Shimon E. Spiro

Sustainability of Social Programs A Comparative Case Study Analysis

The article reports on the findings of a comparative case study of six projects that operated in Israel between 1980 and 2000. The study findings identify characteristics of the programs, the host organizations, and the social and political environment, which differentiated programs that are sustained from those that are not. The findings reaffirm the importance of the human factor, namely, the commitment of the leadership of the host organization. In addition, the findings of these case studies point to factors that until now have not gained sufficient attention, such as the type of host organization or public attitudes toward different target populations.

Predictors of Sustainability of Social Programs

This article presents the findings of a large scale study that tested a comprehensive model of predictors of three manifestations of sustainability: continuation, institutionalization, and duration. Based on the literature the predictors were arrayed in four groups: variables pertaining to the project, the auspice organization, the community, and the main funder. The total sample consisted of 197 projects. Informants were asked to fill out a detailed questionnaire, pertaining to the predictor and outcome variables. The findings show both a different model of predictors for each manifestation of sustainability and commonalities among them. Both financial and human factors were involved in all the manifestations of sustainability. Of the financial factors, diversity of funding sources was the most prominent. Of the human factors, the findings highlight the strong role played by the auspice organization’s management and by the main initial funder.

Negative psychometric outcomes: Self-report measures and a follow-up telephone survey

To assess the effectiveness of the Koach project, two groups of subjects, comprising the 40 Koach participants and 40 PTSD veterans who served as controls, were examined 1 year before Koach and 9 months afterwards. In addition, the Koach participants were also assessed immediately before and immediately following the project. The self-report measures focused on PTSD symptomatology, post-traumatic intrusion and avoidance, general psychiatric symptomatology, social functioning and perceived self-efficacy in combat. Participation in Koach led to improvement in one area only: perceived self-efficacy in combat. The measures of emotional distress and psychiatric symptomatology indicated that patients treated in Koach fared worse than untreated PTSD controls. In addition, in order to assess the long-term impact of the program, 36 Koach participants were surveyed by phone approximately 2 years after the residential stage of the project. Military functioning, family life, work, and psychiatric symptomatology were assessed. Findings indicate that most of the participants had not returned to their prewar level of functioning.

Social work education in Israel: Trends and issues

Social work education in Israel has been strongly influenced by North American models and by an early decision to integrate it into the university system. The result is a constant tension between the objectives of academic excellence and social relevance. The schools of social work have still to find the right balance between the theoretical and practical aspects of social work education, and to cope adequately with the multi-cultural nature of Israeli society. New challenges are posed by rapid developments in legislation, service technology and the economics of the welfare system.

AGREEMENT BETWEEN THERAPISTS AND CLIENTS IN EVALUATING THERAPY AND ITS OUTCOMES: LITERATURE REVIEW

This paper reviews 41 studies published since the 1950s that deal with agreement between therapists and their clients in their evaluation of problems, process, and outcomes of therapy. The results indicate that there is great variability in the extent to which clients and therapists agree in evaluating various dimensions of therapy. The extent of agreement reported depended primarily on how agreement was measured. Future research should standardize the definition and measurement of client-therapist agreement. Studies should be conducted to test the different hypotheses about reasons for agreement and disagreement and to help understand the meaning of client-therapist agreement in the therapeutic context.

Dimensions and Correlates of Client Satisfaction: An Evaluation of a Shelter for Runaway and Homeless Youth.

Client satisfaction surveys give clients a voice in the planning and management of services. While their use is quite widespread, they have hardly at all been used in the evaluation of shelters for homeless youths. In this article, the authors present findings of a client satisfaction survey conducted among residents of a shelter for homeless youths in Tel Aviv, Israel, shortly after their departure from the shelter. Satisfaction was affected mainly by three aspects of life in the shelter—the staff, the food, and the other residents. Satisfaction was related to adjustment to the shelter but not to outcomes. The survey highlights the potential and limitations of client satisfaction surveys with young persons in distress.

Goal Focused Evaluation Lessons from a Study of a Shelter for Homeless Youth

This article revisits a longstanding controversy regarding the place of organizational goals in evaluation. While early writers saw goals as the yardstick against which outcomes are measured, others argued for a goal free evaluation. We propose a Goal Focused Evaluation, which acknowledges the problematic relationship that may exist between a programs declared and operative goals. It assumes that a comprehensive evaluation of a programs effectiveness is often best achieved by identifying both types of goals and possible gaps between them, thus enabling organizational stakeholders to refocus program goals, rechannel resources and, if desired, contract a ‘second stage’ evaluation of the newly reshaped goals. The article examines the processes, benefits and limitations of a Goal Focused approach to the evaluation of social programs, as it was applied in a study of a shelter for homeless youth in Tel Aviv.

Shelters for houseless youth: a follow-up evaluation.

This study followed 345 Israeli youngsters who had been residents of two shelters for runaway and homeless youths, 6-12 weeks after their departure. Telephone interviews were conducted with the youngsters, their parents, and social workers in the community. A majority of the youngsters had either returned to their family homes, or had been placed out of home. Their residential stability was found to be low. Post-shelter place of residence was related to length of stay at the shelter, amount of contact with their family while at the shelter, and manner of departure. Our findings lead to a typology of shelter uses, and also raise questions about the extent to which shelters achieve their declared goals.

Social and Commercial Ventures: A Comparative Analysis of Sustainability

Abstract This study explores common and different aspects of sustainability, in terms of survival and growth, between social and commercial ventures. The effects of nonhuman factors between a sample of social ventures and a sample of commercial ventures taken from the same environment in Israel were compared. Social ventures showed higher likelihood to survive and grow. Findings exhibit interesting similarities between the two types of entrepreneurship in regard to the significant effect of early market or community acceptance and the non-effect of early funding diversity on venture long-term sustainability. Further research is suggested to substantiate these findings and to explore other aspects of comparison between social and commercial entrepreneurship.

Immigrants in a Restructuring Economy: A Partial Test of Theories

The article addresses the occupational integration of immigrants from the former USSR into the economy of the city of Tel Aviv. This process is examined from a structural perspective, which focuses on the location of immigrants as a group in the restructuring economy of Israel’s main business centre. Data from labour force surveys and income surveys conducted in 1992 and 1994 by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics are used to analyse the distribution of veteran Israelis and recent immigrants among economic sectors and occupations. Despite their superior academic and professional qualifications, immigrants were underrepresented in the business and financial services sector, the leading sector in post-industrial economies. They were most strongly represented in the personal services sector, where they replaced Palestinian workers. The findings lend support to both the restructuring and replacement hypotheses.