Waterloo Children & Youth Services Planning ... - Social Services

June 2012
Each of the above informants was asked a series of identical or similar questions that
were developed initially in consultation with the Integrated Access Working Group. As
new information came up during the inquiry, questions were revised or added to the in
person interviews to ensure all issues were explored.
All of the information collected was then formulated into themes to form the basis of the
report, including recommendations for future direction.
4. Limitations
Despite the wealth of information gathered from the surveys there are two issues that
should be considered when interpreting the results.
First, the service provider survey had a fair response rate (n=11, 35 were sent) however,
several respondents skipped questions they felt were not applicable. As a result, it was
nearly impossible to gather any reliable aggregate results for most of the questions on the
survey. Consequently, service provider feedback summarized in this report comes
primarily from approximately 14 hours of face to face interviews and focus groups with a
variety of providers including committee members, intake staff, and senior administration
from single points of access.
Second, a question on the parent survey appeared to produce contradictory results that
are likely caused by a lack of clarity in the questions. These questions were related to
numbers of contacts made before finding a service. Never the less, the survey results
discussed in this document were reported as they occurred, particularly when they were
supported by information gathered in face to face meetings.
5. Outcomes - Themes:
5.1 Market Pull vs. Market Push
“[I spent] hours and hours on the phone calling one organization
after another trying to figure out where my son qualifies for
services and what services are available at large.” Parent
A consistent theme found amongst parents appeared to be one of always “pulling” for
services and rarely experiencing a market “push”. In both the parent forums and in
surveys, parents reported having to dig for information about services spending a great
deal of time making phone calls and talking to friends or other parents. One parent
reported “I spent about 60 hours on the telephone, trying to find the appropriate service
for my child. This was just about 14 years ago, but, it was extremely stressful”.
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