INTERVIEW SOCIOLOGY

Interview Socialogy

Interview Sociology

This is an interview based paper that highlights the goals and achievements of a social service agency. For this paper, I have selected Social Service Agency, which is located at Orange County, California. The Orange County Social Services Agency (SSA) operates under the policy direction of the Orange County Board of Supervisors and the California Departments of Social Services and Health Services. SSA is responsible for planning, implementing, and operating many of the social services programs provided by the County of Orange. Funding for programs comes from state, federal, and county sources (www.ocgov.com).

a. What are the goals of the agency?

Answering the question, the Chief Operating Officer elaborated on organizational goals. He said, “Our primary goal is to lead and support a shared community responsibility for the safety and well-being of vulnerable children and adults through the provision of child and adult abuse prevention, intervention, and protective services. Secondly, we aim to provide services for helping vulnerable adults and children receive needed health care, food, shelter, and clothing. Thirdly, to contribute to the reduction of individuals living below the poverty level by providing assistance and supportive services that promotes employment opportunities and family self-sufficiency. And lastly, to provide SSA staff and its partners with the resources, training, and administrative support needed for delivering professional, efficient, responsive, and mandated services to residents of Orange County”, he remarked.

b. How long has it been in existence?

According to the Chief Operating Officer, it has been established for over 50 years. It was established in 1952



c. How and why did it begin?

Talking about the history of the organization, the Chief Operating Officer of the organization told us that “It all began roughly a century ago in 1910, I suppose”. In a 1910 essay titled “The Moral Equivalent to War,” the noted philosopher and psychologist William James originated the concept of national service in the United States. Wishing to promote an alternative to military service, James outlined national service as an activity available to all youth and benefiting the entire nation. As part of his efforts to combat the Great Depression of the 1930s, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the first national service program in 1933. Called the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the CCC represented an early New Deal program geared toward relieving unemployment by offering young, unemployed men the opportunity to engage in conservation work that ranged from reforestation to historic preservation (www.ocgov.com).

Building on scientific philanthropy, particularly its belief that welfare policies should offer a chance instead of charity, Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins promoted the CCC concept with similar language: “The man gets a chance to keep healthfully occupied in return for the relief funds, and … the government gets something valuable in return” (Miss Perkins 1933). Thus, CCC members signed on for a service term of six to eighteen months, lived in work camps, earned $30 in cash a month, and received (among other benefits) food and health care. From 1933 to 1942, 3 million Americans subsequently improved their ...