Course Title: SW 338 –Social Welfare Agency Administration

Week 1

Section 3: Social Welfare Agency

 Social welfare agency

o It is a structured framework within which the administrative tasks are
carried out. It is an instrument of society, established through government
initiative or through voluntary efforts to achieve a social goal.
o Several people see an unmet need, want to meet that need, get community
permission to meet that need, and accept legal responsibility for seeing
that the resources secured, or made available, and are used for the specific
purpose for which they were given rather than for some other purpose.

 Types of Social Welfare Agencies

o Governmental or public agencies –organization supported by public funds
or taxes
o Private or voluntary agencies –organization supported by private
contributions or donations or income from services. These are popularly
referred to as non-governmental organizations
o Semi-government or quasi-governmental organizations –organizations that
receive some form of subsidy, either in cash or kind, from the government.

 Characteristics of Public Agencies

o Created through constitutional mandate, legislative act, executive order,
presidential decree, or letter of instruction.
o Their existence, functions, and programs are created by law or executive
order hence may only be changed or modified by law or executive order.
o Their organizational structure is bureaucratic and less flexible than private
agencies.
o They must conform to government procedures, especially the accounting
and auditing of funds, property, and other resources.

 Characteristics of Private Agencies

o Organized as a form of response of private organizations to meet people’s
needs in the community.
o They may have been established by sectarian or non-sectarian
organizations
o They are governed by their own charters, constitution, and by-laws and by
a governing board.
o Their organizational structures do not generally follow a bureaucratic
pattern and therefore are more flexible in their policies and programs that
enable them to readilty respond to people and community needs.
o Private agencies can pioneer and initiate demonstration projects which
may subsequently be turned over the government. The latter can adopt the
 program on a larger scale with more available resources and
organizational capacity.

 Nature of Social Welfare Agencies

o Social welfare agencies must be viewed both as administrative
bureaucracies and as social systems. They are administrative
bureaucracies in that they are established to attain specific goals, and their
internal structures, technologies, and procedures are designed to
implement theses goals.