Bella and Bell-Lowther, 1980)

While the formal voluntary social service sector has not been successfully involved in the PSS committees, many community members have been involved in such committees across the province. Whether as part of a voluntary role as a municipal councillor, or because of a particular interest in social services, individual volunteers have manned the PSS committees and guided the development of PSS in their communities. Volunteer involvement, therefore, if not voluntary agency involvement, persists at the policy level of local PSS programs.

PSS has, however, encouraged the growth of the private sector social agencies in the major cities of Alberta. The agencies continue to receive voluntary donations and to retain the ad- vantages of private agency status, but with the stability of an income from government. PSS has provided government funds to these agencies, but with more stability than usually associated with government patronage, and without the restrictions associated with responsibilities for administration of a statutory government program. Through PSS the province funds the voluntary sector 'at arm's length,' allowing it some autonomy.

In many communities PSS has created a voluntary sector where none previously existed. These include many genuine voluntary social agencies with autonomous boards and a variety of funding sources in addition to PSS. In other cases the agencies have been 'pseudo' voluntary, formally tied to a municipal PSS agency but with community advisory boards with varying degrees of autonomy. In some of these communities (e.g., Lethbridge and Calgary) it is realistic to talk of a public/private sector partnership, with balance of funding from public and private sources. (Bella, 1980a) In other communities, such as Edmonton and Barons-Eureka, the voluntary social service sector has not been strengthened.

The impact of PSS on the voluntary sector varies, depending on local decisions about the allocation of PSS funds. These decisions are in turn affected by the structure of PSS Boards chosen by the local community. The choice of structure is a local political decision, reflecting the local structure of power and local political values. Therefore, PSS structures were chosen

15 In Calgary a committee involving a cross section of voluntary sector interests failed to reach internal agree- ment on the allocation of funds, and also came into conflict with the PSS director. (Bella, 1980a)




to produce the balance of voluntary/public sector services that political leaders found desir- able. In Calgary as a result, where a market ethos governs service development, there eventually developed a structure that would allow decisions to assist private and commercial social service agencies to flourish. Edmonton, with a more statist philosophy, introduced PSS board structure giving more priority to the technical expertise of municipal administrators. The result is a strong municipal social service sector in the northern City. Therefore, the contri- bution of PSS to the voluntary social service sector varied with the value placed upon that sector by local politicians (and their electorates).

PSS agencies in Alberta have strengthened voluntarism at the level of individual service to society. Volunteer recruitment and referral is funded through PSS in Edmonton and in Strathcona. All local programs studied use volunteers in the front line of social service delivery: lay counsellors, meals-on-wheels, information and distress line counsellors, neighbourly visiting, leadership in educational and recreation programs (family life education, family planning, teen programs, seniors' programs, playschools). Many of these services have tradi- tionally been provided by neighbours, or by members of the church or extended family. The development of PSS has not prevented this mutual support, but has strengthened it. (Bella, 1980b: 106-120)

In urban society many people do not know their neighbours or live near their extended family. Many also lack meaningful contact with a church or community association. In a mobile society newcomers arrive without roots or ties, unknown to their new neighbours. Most of Alberta is urban and mobile, and structures are needed to help a town of newcomers become a town of neighbours. A system is needed to link those who need to help with those who need help. Preventive Social Services can provide such a system, and the case studies selected for this evaluation showed that PSS is indeed helping volunteers to find opportunities to make best use of their talents.

9 Local Initiative for Self Help Four forms of community development were identified in the various PSS programs studied here. 1) Community development as economic development: this theme was of major importance in the origin of community development in less developed countries and in less advantaged rural communities in North America.16 2) Community development as community organization and integration: this theme was emphasized in the social welfare literature.17 3) Community development as the attainment of power by the poor through conflict: this theme emerged from the work of Alinsky (1972), from the War on Poverty, and from the black and the youth movements in North America. 4) Community development as program development: this theme became dominant as human service professionals began to use the techniques and methods of community development as a means for expanding their own programs.

All four forms of community development have been sponsored by PSS in the cases studied. In an economically depressed region such as Lac la Biche, PSS focussed on economic development. In communities within large urban areas, community organization and integration could be fostered through community development funded under PSS. The conflict or power- oriented form of community development was effectively sponsored by PSS when the target

16 As, for example, in northern Manitoba. See Lagasse (1971:226-246). 17 As emphasized in Biddle and Biddle (1967).



152 / Leslie Bella

was outside the PSS jurisdiction (e.g., the provincial or federal government), but endangered the PSS program when the target was internal.18 This was a particular problem in small communities where PSS workers lacked anonymity.

Community development remains the major form of program development in many of the examples studied. Not all municipalities, however, adopt the community development approach to the initiation and administration of all social service projects. The major projects in Edmonton and Barons-Eureka, for example, were initiated by the municipal agencies rather than by community groups, and continue to be administered as local government agencies. In some communities PSS has been involved in all four forms of community development. The choice of approach has been made at the local level, depending on local conditions and degree of consensus.

10 Federal Cost-Sharing Although Alberta's preventive social service program was introduced coincidentally with CAP in 1966, the provincial program was not dependent on the federal initiative. Rather, the reverse was true. The federal government only included in CAP programs which were already being provided. (Bella, 1979)

Alberta's PSS program fell partly under CAP, but only when some adjustments were negotiated. The federal government still could not share all the costs, and Alberta officials were careful not to allow federal cost-sharing to distort provincial priorities. As a result federal officials became increasingly aware of a need to revamp CAP to encompass the new programs being developed in Alberta and elsewhere. The Social Services Bill of 1977 acknowl- edged this, and proposed to include a wider range of social services, and to loosen the tie between social assistance and federal cost-sharing.19

The provincial governments (particularly British Columbia) did not want another federal program to dictate provincial priorities in the social services area. Subsequent proposals died on the order paper, and CAP remains in place. In some provinces federal leadership under CAP was effective in stimulating the development and improvement of social services. In Alberta, however, the federal leadership was after-the-fact, providing funding for programs already in place, trying to catch up with the new provincial programs as they were introduced. (Bella, 1980b: 138-145)

CONCLUSION

The University of Alberta's study of PSS concluded that the program has not achieved several of its major goals at a macro-level, but was more successful at a micro-level and with instrumental or subgoals. Preventing welfare dependency and marriage breakdown were not realistic goals, at least not at the macro-level. However, the program was sufficiently flexible to produce some solutions to welfare dependency at the micro-level, at the level of the individual and of his/her community.

The third major goal, that of reducing child welfare intake was achieved, although this success was more due to structural reforms associated with PSS and to more available birth control, rather than to PSS itself.

The program has touched many lives, a surprisingly large number considering the low financial investment in the program, and has had generally positive effects. Within the limits of

18 Exemplified in the Lac la Biche case study. 19 The Alberta Deputy Minister involved in the reforms of 1966, Duncan Rogers, was also deeply involved in

the federal review that led to the design of the 1977 Bill.




its own resources the program can therefore be said to have had some effect in reaching the fourth major goal, improving physical and mental well-being.

The program has also been successful, in varying degrees, in achieving all the instrumental goals. PSS has established social programs; permitted some municipal autonomy; funded municipal social planning; strengthened volunteerism; and provided opportunities for community development. Some of this was even done with federal cost-sharing.

However, PSS has not been able to achieve all these goals at the same time. When one goal has been emphasized in a community, it has been at the expense of another. In Lac la Biche. for example, community development was emphasized, for both the region and its communities need economic and social development. However, social planning and social service development were sacrificed. In Edmonton social planning was well advanced, but the voluntary sector was not strengthened by PSS. In Smoky River, Lethbridge and Calgary the program was responsive to the local democratic system, but sacrificed sensitivity to silent minorities. In Barons-Eureka the development of social programs was a top priority, but political responsiveness, volunteerism and community development were sacrificed. These decisions about the form the program should take have been made by the politicians and administrators in Alberta's municipalities, not by the province. This is the way it should be, for the program was intended to provide for municipal autonomy.

This municipal autonomy caused problems for the province, however, for local priorities have not always matched those of the province. The provincial government has intervened to standardize the major programs in home care and daycare, and to develop a province-wide kindergarten program. Some municipalities have welcomed these initiatives, as they welcome any help to lighten the municipal burden. Others, however, have resented the reduction in their decision making capacity. If the province wishes to have a standard province-wide program, then only an administrative role remains for the municipalities.

The municipalities in Alberta are becoming increasingly administrative arms of the province, with less financial and statutory autonomy. The direction taken in PSS is but one example of a trend that can also be seen in education, transportation, planning, and health services. Policy initiatives, such as those in the social service area, remove opportunities for municipal decision making. Provincial financial help tied to specific projects (roads, birthdays, seniors) forces decisions upon the municipalities. These provincial give-aways encourage municipal irresponsibility and discourage municipal planning. The lack of a stable funding source also decreases municipal decision making capacity, for even if the municipality can develop a policy or program it does not have the constitutional or financial capacity to carry it out.

The University study concluded that the problems with the PSS program in Alberta were those facing local government rather than PSS per se. The program was as weak as local government itself. Lack of decision making capacity breeds irresponsibility, and as a result municipalities were not respected political institutions. Part-time non-partisan councils lacked the time and the cohesion for policy making. Decisions were either ad hoc responses to noisy interest groups, or acquiesced with the proposals of senior administrators. PSS, embedded in the local government process, experienced all these weaknesses.

But, the report continued, PSS also had the strengths of local government. Responsiveness to special interests could also be seen as sensitivity to community needs and aspirations; administrative input could guide municipal officials to wise social policies. The value one placed on Alberta's Preventive Social Service program was a reflection of the value one placed on local government. If local government, with all its problems, was worth supporting and strengthening, then so was PSS. If local government was more trouble than it was worth, then the provincial government should have all the important functions, and PSS was not



154 / Leslie Bella

worth provincial support. PSS survived for over a decade, because it was embedded in local government. PSS would only be worthwhile if local government was also strengthened and supported. (Bella, 1980b:155-157)

One of the Minister's review committees met with the University research team, and the Minister himself discussed its conclusions with the research director. His own decisions about the future of PSS have shown that he shared the researcher's concern about the need for strengthened municipal autonomy. A new Act, the Alberta Family and Community Support Services Act, now restores some of the municipal autonomy originally intended for the program by the Social Credit minister who introduced PSS in 1966. The local municipalities are given more room for determining funding allocations by project, and have also been given more money.

However, by strengthening local autonomy, the minister has sacrificed his opportunity to maximize efforts to achieve other goals. Increased local autonomy, for example, precludes the Minister requiring strengthened volunteer input, or requiring a certain expertise in social planning, or insisting on a self-help approach. For the long-term vitality of this municipal program, his decision is correct. However, such a decision leaves each municipality to set it's own priorities, whether it be with one or more of the goals originally intended for the program, or with further locally defined goals. The University of Alberta's study of the program's goal effectiveness revealed considerable diversity between communities, in programs, priorities, structure and philosophy. Under the new program this diversity can be expected to increase.

REFERENCES

Alinsky, S. (1972) Rules for Radicals (Vintage) Bella, L. (1978) The Origins of Alberta's Preventive Social Service Program (University of

Alberta, Department of Recreation Administration) (1979) 'The Provincial Role in the Canadian Welfare State,' Canadian Public Admini-

tration, Fall, 22:3:439-452. (1980a) A Case Study of Preventive Social Services Development in Calgary (University

of Alberta, Department of Recreation Administration) - (1980b) The Development of Alberta's Preventive Social Service Program, A Study in

Goal Effectiveness (University of Alberta, Department of Recreation Administration) (1980c) The Use of Preventive Social Services in the City of Edmonton (University of

Alberta, Department of Recreation Administration) (1980d) The Use of Preventive Social Services in the Lac la Biche Region (University

of Alberta, Department of Recreation Administration) (1980e) The Use of Preventive Social Services in the Municipal District of Smoky River

(University of Alberta, Department of Recreation Administration) Bella, L. and E. Bell-Lowther (1980) Case Study No. 7: The City of Edmonton (University

of Alberta, Department of Recreation Administration) Bella, L. and N. Bozak (1980) Case Study No. 3, Social Service Planning in Lethbridge

(University of Alberta, Department of Recreation Administration) Bella, L. and C. Dorsey (1980a) Barons-Eureka Social Services and Preventive Social Services

(University of Alberta, Department of Recreation Administration) (1980b) Case Study No.6: The County of Strathcona (University of Alberta, Depart-

ment of Recreation Adminsitration) (1980c) The Municipal District of Smoky River (University of Alberta, Department of

Recreation Administration)




Bella, L. and B. Tompkins (1980) Case Study No. 2: The Lac la Biche Region (University of Alberta, Department of Recreation Administration)

Biddle, W.W. and L.J. Biddle (1967) The Community Development Process; The Rediscovery of Local Initiative (Holt Reinhart and Winston)

City of Edmonton. Social Service Department (1973) Evaluative Report of VolunteerAction Centre of Edmonton, May.

Dorsey, C. (1980) A Case Study of a Non-P.S.S. Area: County of Mountainview (University of Alberta, Department of Recreation Administration)

Lagasse, J.H. (1971) 'The First Years of Community Development in Manitoba' in J.A. Draper (ed.) Citizen Participation in Canada (New Press)

Lundman, R.J. and F.R. Scarpitti (1978) 'Delinquency Prevention: Recommendations for Future Projects,' Crime and Delinquency, April, XXVI:207-220.

Ross, M.G. (1967) Community Organization: Theory, Principles and Practice, 2nd ed. (Harper and Row)

Sheehan, Peggy (1978) A.I.D. Service of Edmonton: A Descriptive Evaluation (Edmonton Social Services, Social Planning Unit)

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Article Contentsp. [143]p. 144p. 145p. 146p. 147p. 148p. 149p. 150p. 151p. 152p. 153p. 154p. 155

Issue Table of ContentsCanadian Public Policy / Analyse de Politiques, Vol. 8, No. 2 (Spring, 1982), pp. i-ii+143-280Front Matter [pp. i-256]The Goal Effectiveness of Alberta's Preventive Social Service Program [pp. 143-155]The Economic Enigma of the Tar Sands [pp. 156-164]Should Performers Have a Copyright? [pp. 165-180]Can We Live with Monetary Discipline for Another Decade? [pp. 181-188]Federal Indian Policy and Indian Self-Government in Canada: An Analysis of a Current Proposal [pp. 189-199]Extra-Billing and Physician Remuneration: A Paradox [pp. 200-206]Tribunals, Politics, and the Public Interest: The Edmonton Annexation Case [pp. 207-221]The Newfoundland Groundfishery: Some Options for Renewal [pp. 222-238]Planning for Remote Communities: A Case Study of Housing Need Assessment [pp. 239-247]Views and Comments / CommentairesTax Expenditures and the MacEachen Budget [pp. 248-252]"Room for Manoeuvre": A Comment [pp. 253-255]

Reviews / Comptes rendusReview: untitled [p. 257]Review: untitled [pp. 257-258]Review: untitled [pp. 258-259]Review: untitled [pp. 259-260]Review: untitled [pp. 260-261]Review: untitled [pp. 261-262]Review: untitled [pp. 262-263]Review: untitled [pp. 263-264]Review: untitled [pp. 264-265]Review: untitled [pp. 265-266]Review: untitled [pp. 266-267]Review: untitled [pp. 267-268]Review: untitled [pp. 268-269]Review: untitled [pp. 269-270]Review: untitled [pp. 270-271]Review: untitled [pp. 271-272]Review: untitled [pp. 272-273]Review: untitled [pp. 273-274]Review: untitled [pp. 274-275]Review: untitled [pp. 275-276]Review: untitled [pp. 276-278]Review: untitled [p. 278]Review: untitled [pp. 278-279]Books Received / Livres Recus [pp. 279-280]

Back Matter

Documents

The Goal Effectiveness of Alberta's Preventive Social Service Program