Bureaucratic incorporation or abdication? - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Bureaucratic incorporation or abdication? Public health administrators’ approaches to serving Latinos in new immigrant destinations

Network for Social Work Management Annual Conference

June 14, 2018

Deirdre Lanesskog, PhD

California State University, San Bernardino

Human Service Challengesin New Immigrant DestinationsCommunities with new, fast-growing Latino immigrant populations since 1990

Immigrant newcomers are vulnerable

Poor,

limited education, English language abilityLow-wage jobs with no benefitsUndocumented and illegible for public benefitsHuman Service Systems underdeveloped & unpreparedInexperienced with diverse clientsScarce bilingual workforce

(

Johnson & Lichter,

2015; Lichter

, 2012;

Lichter

, Sanders, & Johnson, 2015; Passel & Cohn, 2009;

Terrazas

,

2011

)

Bureaucratic Incorporation Theory X

(Jones-Correa, 2008)

Study Design and MethodsQualitative StudyIn-depth interviews19 administrators and 11 Latino-serving staff 18 county public health departments

in Illinois new destinations

Thematic analysis

Research QuestionsHow are public health agencies responding to Latino clients in new destinations?How do administrators and front-line staff influence these institutional responses?

Study Participants

Findings: Administrators’ StrategiesRECRUIT/RETAIN BILINGUAL NON-PROFESSIONAL STAFF

RESPOND IN ABSENCE OF POLITICAL PRESSURE

DIVERT FUNDING TO SERVE LATINO CLIENTS

RELY ON NON-PROFESSIONAL STAFF TO SERVE LATINO CLIENTS

Strategy: Recruit/Retain Bilingual StaffUse creative recruitment and retention strategies ESL classes & client rollsEnhanced pay, flexibility & autonomyFocus on filling non- or para-professional positions with bilingual staff due to lack of bilingual professionals*

Administrative Assistant/Hispanic Outreach Coordinator

Receptionist/Interpreter

Peer Counselor/Interpreter“I think that the reception person is key…because they will stay with you if you’re paying them. I would say concentrate on that reception.”

Administrator #4

Strategy: Divert Funds to Latino ClientsNo funds dedicated for diverse clientsLatino populations too small for most grants*Administrators changed the way they sought & used funding*Breast & cervical cancer funds for Latina health fair & police outreach

Lead testing funds for WIC & vaccination outreach to Latino preschool families

HIV prevention funds for community center, tutoring & ESL classes

“When you’re looking at …[a Latino population of] 1,400 people, it’s hard to get any kind of funding…If you are a county that would have 100,000 [people]…now you’re talking about dollars that a grantor would do.” Administrator #6

“

I

nstead

of, hey, here’s the true data. This is what we need…[It’s

], okay

, here’s

funding. How

can we make it go towards what we might need?”

Administrator #1

Strategy: Rely on Bilingual StaffAdministrators presume non-professional bilingual staff capable of assessing & meeting clients’ needs*Bilingual staff reported mixed feelings:Proud,

satisfied

Isolated,

unpreparedReluctant to tell administrators of strugglesAdministrators disappointed when bilingual staff didn’t deliver “I know this is bad to say

, but

she [administrator]

pretty much lets me do what we need to do.”

Interpreter/Hispanic Outreach Coordinator

“I cried for like two days. I

couldn’t believe

someone would live under that

condition.”

Peer

C

ounselor/Intake Specialist

Respond in Absence of Political PressureCounty officials were uninvolved & unsupportive of immigrants No political pressure on immigrants’ behalfUsed strategies to reduce/avoid resistance from county officials

Kept county officials in dark

“I don’t know that they [county board] have

put two and two together as far as costs” the agency incurs for interpretation and translation for Spanish-speaking clients.” Administrator

“We’ve

got politicians and elected officials that don’t have any sort of knowledge

of public

health. We need to be very attentive, deliberate in how we try to engage them

in [immigrant] issues

.

It’s not beyond us to stack the

deck

if

I know I’ve got a serious situation

coming up

.

Administrator

DiscussionAdministrators are responding to immigrants Absence of political pressure, guidanceCeding responsibility to non-professional staffEnvironment of secrecy

Questions about quality of care for immigrants

Are we creating a two-tiered system where immigrants are cared for by non- and para-professionals?

Implications for Human ServicesAttend to contextual differences in human service with immigrantsRecognize opportunity for immigrant advocates to partner with human service administratorsInclude bilingual non-professional staff as key members of service provision team!Training

Partnering/Teaming

ReferencesJones-Correa, M. (2008). Race to the top? The politics of immigrant education in suburbia. In D. Massey (Ed.), New faces in new places

: The

changing

geography of American immigration (pp. 308-340). New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation. Johnson, K. M., & Lichter, D. T.

(2016). Diverging demography: Hispanic and non-Hispanic contributions to U.S. population redistribution and diversity.

Population Research and Policy Review

,

35

(5), 705-725

.

Lichter

, D. T. (2012). Immigration and the new racial diversity in rural America.

Rural Sociology, 77

(1), 3-35.

Lichter

, D. T., Sanders, S. R., & Johnson, K. M. (2015). Hispanics at the starting line: Poverty among newborn infants in established gateways and new destinations.

Social Forces

,

94

(1), 209-235.

Passel

, J. R., & Cohn, D. (2009).

A portrait of undocumented immigrants in the United States.

Washington, D. C.: Pew Hispanic

Center.

Pew Research Center (2013).

U.S. Hispanic Population by County, 1980-2011.

Retrieved on December 14, 2014 from

http

://www.pewhispanic.org/2013/08/29/u-s-hispanic-

population-by-county-1980-2011

/

Terrazas

, A. (2011). Immigrants in new destination states. Migration Policy Institute. Retrieved from

http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/immigrants-new-destination-states

.

Strengths & LimitationsStrengthsAttention to emerging phenomenon

Triangulation of data from multiple

sources

CountiesAgenciesAdministrators and workers

Limitations

Applicability to other fields, communities unclear

Participant bias

Lacks client perspective

Data Source: Pew Hispanic CenterPew Hispanic Center, “US Hispanic Population by County 1980-2011” from 2013

Included

Selected

all counties in Illinois (102)

Selected

Illinois counties with “fast-growth” in Hispanic population from 1990-2000 (>=57.9%) and from 2000-2011(47.5%) – this is really just growth above average for

US

Excluded

:

Counties with <1000 Hispanic pop. at end of growth period (Pew

Research

Center, 2013)

Counties with >25% Hispanic population in 1990 (

Gresenz

, et al., 2012)

Chicago metro counties (U.S. Census Bureau, 2013

)

Data Sources and Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria

Recruitment 28 New destination Illinois counties

Excluded Chicago

metro

Mix of cities, towns, & rural areasPopulation 15,000-250,000 per countyPercent 2-20% Latino

Small and large public health centers (12-100+ employees)

Unstable state finances