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services – often going many years without increases to staff salaries (Eakin, 2001;
Roberts, 1998).
A prime effect of all of these factors was an increased reliance on volunteers in
the U.K., U.S., (Ascoli & Cnaan, 1997) and Canada (Colman, 2003). However, Ascoli and
Cnaan (1997) found that “It takes the work of many volunteers to equal the work of one
paid employee. Volunteers also tend to serve where they choose, not necessarily where
they are needed” (p. 319). Ascoli and Cnaan (1997) also cautioned that:
“the voluntary sector cannot compensate for cuts in the national social services
budgets … as important as volunteerism and voluntary action are to a
democratic society, they have neither the strength nor the resources to be the
key social service provider” (p. 322).
In wealthy Anglo-Saxon countries, many volunteer home visiting programs were
proposed, piloted, and established between the early 1980’s and the late 1990’s
(Misener & Knox, 1990; Taggart et al., 2000) – the same period when governments were
slashing budgets and new needs were becoming apparent, if not urgent (Misener &
Knox, 1990; Roberts, 1998). While volunteer programs have many benefits (Black &
Kemp, 2004; Taggart et al., 2000), the inherent challenges cannot be ignored. In my
own experience in Nova Scotia, Canada, volunteers’ commitments to family, work,
and/or education usually come first; if there is a crisis, people must drop their volunteer
work in order to deal with other pressures. Thus, the volunteer human resource pool is
not stable or predictable, and in fact, is largely outside the control of program
administrators (Ascoli & Cnaan, 1997).
Matching ‘higher-needs’ families with volunteers can be quite difficult. This may
be due to the complex nature of a given situation, potential threats to volunteer safety,
and/or a parent’s compromised interpersonal skills or responsiveness due, for example,
to severe mental health problems (Black & Kemp, 2004; Downie, Clark & Clementson,
2004; Gray, Spurway, & McClatchey, 2001). Such factors are often beyond the control
of these parents; however, a program’s reliance on volunteers can potentially leave
vulnerable families without service.
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