Question

Discuss the pros and cons of the federal, state, and local government funding human service programs. Should they continue to do so, or should it be the responsibility of concerned citizens to “care for their own”?

Answer 1

Many people experience hardship and need help. This help is provided by a network of agencies and organizations, both public and private. These agencies and organisations include nonprofits, NGOs, charitable associations and philanthropic initiatives. Staffed by human service workers, this network, and the kinds of help it offers, is as varied as the clients it serves. Human services tend to be as broad as the needs and problems of the client base. Human service workers help clients become more self-sufficient. They may do this by helping them learn new skills or by recommending resources that allow them to care for themselves or work to overcome setbacks. These workers also help clients who are unable to care for themselves, such as children and the elderly, by coordinating the provision of their basic needs

Association with government financing has been appeared to significantly expand pressure on charitable associations to professionalize their activities and to bring a level of bureaucratization into significantly littler, progressively casual associations. Government offices frequently incorporate thorough evaluative and administrative conditions in their agreements to guarantee consistency in the conveyance of administrations.

These determinations incorporate money related administration and bookkeeping necessities, support of least quality principles, advancement of fundamental program destinations, and adherence to certain national approach objectives, for example, natural insurance   what's more, equivalent chance. To meet these complex administrative and   formal procedural necessities, numerous charities must depend more on experienced proficient staff and less on volunteers. As a result, some have considered open to be as encouraging the   bureaucratization and professionalization of philanthropic associations.

The requirement for expanded professionalization and administration may result from an expanding of the customer base. At the point when charities   acknowledge government subsidizing, they frequently consent to serve customers who   are not the same as those the association had recently served. To accommodate these customers, charities should regularly develop and expand the capabilities of their staff and bolster them sufficiently. The expanded pay costs that philanthropies bring about could conceivably be repaid by government.

When government agencies delay in approving contracts or grant payments, cash flow problems are often imposed on recipient organizations. These delays are particularly hard for smaller organizations and new entrants to withstand because they do not have built-in mechanisms to deal with unpredictable and delayed funding cycles. Beyond having to wait for payments, nonprofits are forced to accept reimbursements that do not cover all their costs.

While government funding clearly imposes administrative costs on nonprofit organizations, the impact of government funding may need to be understood within the context of a two-way relationship. Nonprofits and public agencies showed virtually identical degrees of resource dependence on each other. Despite this symmetry, both sides experienced some loss of autonomy as interdependent relationships were forged that linked their fate. In managing this relationship, however, public sector agencies do have one substantial advantage over nonprofits that creates a major differential in power: the ability to impose oversight and auditing requirements. Government has long resorted to accounting controls and reporting procedures that increase the burden on nonprofit organizations, without always providing effective means of oversight for the government . One of the most visible forms of accounting oversight is the audit requirement. Nonprofit organizations are subjected to two types of audits. Financial audits are conducted to ensure that there is complete material disclosure and that accounts are maintained according to the stipulated accounting and financial reporting standards. Performance audits attempt to ascertain the efficiency, effectiveness, and accomplishments of a nonprofit in view of its mission. These audits are prepared by independent auditors in compliance with the generally accepted government auditing standards.