Evaluating Eligibility Rules
Sarah Wegner
HSM/240
January 25, 2015
Ricardo Castro

Evaluating Eligibility Rules
The Salvation Army of the U.S.A. is held in high esteem by the public as an excellent community and human services provider. This program is a compilation of programs under the principle of service through the word of Jesus Christ. They state as their mission: “The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination” (2009). The Salvation Army application of rules for prior contributions, administrative performance, private contract arrangements, use of professional discretion and confidentiality, attachment to the workforce, and application of proper judgment (2005) allow for best practices to be applied. They also use means testing which applies an analysis of need less assets plus income. All of these factors speak well for them in making an evaluation of this organization.
Regardless of any other eligibility requirements, The Salvation Army offers its services to anyone who is in need. Anyone who is affected by a disaster can qualify for services through their programs. This is a simple process because of the fact that The Salvation Army acts as a second responder which makes it easier for them to accept many families. This allows the families to not have to meet certain requirements that the government might enforce in order for them to receive assistance from them such as prior social status and payment of taxes. This allows the Salvation Army to make progress immediately without having to take aspects of each person’s life into account. What an organization may or may not do is considered to be an administrative rule. Through this it will limit what the organization can provide and the staff also has to use discretion when it comes to any situation they may be involved in. Such a situation would include a person’s eligibility being reviewed to see if they qualify for certain services that are provided. It is important that everyone adhere to these regulations because if an individual should feel as though they were unjustly denied they can appeal it through administrative services. However, the Salvation Army corresponds with the first responder’s criteria for action in a given situation such as this. If any other program decides they want to help The Salvation Army with their services, they must abide by same guidelines in any type of situation. The Salvation Army works greatly with volunteers as this is how they are able to provide so many services to people. The Salvation Army is considered a private contractor that is a faith based organization. These private programs serve as many citizens as government programs do. The Salvation Army is able to use its own professional preference when it comes to determining which individuals will receive services during a certain disaster or any other situation in which they are seeking assistance. For instance, providing healthcare or referring them to a provider is just one way the Salvation Army provides assistance during a disaster to those who are in need of medical assistance. For the most part, a person is approved for medical assistance regardless of their ability to pay for it. Through the government, there is funding for victims for disaster relief through the Federal Reserve. The term administrative discretion indicates the use of personal choice in a situation. In the Salvation Army programs, staff has to decide when to intervene and when to leave a situation alone. They have to determine what situations require direct response. This is an administrative as well as a field staff requirement. Each member of the administrative must be well versed in the rules and regulations that govern their organization so that their decisions are made in accordance with the organization’s policies. Staff members must act with proper discretion to stay in keeping with the policies and rules when they offer any services. If the public does not want the organization to provide services, or strenuously objects to the way in which these services are offered, then this public opinion will overturn the current administrative rule. The Salvation Army is organization that has been around a long time and is often influenced by the judicial system. This is so when an organization is designing its policy and carrying out field work to maintain delivery consistent with stated objectives and also the organization’s mission statement. Through this it allows the judiciary system to ensure that everyone involved with the organization, including those receiving the assistance, are abiding by the law. It can also be an influence as to who will and will not be eligible for services. Means testing takes place both at the first responder and the second responder levels. Individual need does take precedent in situations where some individuals may have adequate resources to help themselves and others do not. In this process of means testing, human services agencies and organizations may deny services to those who have adequate resources to help themselves, since this maximizes the resources of the provider to help the greatest possible number of affected people. The Salvation Army does not employ this type of means test when a disaster strikes equally and all people are left without food or shelter. Paying into programs such as social security and unemployment allow an employee to still receive benefits even after they have left the company. Unfortunately, there can be time constraints in order for someone to receive residency and Medicaid benefits through their employer. However, these ‘attachment to workforce’ restrictions are not necessarily applicable to the Salvation Army disaster relief programs.
The on-target benefits provided by the Salvation Army for disaster relief include a wide variety of need fulfillment. These are shelter, water, food, cleanup and emergency contact services. They also provide donation management and emotional and spiritual support services, such as counseling (2009). The only detractors of the Salvation Army are those who feel as though their contributions are not being distributed the way they want. Through the use of mostly donated items, the cost of running these programs is kept low. Disaster relief is provided without qualification, though eligibility requirements may be placed on receipt of other types of services and donations. Overall their internal evaluation helps them to have a good reputation.

References

Social Policy and Social Programs: A Method for the Practical Public Policy Analyst, Fourth Edition, by Donald E. Chambers and Kenneth R.Wedel. Published by Allyn and Bacon. Copyright © 2005 by Pearson Education, Inc. The Salvation Army: Our Role in Disaster Services. Copyright © 2000 to 2009 The Salvation Army. Last Accessed on 10/18/09. http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/www_usn_2.nsf/vw-dynamic-arrays/0ABE865EA372E82F802573DF0064CD16?openDocument&charset=utf-8