Expanding Children's Society Services

Section 1: Introduction

Background/Context

This report will analyze the Children’s Society of UK approaches in regard to increasing the number of at-risk children that they can cater for. The Children’s Society of UK caters for at-risk children. At-risk children are individuals below the age of 18-years-old who come from highly dysfunctional families where it is unsafe for them to live in such an environment. It is usually unsafe for them to live in such environments due to the possibility or the existence of physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal and psychological abuse, and many other patterns of abuses that are detrimental to their overall well-being. Increasing the number of children the Children’s Society of the UK is important because of the increasing number of at-risk-children. In 2018, the society catered for 11,031 children while a further 13,492 children were reached too (The Children’s Society 2018). The number of children that society helped in relation to the number of at-risk children is significantly low. Bulman(b) (2018) notes that there are more than 1.6 million children in serious risk households where they are left to fend for themselves. Therefore, while society does cater to a number of children, there are many more out there who need their help. There is a number of policies and laws such as The Children Act of 1989 and the Children’s Act of 2004 whose purpose is to protect at-risk children from general abuse (Thulaseedharan 2013). However, even with the prevalence of the laws, there are many more at-risk children.

Aim of the Report

The aim of the report is to explore the manner through which the number of at-risk children being catered for by The Children’s Society of the UK can be increased.

The rationale of the Report

The report intends to provide key information as to why changing and increasing to the number of children being catered for is important. To that end, the report will explore and consider the necessary elements that are needed to produce a proper strategy of implementation, including the key factors that must be taken into account if the proposed change is going to be successful. If the change is not successful the number of at-risk children that are not catered for will continue to increase.

Areas Covered

A situational analysis will be covered to asses the internal and external factors that affect the operations of the Children’s Society. A problem identification shall be carried out, and it shall be the first step in identifying and describing the issues that the Children’s society faces as well as the factors that are preventing the changes from being achieved. A SWOT analysis shall be carried out as a means of problem identification. The situation for change will describe the transformation that addresses the problem that has been identified in the problem identification sector of the paper. An assessment of the drivers and resistors of change shall be carried out. Determining the drivers and the resistors for change will help guide in designing and implementing a plan that is designed to focus on the aspects that will increase the chances of the change being successful. Strategy implementation shall also be covered, and Kotter’s 8-step model shall be used to articulate the activities that the Children’s society can do to deliver a strategic change. The Theory of Change shall also be covered, and it shall demonstrate how the change is expected to happen and the path which the change is expected to follow.

Section 2: Situational Analysis

There is a number of internal and external factors that affect the Children’s Society in the UK. In particular, there are three critical areas that require discussion. The purpose of the situational analysis is to understand better the factors that affect the operation of the society and most significantly to understand the factors that are limiting them from effectively achieving their strategic objectives.

Child Poverty

Poverty is a key factor that affects the workings of children’s society in the UK. Inman and Booth (2019) observe that in the 2017-18 year the number of children that live in poverty has increased drastically due to increasing inflation in the country. The latest figure shows that around 4.1 million children are living in relative poverty (Inman and Booth 2019). Child poverty is the experience of material deficiency and the lack of resources, financial or otherwise, which can deny children a proper and adequate standard of living, which then robs them of the ability to fully participation in society (Butler 2018). Poverty in and of itself may not be an issue since there have always been poor people as recorded by history. The effects that poverty has on the children is why poverty is a factor that affects the operation of the children’s society. Tucker (2018) notes that there are several detrimental effects of child poverty and they include but are not limited to having poor overall physical health, experiencing mental health problems, having a low sense of self-esteem, underachieving at school, being stigmatized and bullied in school, and having employment difficulties in their adult life. The cost and the effect are too high for children since they have not achieved physical and cognitive maturation which means that they are not equipped to deal with the issues that they are experiencing. Poverty plays a big and significant role in affecting how the children’s society operates because of the majority of the children that they cater to have experienced poverty in one way or another. Therefore, since all the children that experience poverty are at-risk individuals, the children’s society has the mandate to care for them.

Increased Demand for Child Services

Over the years there has been a precipitous increase in the demand for child services. Holt (2018) notes that the rise in the number of vulnerable children that need protection over the past 10 years has increased the demand for child services. In 2018, more than 2.4 million people contacted child service because they were worried that a child might be in danger which is a 78% increase from 10 years ago (Holt 2018). Additionally, the number of serious investigations over the concerns of significant harm has increased from under 77,000 in 2008 to more than 200,000 in 2018 which is more than a 159% rise (Holt 2018). The increase in demand for child services is a complex issue which means that it is influenced by a myriad of causative factors. Bulman (2017) notes that the benefit cuts combined with increased child poverty levels are the primary causes of the unprecedented surge in the high demand for children’s services over that last couple of years. The benefit cuts in relation to housing benefits over the last four years while low-income parents do not make enough money to meet their family’s needs has increased the demand for child services. Tjoa (2018) notes that the increase in the demand for child services has left many public, voluntary, and community groups in the child services sector struggling to cope with the increased demand. The Children’s Society of the UK is one of the groups that have been affected by the increased demand which means that they cannot cater for the increasing number of children that need their help. Therefore, the increasing demand for child services is a key factor that affects The Children’s Society.

Reduction in Government Funding

The children’s society, like many other organizations that offer children’s services, needs money for it to be able to operate efficiently. However, there has been a key reduction in government spending which has had an effect on the society’s ability to deliver services to children. According to Butler(b) (2018), notes that council budgets to help families from falling into risk has reduced by £743 million over the last year. The ADCS (2017) notes that the estimated gap for children’s services is expected to grow to £2 billion by 2020. The gap continues to grow despite the continued increase in the demand for children services. The gap is expected to continue to increase as the pressures of child social care continue to deepen and to grow in an unchecked manner. As such, it is important to seek a long-term, feasible and sustainable manner through which child services can access funding. ADCS (2017) observes that if possible money should be channeled into early intervention programs since they are ones that will help reduce the need for more intrusive and costly methods and programs later on in the future. Tjoa (2018) notes that children’s services spending is expected to increase from £5.9 billion in 2008/2009 to £15.4 billion by 2025. Increased spending should only occur in the midst of increased funding, but that is not the case in the children’s sector. As it stands right now, organizations like the Children’s Society of the UK do not have the funding needed for them to meet the increasing demand for child’s services. As such, it makes it very challenging for them to carry out their jobs in an optimum manner. Furthermore, further cuts in funding are expected in the future which will have adverse and detrimental effects on their ability to deliver services which forces groups like the children’s society to seek creative and innovative ways to save money or raise more funds.

Section 3: Identification of the Issue

For change management and strategic planning to work, it is important to identify the problems that are facing the company and highlight any issues that may limit the success of the planned change. A tool that is commonly used is the SWOT analysis which identifies the organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Usually, the strengths and opportunities are positive while the weaknesses and threats are negative. The purpose of identifying the weaknesses is so that they can be turned into strengths and the threats can be transformed into opportunities (Furgison 2019).

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

The key strength of The Children’s society is inherent in their mission, “A country where children are free from disadvantage, where we fight for change, supporting disadvantaged children to have better lives” (The Children’s Society(b) 2019). The mission shows that the main goal of the organization is not only to provide help for children who are in need but to ensure that the children do not become in need in the first place. The help that the organization provides is not only for the children but also for the families that the children come from. The organization usually renders help to the families if at-risk children by ensuring that they also have the basic needs that are needed for survival (The Children’s Society(b) 2019). Another strength of the organization is that it is well known which lends them an air of credibility. Given that they are well known, it means that people and other institutions trust that they can carry out the mandate that they have been given which is to take care of at-risk children. The fact that they have established a credible name for themselves means that when it comes to funding, they may be given priority by their various donors. Additionally, a key strength that the organization has lies in its leadership structure. They have a senior leadership team that has the knowledge, experience, and expertise in various fields of child care and organization (The Children’s Society(b) 2019). The strong and knowledgeable leaders that lead the organization are a key strength since it is leaders who have the mandate of charting the vision and the mission of the organization. Another key strength that the company has is that they have a “Trustee Board.” The purpose of the trustee board is responsible for governance and formulating the strategic direction that The Children’s Society will take (The Children’s Society(b) 2019). The trustee’s board is responsible for finance and investment, organizational development and risk, audit, and compliance (The Children’s Society(b) 2019). Another key strength is that The Children’s Society has is that they have a myriad of supporters. Their supporters include many individuals, but the majority of them are churches. In 2018, 7,069 churches supported the organization (The Children’s Society 2018). The numeracy of their supporters helps the organization have a more diverse manner of generating funds. Overall, The Children’s Society has a strong mission and strong leadership that enables them to discharge child services.

Weaknesses

A key weakness of the organization is that it is a charity and that means that they have to rely on volunteers to fill in some key roles. Brindle (2017) notes that while there are very many volunteers that work in various capacities, many more are still needed to fill in some pertinent roles. The number of volunteers in the organization has been reducing over the years. Some have surmised that the number of people that volunteer has reduced over the years because people are busy with work and other things (James 2018). The rise in the cost of living has made people more inclined to find other avenues of generating money rather than finding ways in which they can volunteer. The lack of volunteers has drastically affected the organization since they lean on their volunteers in many capacities more so when it comes to dealing directly with the at-risk children. The Children’s Society(b) (2019) notes that their volunteers play different roles such as helping to run sessions with the children and parents, carrying our one-to-one mentorship with a young person or if it is to work in a behind the scenes role such as organizing and administrating. Therefore, the reduction in the number of volunteers means that there are some roles that are not being filled which leaves gaps in some aspects of care as well as reducing the number of at-risk children and families that the society interacts with. The new strategic focus of The Children’s Society reduces the number of children that the organization can work with. Their new strategy chooses to work with the children who need the most intensive support since they are the ones that are usually forgotten (The Children’s Society 2018). However, because they have chosen to pay more attention to those children, it means that there are many other children and young people that they cannot work with. It is laudable that they have chosen to focus on young people that are usually forgotten but doing so at the expense of other young people who may not meet that criteria are a major weakness. Furthermore, another weakness is that there are very many children and young people that are in need of the services that are offered by the organization yet they cannot access the services. Partly, the issue lies with the organization only being available in England and Wales. Their lack of branch diversity means that if individuals need to access the services that are offered by the organization, they have to move to England or Wales, but it is not a given that even if they move, they will be able to access the services.

At the same time, there are long waiting lists for individuals that would want to access the services, and while the organization does their best to ensure everyone receives proper services, it still takes them a long time to go through the list. The selection process as to which children may need their help is also very complex which means that it may take a while to establish which children need help. Some of the young people that they cater for are referred to them by the police, but the investigative process is usually very complicated. Sellgren (2016) notes that the increase in the numbers reported makes is challenging for the police to properly investigate cases which means it also takes them a while to refer the at-risk children to the organization. The investigators from the society are also stretched out quite a bit since they do not have the resources nor the time needed for them to explore the conditions of every at-risk child that is reported to them. Additionally, there are other organizations offering child services which means that The Children’s Society is competing for donors and volunteers with very many child services agencies.

Opportunities

A major opportunity of the organization is the use of both traditional and social media to request volunteers. It is possible that the reason why the number of volunteers that they need have been reducing is that people are not aware that the organization needs volunteers. To increase awareness, the organization can run advertisements requesting various volunteers in the areas where they need them most. The use of social media is an especially potent tool to reach millennial volunteers. Landrum (2017) notes that millennials are amongst the unique generations because they are more inclined to set aside time from their corporate schedule to volunteer. Horoszwoski (2017) notes that millennials are more inclined to volunteer because they are a generation that seeks purpose in all that they do. Volunteering comes with a purpose since one is doing work that will help at-risk individuals while not being paid for it or while receiving a small stipend for the work that they put in. Reaching out to the millennial generation via social media sites and platforms will help in increasing the number of volunteers in the organization. Statista (2019) notes that there are over 17 million millennials in the UK. If even 1,000 of those 17 million millennials volunteer, there will be a drastic improvement in the number of at-risk young people that the organization can reach. The organization can also offer an internship program for individuals that may want to take a gap-year or any individuals that are pursuing a social work degree. The internship may run for three months up to one year which will help in increasing the number of people working within the organization which then helps increase the number of young people that the organization can reach. The organization has a donate button at the corner of their website. The location of the button makes it really hard to see which may be affecting the number of donations that they receive. It would be better to place the button in a more centralized position. When the button is in a more centralized position, people will be more aware of the button which means that people are more inclined to give. Additionally, they can simply advertise on their social media platforms asking people to donate. Having more donations means that the organization will have more financial resources to reach out to more young people.

Threats

In case of a major shift in the legislation further reducing government support for children’s services The Children’s Society will suffer. While the society does not directly rely on the government for financial support, the laws that the government puts in place to support such organizations aid the society. Some of the laws revolve around finance and the more they are altered, the more drastic their effect will be in relation to the finances that the organization can acquire. If the ability of the organization to receive finances is affected, that means that they cannot cater for the at-risk children or that they will have to drastically reduce the number of at-risk young people that they help. Another threat is that the organization competes for the same group of volunteers with other organizations that offer children services. Generally, the number of people volunteering has decreased (James 2018). In the face of reducing numbers of volunteers, there is stiff competition to attract the current level of volunteers to the different organizations. Stiffer competition exists in relation to knowledge-based volunteers such as social worker, psychologists, psychiatrists, and other knowledgeable personnel. Since the organizations are competing for the same volunteers, it is challenging for The Children’s Society to find adequate volunteers to fill in the required areas. The other threat lies in the increasing demand for child services. The increasing demand is a threat because it means that The Children’s Society may receive a bigger workload than they can handle. Furthermore, the bigger workload means that the current crop of young people that the organization deals with may receive substandard service. Additionally, unplanned expenses will affect the organization since as it stands, they rely on donors for finances. As such, the organization would need to set aside funds to take care of unforeseen expenses. As said, such a view would be unfeasible since the organization relies on donors for financial resources.

Section 4: Situation of Change

In the context of increasing the number of children and young people that the organization caters for the report will suggest a relatively cost-effective solution. Based on the SWOT analysis the key issue lies in the number of volunteers that the organization has as well financial resources not being enough which constitutes a very major strategic failure. To make the required changes, the organization must first advertise their need for volunteers. Currently, the organization advertises their need for volunteers on their website and even then, the advert is very hidden; one must be looking for the advert, otherwise if one was simply browsing their website, one would not see it. As such, the organization must start advertising their need for volunteers on social media platforms and more traditional media such as television. Advertising on more traditional media will be a challenge since the organization will need to set aside funds that they do not have. To overcome the funds challenge, the organization should employ the use of social media platforms since the only thing that they will need is social media accounts and maybe a social media manager. Reaching out will inform people that volunteers are needed for different positions and that will help improve the number of children and young people that they can help. In the same vein using social media will also be a means through which they can reach donors of financial resources. If increasing the number of children is going to be implemented, there must be an interaction between The Children’s Society and the public.

Section 5: Force Field Analysis

For leaders and the management to successfully implement the proposed strategic change, it is important for them to understand the different forces that may support or resist the change. One of the tools that are most widely used in change management is the Force Field Analysis. The tool was created by Kurt Lewin, and it can be used to understand the change process that takes place within an organization (Lewin 1951).

The analysis has identified 4 drivers and 4 resistors. Current government legislation and the existing leadership in the company scored highly since they are two drivers that are directly connected to the organization. It is the leadership of the company that will be directly in charge of implementing the strategy, and that is why they are important. The availability of volunteers and social media marketing is important because it will help in increasing the number of volunteers as well as increase the number of donors or the number of donations. In terms of resistors, reduced government funding is a big challenge given that the government is the biggest supporter of organizations that offer child services. Competition for the same volunteers, reduction in donations and an increase in demand for child services without a commensurate increase in the ability to deliver the services are big resistors of change.

Section 6: Implementation

To increase the number of volunteers and donations so that the number of children and young people that The Children’s Society caters for increases, this report suggests the use of Kotter’s 8-Step change model.

The first step is to Create a Sense of Urgency which informs people that there is a need for change. Informing people that there is a need for change will increase the probability of earning support from those that work within the organization.

The management and the trustee's board must talk to current full-time employees and volunteers and inform them that there is a need for change.

Once the rationale for change has been given, the employees and the various volunteers must be given an opportunity to express themselves and identify any issues with the proposed plan.

The second step is Building a Guiding Team whose purpose will be to guide the change that the company seeks.

The team must have key people such as at least one member of the Board of Governance, a member of the trustee’s board as well as various employees.

The team must be as diverse as possible, and it should include an individual that is adept at using social media.

The third step is Creating a Vision for Change which helps everyone in the organization is trying to achieve.

The overall vision is to increase the number of children and young people that the organization can reach and help.

The fourth step is to Communicate the Vision which involves creating support amongst the employees.

The leaders and the chosen team must talk to employees at any opportunity they find and inform them of the need for the change.

The fifth step is Removing Obstacles which involves removing obstacles that could undermine the vision.

The team must ensure that any issue that arises is dealt with immediately by talking candidly with any naysayers.

The sixth step is Creating Short-Term Wins which helps people see the progress which will then be encouraging for them.

Gaining ten new volunteers should be considered a milestone, and it should be celebrated.

Receiving an extra £1,000 should be considered a milestone, and it should be celebrated.

The seventh step is Consolidate Improvements which should be done after multiple successes.

The overall goal is to gain 1,000 new volunteers, and it will signal that the change is paying off.

Increasing the number of children and young people catered for by 1,000 every year will be the long-term win.

The eighth step is to Anchoring the Changes by ensuring they are part of the corporate culture.

Advertising for volunteers and donations should be the norm.

Increasing the number of young people helped every year should be the norm.

Section 7: Theory of Change

The selected process of change management is a determining factor of the acceptance or the resistance to change. Osborne and Brown (2005) note that it is important to select the process of change management very carefully. The ultimate objective of the proposed change is to establish a system that ensures the number of young people that The Children’s Society can help increases. The help may come in the form of taking the children out of toxic environments or trying to ensure that it does not reach a place where they have to be taken out. As such the activities that should be carried out are: establishing a means through which referrals go The Children’s Society happen directly; establishing a digital platform from which volunteers can see the areas in which help is most needed; new technology should be used to increase the ease of donating; staff should be trained to meet the increased number of young people being helped; staff should be trained to use new technologies to help them in rendering help. In terms of output, there will be staff training sessions; a handbook should be developed that shows how to give aid; the waiting time for investigation should be reduced by at least three weeks. In terms of outcome, it is expected the number of volunteers and donations will increase; after a while, the need for volunteers will decrease. The impact is that more young people will be helped.

Conclusion

The report has identified the challenges facing The Children’s Society which hinder them from delivering the best possible service to as many young people as they can. The situation of change described how in light of increased demand for child services there needs to be a commensurate increase in the number of volunteers as well as donations. The strategic plan is well enumerated and provides a detailed breakdown of all the necessary factor needed to ensure that the plan is a success. The expected challenges revolve around reduced government support and competing for the same volunteers with other organizations which may limit the efficacy of the change. An area of further inquiry would be a longitudinal study on whether increasing the number of volunteers leads to an increase and improvement in service delivery. The theory of change provides the expected activities, output, outcome, and impact. The biggest factor is getting volunteers, and more funding and the number of children that can be helped will improve. To conclude, it is evident from the report that there are strong drivers of change and that will require proper planning the effects of the resistors of change can be decreased. In a time of high demand for child services, The Children’s Society can show other organizations how to meet the increased demand.

References

Lewin K., 1951. Field Theory in Social Science. Harper and Row: New York.

Osborne, S. & Brown, K., 2005. Managing Change and Innovation in Public Service Organizations. Oxon: Routledge.