UTILIZATION AND EVALUATION OF GOVERNMENT SERVICES BY THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

• NCJ Number: 51137
• Journal: EVALUATION Volume: 2 Issue: 1 Dated: (1974) Pages: 41-48
• Author(s): B A GUTEK; D KATZ; R L KAHN; E BARTON
• Date Published: 1974
• Length: 8 pages
• Corporate Author: Minneapolis Medical Research Foundation, Inc
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

NATIONAL SAMPLE SURVEYS ARE DISCUSSED AS A WAY OF PROVIDING EVALUATIVE INFORMATION ABOUT AGENCIES AND PROGRAMS TO ASSESS THE EXTENT OF GOVERNMENT SERVICE UTILIZATION.

Abstract

A NATIONAL SURVEY OF ALL ADULT AMTERICANS OVER 18 YEARS OF AGE WAS CONDUCTED IN 1973 TO EVALUATE THE UTILIZATION OF PUBLIC SERVICES AND YIELDED 1,431 SCHEDULES FOR DATA ANALYSIS. QUESTIONS DEALT WITH POSSIBLE ECONOMIC AND HEALTH PROBLEMS FOR WHICH GOVERNMENT SERVICES ARE AVAILABLE. RESPONDENTS WITH THESE PROBLEMS WERE ASKED WHETHER THEY HAD GONE TO A GOVERNMENT AGENCY FOR HELP AND ASKED TO SELECT AND DESCRIBE THE MOST IMPORTANT EXPERIENCES THEY HAD WITH A GOVERNMENT AGENCY. GOALS OF THE INTERVIEWING PROCESS WERE TO DETERMINE HOW MANY PEOPLE USED GOVERNMENT SERVICES, WHAT KINDS OF PEOPLE EITHER UTILIZED OR DID NOT UTILIZE VARIOUS AGENCIES, AND HOW PEOPLE EVALUATED TYPES OF SERVICES THEY RECEIVED. SEVEN GOVERNMENT SERVICES WERE CONSIDERED: EMPLOYMENT, JOB TRAINING, WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION, UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION, PUBLIC ASSISTANCE, HOSPITAL AND MEDICAL BENEFITS, AND RETIREMENT BENEFITS. APPROXIMATELY 58 PERCENT OF PERSONS IN THE SAMPLE REPORTED THAT THEY USED AT LEAST ONE OF THE SEVEN GOVERNMENT SERVICES. UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION WAS THE SERVICE USED MOST OFTEN; IT WAS FOLLOWED CLOSELY BY THE USE OF PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT OFFICES. ABOUT ONE-THIRD INDICATED A NEED FOR HELP WITH FINDING A JOB, WITH RECEIVING JOB TRAINING, OR BOTH. MALES WERE MORE LIKELY THAN FEMALES TO USE EMPLOYMENT, JOB TRAINING, WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION, AND UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION SERVICES. AGE WAS A MAJOR DETERMINANT OF THE TYPE OF PROBLEM FOR WHICH PEOPLE SOUGHT HELP. EDUCATION, OCCUPATION, AND INCOME ALSO AFFECTED UTILIZATION. OVER TWO-THIRDS EXPRESSED SATISFACTION WITH GOVERNMENT SERVICES, AND ALMOST HALF FELL IN THE CATEGORY OF VERY SATISFIED. A GENERALLY CONSISTENT PATTERN PLACED RETIREMENT BENEFITS AS THE MOST POSITIVE SERVICE EXPERIENCE. MEDICAL AND HOSPITAL CARE PUBLIC ASSISTANCE AGENCIES WERE VIEWED MOST NEGATIVELY. SUPPORTING DATA ARE PROVIDED, BUT THE STUDY INSTRUMENT IS NOT INCLUDED. (DEP)