CHAPTER2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter shows the result and synthesis of the researches and literatures about the social
welfare services over its predictable variables. The works and research findings of known and prominent
researchers of different countries was used as the primary basis through which verification and
justification of the present study will be strengthened. On Governance Good governance sets the
normative standards of development. It fosters participation, ensures transparency, demands
accountability, promotes efficiency, and upholds the rule of law in economic, political and administrative
institutions and processes. It is a hallmark of political maturity but also a requisite for growth and
poverty reduction, for there are irreducible minimum levels of governance needed for large-scale
investment to occur and for social programs to be supported. A cornerstone of good governance is
adherence to the rule of law, that is, the impersonal and impartial application of stable and predictable
laws, statutes, rules, and regulations, without regard for social status or political considerations
(www.neda.gov.ph). The evaluation of “good” governance is important for a number of reasons. First,
donors and reformers take it into consideration when assessing the impact of policies and determining
future development projects. Second, “good” governance evaluations determine the investment
climate. It is well established that aid flows have greater impacts on development in counties with
'good” governance. Having established why, the next step is to identify the parties interested in
evaluating "good" governance (Kaufmann, Kraay, Mastruzzi, 2005).

According to the governance working group of the International Institute of Administrative

Sciences “governance refers to the process whereby elements in society widely power and authority and
influence and enacts policies and decisions concerning public life and economic and social development.
Governance is a broader notion than Government. Governance involves interaction between these
formal institutions and those of civil society". Governance is as the traditions and institutions by which
authority in a country is exercised. This includes 1) the process, by which authority governments are
selected, monitored and replaced,2)the capacity of the government to effectively formulate and
implement sound policies and 3) the Impact of Good Governance on Development in Bangladesh: A
Study 31 respect of citizens and the state for the institutions that govern economic and social
interactions among them. The conceptualization of the term 'governance', indeed demands for a full
understanding of what governance is and the difference between government and governance because
there is a common trend of equating government with governance (Uddin,2010).

Among the greatest and oldest of questions in the history of western philosophy is what makes
a person's life go well for him? In other words, what things are good in themselves for a person? We ask
the same question when we wonder in what human welfare consists (Heathwood, 2005).

The quest for 'good' governance is a key theme of most multilateral and bilateral donor policies.
Debates among donors tend to focus on which aspects of governance should be promoted, or on
whether good governance precedes or follows from economic development. Underlying these policy
debates is a discussion on development itself, and whether it is wise for donors to pin their hopes on
governance as a key variable in the management' of development outcomes (Schmitz, 2007).

It is acknowledged that good governance is the basic condition for stability and prosperity in all
countries, where nations who are able to sustain high standards of governance will succeed while others
will struggle (Elsner, 2004).

The ADB (2004), have identified that good governance comprises the following elements;
participation, rule of law, accountability, transparency, equity, effectiveness and efficiency,
professionalism, and effective management service orientation, and monitoring of performance.
According to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP),the
true test of "good” governance is the degree to which it delivers on the promise of human rights; civil,
cultural, economic, political and social rights (www.unescap.org).

Perceiving good governance as concept implies perceiving development from a political

development perspective. The good governance objective entails the move away from the mainstream
theories perceiving economic growth as the way to create development. Focus is instead placed on the
internal political affairs of the developing countries. Democracy is the essence of the political
development and Good Governance, and the human development approach addresses strengthening
democracy as a key issue. Democracy is essential in Good Governance because it possesses basic
institutions and practices that enable citizens to be part of or have an influence in governance and life as
such. People are incorporated in development. Democratic institutions take part in representing the
citizens as well as ensuring the rights and equity of people. This also involves accountability. Institutions
and decision makers must be hold accountable to the public because it results in efficiency and a greater
responsiveness towards the demands of the public, making the public the central issue. The institutions
and decision-makers are more responsive when being hold to account because the democratic practices
such as elections create the possibility for citizens to elect differently. This brings forward the
importance of citizen participation. Citizen participation not only upholds democracy, it moreover
enables citizen to have a say in or affect aspects regarding their life. The political freedom within
democracy allows all people to be heard. To sum up, Good Governance focuses on democracy and
democratic principles as means to create development. Good Governance thus enlarges people's
choices and capabilities by ensuring their political rights (Gudbjerg, 2008).

McDougall et al. (2004), have compiled and expressed the view of various actors within and
outside of the field of natural resource management have started to define major characteristics of
'good governance'.

According to UNESCAP (2004), the term ‘good governance' refers to eight major characteristics
of decision-making: participatory; consensus oriented; accountable; transparent; responsive; effective
and efficient; equitable and inclusive; and, following the rule of law.

The Asian Alliance for Good Forest Governance (2002), identified the following similar set of:
participation; equity; balanced power relations; recognition/legitimacy of rights; clear roles and
responsibilities; transparency; accountability; democracy, and decentralization.
 Due to the inherent diversity in national traditions and public cultures, there exist many
definitions of governance in the literature, but it is possible to isolate just three main types of
governance, as Nzongola-Ntalaja does in(Nzongola-Ntalaja,2003).

First, political or public governance, whose authority is the State, government or public sector,
relates to the process by which a society organizes its affairs and manages itself. The public sector could
be defined as “activities that are undertaken with public funds, whether within or outside of core
government, and whether those funds represent a direct transfer or are provided in the form of an
implicit guarantee”（Manning,Kraan 2006).

Second, economic governance, whose authority is the private sector, relates to the policies, the
processes or organizational mechanisms that are necessary to produce and distribute services and
goods. Third, social governance, whose authority is the civil society, including citizens and non-for-profit
organizations, relates to a system of values and beliefs that are necessary for social behaviors to happen
and for public decisions to be taken Governance should not be reduced to government, as the three
aspects of governance are interdependent in a society. Indeed, social governance provides a moral
foundation, while economic governance provides a material foundation, and political governance
guaranties the order and the cohesion of a society (Nzongola-Ntalaja 2003). Good governance is
essential to achieve development while true participatory democracy ensures that development is
equitable and sustainable. Public institutions need to be able to manage public resources and conduct
public affairs in a manner that is free of corruption and abuse that upholds the rule of law and that
protects and promotes the realization of the rights of its people. The true measure of good governance
is the ability of a government to realize people's human rights and deliver sustainable and equitable
development. Good governance is derived through transparency, accountability, participation and
responsiveness to the needs of the poor, marginalized and underrepresented
groups(www.peoplesgoals.org).

Local Government Unit

Section 15 of Republic Act 7160, otherwise known as the Local Government Code, defines a local
government unit as a body politic and corporate endowed with powers to be exercised by it in
conformity with law. As such, it performs dual functions, governmental and proprietary. Governmental
functions are those that concern the health, safety and the advancement of the public good or welfare
as affecting the public generally. Proprietary functions are those that seek to obtain special corporate
benefits or earn pecuniary profit and intended for private advantage and benefit. When exercising
governmental powers and performing governmental duties, an LGU is an agency of the national
government. When engaged in corporate activities, it acts as an agent of the community in the
administration of local affairs (www.lawphil.net).

According to the Constitution, the LGUs "shall enjoy local autonomy", and in which the
president exercises "general supervision". Congress enacted the Local Government Code of 1991 "which
shall provide for a more responsive and accountable local government structure instituted through a
system of decentralization with effective mechanisms of recall, initiative, and referendum, allocate
among the different local government units their powers, responsibilities, and resources, and provide
for the qualifications, election, appointment and removal, term, salaries, powers and functions and
duties of local officials, and all other matters relating to the organization and operation of local units”（
www.gov.ph).

Among the social services and facilities that local government should provide, as stipulated in
Section 17 of the Local Government Code, are the following: (a) facilities and research services for
agriculture and fishery activities, which include seedling nurseries, demonstration farms, and irrigation
systems; (b) health services, which include access to primary health care, maternal and child care, and
medicines, medical supplies and equipment;(c) social welfare services, which include programs and
projects for women, children, elderly, and persons with disabilities, as well as vagrants, beggars, street
children, juvenile delinquents, and victims of drug abuse; (d) information services, which include job
placement information systems and a public library; (e) a solid waste disposal system or environmental
management system; (f) municipal/city/provincial buildings, cultural centers, public parks, playgrounds,
and sports facilities and equipment;(g) infrastructure facilities such as roads, bridges, school buildings,
health clinics, fish ports, water supply systems, seawalls, dikes, drainage and sewerage, and traffic
signals and road signs; (h) public markets, slaughterhouses, and other local enterprises;(i)public
cemetery; （j) tourism facilities and other tourist attractions; and (k) sites for police and fire stations
and substations and municipal jail (www.gov.ph).

Local governments confront rising public expectations regarding the delivery of services. Despite
almost two decades of implementation of the 1991 Local Government Code (LGC), however, local
governments still face various challenges in the exercise of their devolved service delivery functions.
Foremost among these is the raising of sufficient funds for local development. A majority of the local
governments still lack the ability or the will to raise adequate local revenues. LGUs have become unduly
dependent on Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) transfers from the national government and have failed
to manage their financial resources effectively and sustainably. These persistent issues are a significant
hurdle in the realization of the goals of local autonomy and devolution through good local governance
and effective service delivery. Owing to loopholes in the LGU, as well as the lack of capacities of local
governments in assuming devolved functions, national government agencies (NGAs) continue to deliver
certain services despite the transfer of these services to the local governments. The confused and
overlapping performance of functions compromises the lines of accountability for local services
(neda.gov.ph).

ADB (2004), study report on "Local Governance and Service Delivery to the Poor: Bangladesh
Case Study" attempts to evaluate the relative efficiency, effectiveness and quality of different
institutional arrangements for local infrastructure and service provision in Bangladesh using quantitative
data with qualitative data from a cross section provision of stakeholders. Emphasis has been placed on a
comparison of the impact of the more innovative arrangements for decentralized service delivery under
the UNCDF sponsored 18 Sirajganj Local Governance Development Fund (SLGDF) project with the less
decentralized mechanisms of the Annual Development Plan grant. The study has shown the direct and
positive impacts of the SLGDF project upon infrastructure and service delivery focusing on following
issues: the policy context; financing infrastructure and service delivery, participatory planning,
implementing infrastructure and service delivery and accountability. The study finally concludes that the
above highlighted issues could be addressed in order to improve the efficiency of SLGDP replicating
approach more widely.

Social Welfare Services

Harris (2000), noted clients' service is anything we do for the customer that enhances the
customer experience. Customers have varying ideas of what they expect from customer interaction. No
matter how accurately we see our definition of customer service, we still have to live up to what our
customer thinks that customer service is. The customer's satisfaction is the goal to attain in service
industry.

It is an understatement to say that the concept of welfare plays a prominent role in moral
philosophy. It plays center stage in utilitarian theories of right and wrong, standard versions of which
require us to maximize the amount of welfare in the world (Harris, 2000).

Defining social welfare raises questions about what aspects of life should be considered basic
human rights. Social welfare can be described simply as the general well-being of a society. The well-
being of a society can be considered to be acceptable when the well-being of the majority of its citizens
is acceptable. What does it mean to be “well' and what is an acceptable level of well-being? Like
corruption, these concepts can be defined differently depending on individual interpretation. However,
there have been internationally developed standards to deal with the variation of these definitions. The
answer to such questions lie in the contemporary international agreed upon norms that nearly all
countries have agreed to as members of international organizations and though international treaties,
such as human rights (Crowe, H. 2011).

The welfare of a society can be measured by the extent of its political and economic rights.
While political rights have become more common with the spread of democracy, economic rights have
not always ensued. Nigeria became a democracy for the third time in 1999; however, Nigerians still
suffer from lack of some economic rights, most importantly the right to be free from poverty. In 2007,
Oxford University Press published a book entitled Freedom from Poverty as a Human Right
demonstrating the emerging trend of freedom from poverty as a fundamental human right (Crowe,
H.2011). In 1946 the United Nations set up its Commission on Human Rights to promote human rights
universally, citing in the preamble the “freedom from want"(among others) as the “highest aspiration of
the common people". Government is principally responsible for being the guarantor and provider of
these basic human rights. In December 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and
proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)(United Nations,2011).

Six years later the United Nations created the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights, which was acceded to by Nigeria on July 29, 1993. This covenant includes under Article
11,Part 1:recognition by member states of the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for
himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing, and housing, and to the continuous
improvement of living conditions; Article 11,Part 2:the fundamental right of everyone to be free from
hunger; Article 12 Part 1:the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of
physical and mental health (including prevention, treatment and control of epidemic, endemic,
occupational and other diseases); and Article 13: the right of everyone to education 3 See chapter four
for further discussion on how democratization can lead to income inequality.(UN Human Rights
Commission,2011).

The concept of certain economic rights is also included in the UDHR. Article 22 of the UDHR
states that everyone is entitled to the realization of economic rights indispensable to his or her dignity.
Under Article 25,everyone has the “right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being
of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care, and necessary social
services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old
age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control” (United Nations,2011).

All members of these organizations and signatories to these international treaties have a duty to
abide by and uphold them, despite the lack of forces to compel compliance. International institutions
are responsible for monitoring governments to ensure there are no violations of these rights and hold
governments accountable, given that the international system is one of anarchy. Social welfare, then,
can be considered the well-being of a country's society as a whole, in addition to the sum of basic
human rights of the citizens of a country. A society can be considered to have ample social welfare when
the majority of its citizens consider themselves to have a decent quality of life, meaning that their basic
rights are met (H. Crowe,2011).

According to Baustista (2013), conceptually, social welfare refers to the "well-being of all the
members of human society, including their physical, mental, emotional, social, economic and spiritual"
state. It can be achieved through laws, programs, benefits, and services that assure or strengthen
provisions in meeting basic needs. Ultimately, social welfare provisions redound to the good of the
social order. These provisions may be directed to (1)strengthening existing arrangements,(2) mitigating
the hardships or handicaps of particular individuals and groups (3) pioneering new services (4)
stimulating a better adaptation of the social structure (5) including the creation of new programs as
needed; or (6) a combination of these approaches to respond to social needs. To achieve wellbeing
requires three elements. The first is the degree to which social problems are managed. The second is the
extent to which needs are met. Third is the degree to which opportunities for advancement is provided.
In other words, it is important to set up mechanisms by which the attainment of well-being is assured,
and to make sure that this is sustained and improved. The concept of well-being covers broad
requirements, such as income, security, housing, education, recreation, and cultural traditions. Services
to address these requirements are not necessarily lodged in one office. For instance, the Department of
Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) caters to the broad social welfare needs of the population.
Different government agencies undertake other social welfare requirements that need specialized
services (i.e., health and labor). Social welfare needs to be pursued as part of the process of governance.
Governance deals with managing resources and political authority to ensure that public programs
address basic needs in a way that conforms to accepted standards of effectiveness, efficiency, relevance,
equity, and sustainability (Bautista,2013).
 Social welfare is everything the men do for the good of society. It is an organized concern of all
people for all people. An organized system of social services and institutions designed to aid individuals
and groups to attain satisfying standards of life and health (Pasos,2014).

A social welfare practitioner is used to describe any and all of the social service professions and
occupations identified in the policy and legislative framework to render social welfare services. This
framework addresses the requirements to be accredited to practice, the supervision of practitioners and
the ethical conduct of practitioners (Pasos, 2014).

Motivations/ Reasons for providing Social Welfare/ Services include Humanitarian and Social
Justice Goals which is rooted from the democratic ideal of social justice, and are based on the belief that
man has the potential to realize himself, except that physical, social, economic, psychological, and other
factors sometimes hinder or prevents him from realizing his potentials. Social Control Goal is also based
on the recognition of the needy, deprived, or disadvantaged groups may strike out, individually and/or
collectively, against what they consider to be an alienating or offending society. Society therefore has to
secure itself against the threats to life, property, and political stability in the community which are
usually presented by those who are deprived of resources and opportunities to achieve a satisfying life.
And last is Economic Development Goal which places priority on those programs designed to support
increase in the production of goods and services, and other resources that will contribute to economic
development. The immediate beneficiaries of such programs may be the able- bodied, relatively better-
off members of the community (Pasos,2014).

Social welfare therefore serves as a body of activities designed to enable individuals, families,
groups and communities to cope with the social problems of changing conditions. But in addition to and
extending beyond the range of its responsibilities for specific services, social welfare has a further
function within the broad area of a country's social development. In this larger sense, social welfare
should play a major role in contributing to the effective mobilization and deployment of human and
material resources of the country to deal successfully with the social requirements of change, thereby
participating in nation-building (Francois and Vlassopoulos, 2008).

According to Bueno (2014), the common social welfare services that the LGU is offering are the
following: Day care service/center.; Pre-marriage/ Marriage counseling, including family
planning/responsible parenthood; Supplemental feeding; Services for street children and delinquent
youth offenders; Services for persons with disabilities; Services for the elderly; Emergency assistance
program and Livelihood and skills development.

Social welfare can be a difficult concept to measure because the criteria used to measure social
welfare can vary as well as perspectives on what constitutes a 'sufficient' or 'insufficient' level of welfare.
The level of basic social welfare in a country often determines its citizen's quality of life. The lower the
level of social welfare, the less access a citizen has to those basic 28 goods and services that facilitates
existence with dignity. The ideal social welfare structure has yet to be perfected in any country;
however, some have successful programs that provide food, shelter, and even job training for people
unable to provide for themselves or their families. In order to function properly, however,social welfare
requires a healthy economic sector. Services that are free or low-cost to the public can become
overburdened when the entire population needs to use them （Bueno,2014).

Service Quality

Consumers all over the world have become more quality conscious; hence there has been an
increased client's demand for higher quality service. Service operations worldwide are affected by this
new wave of quality awareness and emphasis. Therefore service-based companies are compelled to
provide excellent services to their customers in order to have sustainable competitive advantage,
especially in the current trend of trade liberalization and globalization (Aming'a, 2014).

In simple terms, customer service means figuring out what each customer needs then keeping
your customer happy. It is not enough to simply expect because they buy your product they are loyal or
satisfied. Customer service can be as simple as answering questions and providing information. It can be
as complex as tracking customer habits and anticipating needs. (Cronin et.al, 2000).

“Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction
- that is, the feeling a product or service has met the customer expectation." Customer service (also
known as Client Service) is the provision of service to customers before, during, and after a purchase. Its
importance varies by product, industry, and customer. As an example, an expert customer might require
less pre-purchase service (i.e., advice) than a novice. In many cases, customer service is more important
if the purchase relates to a “service" as opposed to a “product". Customer service may be provided by a
person (e.g., sales and service representative),or by automated means called self-service. Examples of
self-service are Internet sites. Customer service is normally an integral part of a company's customer
value proposition. The quality and level of customer service has decreased in recent years. This can be
attributed to a lack of support or understanding at the executive and middle management levels of a
corporation (Rashid, 2008).

Good client service may be seen as a crucial asset for most organizations. But how do we know
we are delivering good customer service and, more importantly, delivering it to meet and exceed your
customer's expectations? Customer service is an intangible thing; it is perishable and it is personal so
measuring it can be complicated and less than straightforward (Rashid, 2008).

The word quality is frequently used to describe products and/or services. It connotes different
meaning to different people and organizations, and therefore lacks universal definition. As a result there
have been numerous definitions of quality from literature in an attempt to establish a common
understanding. Until recently, the concept of quality was heavily associated with product. Thus, quality
issues became prominence in the manufacturing era and that majority of the quality definitions possess
product characteristics. Quality was initially seen as a defensive mechanism but it is seen as a
competitive weapon for developing new markets as well as increasing market share （Davis et al,2003).

Service quality is a vital strategy for success and survival in today's aggressive environment. It is
very important for the employees to be reliable and dependable in order to gain the trust of the public.
They should render quality service and have a commitment to be accountable to customers and
compete for their satisfaction and loyalty. It can identify some issues like meriting attention,
understanding the concept and also analyzing how to measure service quality. Employees must offer
delivery services beneficial to their clienteles and the actions of the service being provided, and then use
that knowledge for planning purposes. The application of service quality concepts encourages service
improvements and reduces costs. Also, employees must have interest to those clients who give
information about their perceptions regarding the service they receive so that the employees can
establish personal contact with them and make a long- term commitment or relationship to the clients.
Clients should provide feedbacks to the organizations and be reacted as opportunities for improvements
and to raise overall customers satisfaction (Reyes,2013).

Quality is one of the things that consumers look for in an offer, which service happens to be one.
Quality can also be defined as the totality of features and characteristics of a product or services that
bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs. It is evident that quality is also related to the value
of an offer, which could evoke satisfaction or dissatisfaction on the part of the user (Kotler and Keller,
2009).

Kabir and Carlsson (2010), mentioned that service quality is needed for creating customer
satisfaction and service quality is connected to customer perceptions and customer expectations. They
argue that service quality can be described as the result from customer comparisons between their
expectations about the service they will use and their perceptions about the service company. That
means that if the perceptions would be higher than the expectations the service will be considered
excellent, if the expectations equal the perceptions the service is considered good and if the
expectations are not met the service will be considered bad.

It is identified that there are three types of quality essential for the production of goods and
delivery of services which meet the needs of customers and clients. These are quality of design or
redesign, quality of conformance and quality of performance. Quality of design, according to Deming,
develops products and services from the perspective of the customer or client with the aim of delivering
products or services which suits the needs of the market, at a given cost. Quality of conformance is the
ability of an organization to deliver goods and services with the same predictable level of uniformity and
dependability at a reasonable cost, and which conforms to the quality characteristics determined in the
quality of design studies. In sum, according to Deming, the xxiii objective of quality of conformance is to
reduce variability in products and services with respect to specifications. Quality of performance focuses
on performance of the product or service in the marketplace. It returns as full circle to the customer or
client. The objective is to assess how satisfied customers or clients are with the performance of the
product or service in actual use (JNR, 2012).

Nketiah-Amponsah(2009),have realized the interrelated values of service quality and customer

satisfaction and concluded that service quality and customer satisfaction ＂share a close relationship".
Relationship between satisfaction and service quality is the key to measure user satisfaction. They also
added that service quality is the key to measure user satisfaction.
 Rust and Oliver (2005), identify several factors that precede customer satisfaction. They argue
that there are five (5) antecedents that contribute to satisfaction. These are clear understanding of
customer needs and expectations, perceived value of the product, service quality, internal satisfaction
and complaints management.

Zeithaml and Bitner (2003), argue that customer satisfaction has become a major contributor for
enhancing a service company such as long term profitability, customer loyalty, and customer retention.
That means for example that it is important to encourage the staff to deliver the right service to the
right people in reasonable time and showing good manner. Satisfied customers may also give positive
word of mouth and for that reason attract new customers and create long term business profit.

Zeithaml and Bitner (2003), also suggest that in order to create customer satisfaction it is
important for the company managers to identify which product or service attributes that can enhance
customer satisfaction or delightfulness, than the performance can be improved and it will also be
possible to find out which attributes that are expected by the customers (expected attributes can create
dissatisfaction by their absence).

Many researchers argue that customer satisfaction has big impact on customer intentions to
repurchase (Kabir and Carlsson, 2010).

According to Omachonu et.al (2008), quality has a long term impact on the satisfaction of
customers. Customer satisfaction and service quality are certainly interlinked and these create value for
the customer or client and help him to make decisions as to whether the service justifies the cost.

Daycare Center Services

Children bring great joy and love to families, but for many families childcare entails significant
stress, worry, sacrifice, and financial hardship. Social and cultures norms in the United States place these
care difficulties in the private sphere to be handled by individuals, primarily women. The challenges
families face in choosing between quality, affordability and availability demonstrate that our childcare
system is not the best that it could be and that all of us need to become stakeholders in the care of
children (Cole, 2011).

According to BabyCenter.com, daycare centers are an easy target because they're the most
institutional form of childcare, but this quality can work in their favor, too: They're usually regulated,
offer a structured setting, and care is well-supervised. Experts say this arrangement can work well for
children of any age as long as the center is of high quality.

Daycare is best when teacher-to-child ratios are low and groups aren't too large. When looking
for a place for your child, don't be seduced by new facilities that feature the latest toys. "Glitzy stuff
doesn't at all speak to quality," says Liz Jaeger, one of more than 30 child development experts involved
in an ongoing childcare study by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Researchers evaluate quality by looking at the way caregivers interact with children, caregiver-to-child
ratios, group size, classroom space, the level of training and education of caregivers, and equipment. A
low ratio is an especially critical measure (www/babycenter.com).

About 70% of parents place their young children in some type of daily care. Whether you choose
in-home or center-based care, a preschool, or someone else's home for your child's daily care setting,
you should follow some specific guidelines to ensure receiving quality, professional care (Blau, David M.,
2001). The increasing trend in mother labor force participation is well recognized. Moreover, among
women who work, the proportions who are working year round (50-52 weeks) and full-time (35 hours or
more per week) has also increased in the past several decades (Blau, David M., 2001).

Sklar (2007),mentioned that Bowlby's theory of attachment was conceived from observations of
children and infants and from studies of animal behavior, especially primates. This revolutionary theory
is valuable as a psychological construct that describes the inner workings of the infant's brain, but it
does not provide empirical evidence of the biological mechanisms that motivate behavior.

As mentioned by Fraley (2004), he said the according to Bowlby, the attachment system
essentially "asks" the following fundamental question: Is the attachment figure nearby, accessible, and
attentive? If the child perceives the answer to this question to be ＂yes," he or she feels loved, secure,
and confident, and, behaviorally, is likely to explore his or her environment, play with others, and be
sociable. If, however, the child perceives the answer to this question to be "no," the child experiences
anxiety and, behaviorally, is likely to exhibit attachment behaviors ranging from simple visual searching
on the low extreme to active following and vocal signaling on the other. These behaviors continue until
either the child is able to reestablish a desirable level of physical or psychological proximity to the
attachment figure, or until the child "wears down," as may happen in the context of a prolonged
separation or loss. In such cases of helplessness, Bowlby believed the child experiences despair and
depression (Fraley, 2004).

In the book, What We Know About Childcare, Alison Clarke-Stewart & Virginia D. Allhusen
(2005) chronicles the changing cultural landscape in America with respect to women in the workforce
and the critical need for quality daycare. Clarke-Stewart determines that child-care outside of the home
is an unavoidable part of the American experience and defends a woman's right to work and to have a
career. This book shows all sides of this controversial subject while promoting the positive aspects of
daycare as an acceptable and even preferred alternative to stay-at-home care. Clarke-Stewart
scrupulously describes the best daycare settings and informs parents about what to look for when
shopping for high quality care for their child. Yet, her perspective does not address “time in care” issues
but instead considers parental needs, especially a woman's desire for a career, as equivalent to the
child's emotional needs and neurobiological development (Clarke-Stewart and Allhusen,2005).

Jay Belsky's previous childcare studies drew a great deal of criticism from other researchers
because it was noted that these studies did not sufficiently rule out quality of care as an important risk
factor. It was argued that the only reason child-care in the first year of life increased levels of aggression,
disobedience, and increased rates of insecure attachment was because the children studied were
experiencing low-quality care (Sklar, 2007).
 In the UNESCO's Education for All Global Monitoring Report, it was stated that most ECCD
programs can be described as eclectic in their approach to philosophy, conceptual frameworks and
curriculum design. However, while the theories that influence their development may be rather similar
to one another, the specifics of the curricula are a more accurate indicator of these programs
orientation. These curricula can be broadly classified under three categories, described here in terms of
their focus and their methods. The first type of curriculum is geared towards the traditional primary
school, which is organized in terms of subject matter areas and focuses mainly on cognitive, literacy and
numeracy skills. Children are mostly engaged in teacher-directed, structured, sedentary classroom tasks,
and their experiences are limited to paper-pencil tasks with a sprinkling of arts and crafts, music and
movement. The second type of curriculum is informal, play-based and activity-oriented that allows
children to explore a variety of topics in a comparatively random fashion. The learning experiences are
designed to support physical, social, emotional, language and cognitive development. The third type
follows a similarly diverse and comprehensive pattern, to respond to all dimensions of child
development. However, a more integrated and well-balanced curriculum that shows careful attention to
content is achieved by organizing activities around well-selected themes or topics of study. These
programs are more learner- centered and emphasize children's active participation. There are also ECCD
centers that implement or adapt specific programed models, such as those based on Maria Montessori's
work, the developmental-interaction approach associated with Bank Street College, the Waldorf School,
and the Kumon method from Japan. Their curricula can also be seen in terms of the three types
mentioned above. The curriculum of the public school kindergarten and the day-care center is designed
to be more like the second type mentioned, with some features from the third type of curriculum. The
day-care center’s activity plan is organized around topics or themes and is designed to provide a variety
of activities: dramatic, manipulative and group play, arts and crafts, music, storytelling and other
language experiences. The day-care workers' main references are: 1) the original Weekly Plan Activity
Guide, with selected topics for a ten-month period; and 2) the Resource Book on ECCD which includes
additional themes and recommended concepts and learning experiences. The daily routines and the
physical space of the day-care center are similar to the pre-schools that are compatible with an activity-
centered curriculum. There are well-defined play or activity “corners” and the children's daily schedule
is divided into blocks of time for specific activities and transitions between e.g. Play, storytelling and
meals. The Department of Education's kindergarten curriculum is more explicitly focused on supporting
“school readiness” and promotes the use of compiled worksheets, manipulative play materials, as well
as teacher-made resources. Kindergarten teachers are provided with a “Pre-school Handbook” which
describes the instructional objectives and concepts or content to be covered, recommended classroom
activities and learning materials. The daily schedule and some guidelines for classroom management are
also included. Another reference provided by the DepEd is a copy of the “Eight-week ECCD Curriculum in
Grade One.” This is based on the full-year kindergarten curriculum and designed to be implemented
during the first eight weeks of the school year for all Grade One students. A work book for the children
and several story books suitable for five- and six-year-olds are also included in what is similar to the
basic kindergarten classroom "package” recommended for use in the public schools (UNESCO.org)."

The latest longitudinal NICHD study spent millions of dollars to effectively implement and
measure “quantity, quality, and type of care while examining these factors separately, additively, and
interactively” Repeated measurements of the quality of the child's family environment and the quality
of the non-maternal care were made at 6,15, 24,36 and 54 months of age. The child's socio-emotional
and cognitive-linguistic development was measured during laboratory visits at 15, 24, 36, and 54
months, as well as by teacher and parent reports in kindergarten. Basic demographic information was
obtained to measure the quality of the child's family rearing environment, socio- economic status, family
functioning and maternal well-being. The quality of the mothering was gathered by observational and
maternal reporting. Various established instruments were administered to assess each child's cognitive
and linguistic development, social competence, and behavior problems (Blesky, 2006).

In 2005, Mayor Belmonte even allotted P800,000 for a workshop for day care workers (who are
mostly volunteers), that was conducted by a professional early childhood education group (headed by
Sr. Harriet Hormillosa) and the federation of homeowners associations(the AQCHAI). There were 257
participants who took part in a values-oriented workshop during the summer break. And from the
participants themselves, says Lola Elon,“we learned how unprepared they were to handle properly these
very impressionable and vulnerable children from poor families.” As a result, she adds, “Mayor Sonny
signed a MOA with Miriam College bless them to give Saturday classes to groups of 100 children at a
time. This went on until the 257 received their Teacher's Certificates” (Jimedez-David, 2012).

For several decades, the quality of child care environments has been given increased attention,
particularly by researchers, policymakers, child care providers and parents. Child care provides a setting
where most children under age five can experience daily learning, playing, and interaction opportunities
that support their cognitive and social- emotional development. The evidence indicates that the first six
years of life are important for the development of the cognitive, language, social and interpersonal skills,
which will determine adult competence ((Li-Fen et.al, 2014).

Parents are important stakeholders when demanding quality child care services. In.
addition,parents are consumers of quality child care. Parents were not found to be good judges of
quality of child care programs, and it was difficult for them to directly observe the service they purchase
for their children. Parents are the primary decision makers for the type of child care and have legal
responsibilities to make sure that their children obtain an appropriate education (Foot et.al, 2000).

Lee and Walsh (2005) stated that without understanding cultural assumptions and beliefs about
childhood and education, it may lead to culturally biased views to assume that structural variables are
globally true indicators of high quality. Tobin (2005) indicated that quality in early childhood should be a
process rather that a product and an ongoing conversation rather than a document. When it comes to
quality standards, they should reflect local values and avoid one-size-fits-all solutions to questions of
practice.

Parents are the primary providers for their children's education, and bring different perspectives
on what constitutes program quality and use varied indicators to judge how good a program is. Barbarin
et al. (2006) interviewed parents of pre-kindergarten children concerning their perceptions of program
quality, and identified the categories of quality indicators. The researchers concluded seven domains of
quality identified by scholars and previous literature reviews. These included positive structural
attributes; safe, clean, physical environment; adequate instructional resources; sound instruction;
teacher attributes; effective discipline; and positive emotional climate. In addition, the researchers
identified three categories of quality not usually displayed in educational research or professional
discussion of program quality: comprehensive service provision, convenient location, and home-school
relationships. Parents' perceptions of program quality represented some practical needs and concerns.
Parents' concerns also reflected their expectations from the programs, such as curriculum or services
provided from programs. Parents take the practical concerns as quality indicators, and it is necessary to
understand if parents trade-off between quality and practical concerns when selecting their children's
preschool programs. Shpancer et al. (2002) and his colleagues investigated parents' knowledge to
determine about their children's child care center and compared the information with that provided by
center directors. The study interviewed 37 parents with children in five child care centers in a
Midwestern metropolitan area. The results showed significant gaps in parental knowledge of child care
centers. The study suggested that parents' actual knowledge of child care center may not be linked to
ratings of child care quality. The results revealed parental lack of specific information, such as center
size, licensing agency, caregiver turnover rate, child's group size, adult-child ratio and caregivers'
education and experiences.

With regard to center-based care, research findings showed parents consistently indicated high
levels of satisfaction with their child care programs. These results found there were no differences on
overall satisfaction between parents who chose center-based programs and home care providers, and
mothers were more satisfied with child care than fathers. Furthermore, previous studies investigated
predictors of parental satisfaction in varied care arrangements. Parents who used center-based
programs reported that social support and frequencies of parent involvement were significant
predictors of parental satisfaction with child care arrangements. Parents were more satisfied if they
viewed child care programs as a source of extensive information and emotional support. As a result of
feeling supported, parents may experience less stress and be more satisfied with the care. Additionally,
mother's satisfaction with their child care arrangement Parents' perspectives on child care quality and
satisfaction in Taiwan International Journal of Research Studies in Education 7 may be related their
practical needs, for example, convenience of hours, location, and adequate adult supervision. Mothers
of 3-5-year-olds were more concerned with their children's aspects of development and learning
opportunities. These findings suggested practical concerns were associated with levels of satisfaction
with child care; however, developmental aspects of child care were important indicators of their
satisfaction as well (Li-Fen et.al, 2014).

Similarly, Jinnah and Walters (2008) investigated the relationship between parental satisfaction
and involvement in the child development programs. Their results suggested parental involvement
positively predicted parental satisfaction with their child care programs. Parents who were more
involved in the programs tended to be more satisfied with the programs. The study found parents' levels
of satisfaction to be a viable evaluative measure and implied that parents have to continue to be
involved in the evaluating their child care programs. However, the participants of the study were mainly
Caucasian, female, married, with high educational backgrounds and from high income groups. So the
results may not generate to other groups of parents.
Services for Persons with Disabilities

Have you ever thought to yourself: "T'd rather be dead than disabled?" It's not an unusual
reflection. Disability, in everyday thought, is associated with failure, with dependency and with not
being able to do things. We feel sorry for disabled people, because we imagine it must be miserable to
be disabled. But in fact were wrong. It's sometimes called the "disability paradox". Surveys reveal people
with disabilities consistently report a quality of life as good as, or sometimes even better than, that of
non- disabled people. Impairment usually makes little difference to quality of life. Research shows, for
example, that overall levels of life satisfaction for people with spinal cord injury are not affected by their
physical ability. According to National Council on Disability Affairs, persons with disabilities or disabled
persons are those suffering from restriction of different abilities, as a result of mental, physical or
sensory impairment, to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a
human being (BBC News Magazine).

According to World Health Organization, disabilities are an umbrella term, covering

impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions. Impairment is a problem in body
function or structure; an activity limitation is a difficulty encountered by an individual in executing a task
or action; while a participation restriction is a problem experienced by an individual in involvement in
life situations. It is thus not just a health problem. It is a complex phenomenon, reflecting the interaction
between features of a person's body and features of the society in which he or she lives. Overcoming
the difficulties faced by people with disabilities requires interventions to remove environmental and
social barriers. People with disabilities have the same health needs as non-disabled people-for
immunization, cancer screening etc. They also may experience a narrower margin of health, both
because of poverty and social exclusion, and also because they may be vulnerable to secondary
conditions, such as pressure sores or urinary tract infections. Evidence suggests that people with
disabilities face barriers in accessing the health and rehabilitation services they need in many settings
(WHO.com).

The theory of structuration which was introduced by Anthony Giddens which tackled the
characteristics of persons with disabilities. According to Giddens, every person has the capacity or
agency to act differently and to change and transform social practice through agency. Consequently, any
individual including PWDs are to be regarded as competent social agents. However, it is of importance
to acknowledge that every person has its own set of capabilities (Burchardt, 2004).

Giddens views society as neither existing independently of human activity nor being a product of
it. This duality of social structures, the mutual dependency between structures and agents, is the key in
understanding this theory. This notion of duality of structure and agency challenge the linear, temporal
account of social phenomena by insisting that spatiality, or the way in which agency and structure
combine in particular spaces, is central to the course of social change (Dyck and Kearns 2006).

It is not uncommon in today for a person without disabilities to encounter someone with
disabilities in the classroom or at a work site. Such scenarios are seen as common places, but in reality,
PWD have strived for an equal access for decades. Studies have shown that although people without
disabilities present favorable attitudes toward PWD, it does not replace the fact that those people are
still suspicious about PWD's abilities, keep distance from them, and thus treat them unequally(Lu,2014).
Persons with disabilities (PWD) have a right to live the same way as any other human being. Their
disability is not a hindrance to live a fruitful and fulfilling life. PWDs get married, have children, go to
work, and play sports like everyone else. They are not a burden on the community, their family or
friends. PWDs have the same right as everyone to take part in society. Here in the Philippines, a PWD
Identification Card authenticates each Pinoy PWD's rights and privileges (Yarza, 2013).

For many people with disabilities, assistance and support are prerequisites for participating in
society. The lack of necessary support services can make people with disabilities overly dependent on
family members - and can prevent both the person with disability and the family members from
becoming economically active and socially included. Throughout the world people with disabilities have
significant unmet needs for support. Support services are not yet a core component of disability policies
in many countries, and there are gaps in services everywhere(http://who.int/disabilities).

The lack of effective financing for support - or its distribution within a country - is a major
obstacle to sustainable services. For example, in India, in 2005-06, the spending on the welfare of
people with disabilities-which focused on support to national disability institutions, nongovernment
organizations providing services and spending on assistive devices -represented 0.05% of Ministry of
Social Justice and Welfare allocations(World Bank,2009).In countries that lack social protection schemes,
funding assistance and support can be problematic. Even in high-income countries, funding long-term
care for older people is proving difficult. An Australian study found that 61% of caregivers of people with
profound or severe disabilities lacked any main source of assistance. In many middle-income and low-
income countries governments cannot provide adequate services and commercial service providers are
either not available or not affordable for most households. Governments often do not support the
voluntary sector to develop innovative services able to meet the needs of families and individuals with
disabilities. In Beijing, China, in addition to existing government welfare institutions, a small number of
nongovernmental housing support agencies have been set up for children and young people with a
disability. A study of four of them showed that the main service was skills training (Fisher K, 2008).

The government does not support these organizations financially, though the local government
subsidizes the fee for a small number of the most disadvantaged children or orphans. Instead, the
services rely on fees paid by families and donations, including international assistance. As a result, the
services are likely to be less affordable to users and their quality and staffing arrangements will probably
suffer. In India NGOs and independent living organizations are often successful in innovating and
creating empowering services, but they can rarely scale them up to wider coverage (Fu, 2006).

In some countries support services are available only to people living in sheltered housing
projects or institutions and not to those living independently. Institution-based services have had limited
success in promoting independence and social relationships. Where community services do exist, people
with disabilities have lacked choice and control over when they receive support in their homes. Disabled
people often see relationships with professionals, seldom disabled themselves, as unequal and
patronizing. Such relationships have also led to an unwanted dependency. Some recent reviews reveal
that while community living shows significant improvements over institutional living, people with
disabilities are still far from achieving a lifestyle comparable to that of people not disabled. For many
people with intellectual impairments and mental health conditions, the main community service is
attendance at a day center, but a review of a range of studies failed to find good evidence of benefits.
The community service often fails to provide an entry to employment, produce greater satisfaction, or
deliver meaningful adult activities (Kozma et.al, 2009).

Where services are delivered by different suppliers - at local or national level, or from health,
education, and housing, or from state, voluntary, and private suppliers - coordination has often been
inadequate. Existing services and support schemes may be operated, in any given place, by a range of
public or private providers. In India different NGOs or agencies serve different impairment groups, but
the lack of coordination between them undermines their effectiveness. Multiple assessments and
different eligibility criteria make life more difficult for people with disabilities and their families,
particularly in the transition between services for young people and those for adults. Lack of knowledge
about a disability can be a barrier to referrals for effective support services and care coordination, as can
a lack of communication between different health and social care agencies (Kroll et.al, 2003).

People with disabilities and their families often lack information about the services available, are
disempowered, or are unable or unwilling to express their needs. A Chinese study of caregivers of stroke
survivors found a need for information about recovery and stroke prevention, and for training in moving
and handling. A study of family care for children with intellectual disabilities in Pakistan revealed stigma
in the community and lack of knowledge about effective interventions, causing, distress for caregivers. A
Belgian study of family caregivers of people with dementia found that lack of awareness of services was
a major barrier to service use. Empowerment through disability rights organizations, community-based
rehabilitation organizations, self-advocacy groups, or other collective networks can enable individuals
with disabilities to identify their needs and lobby for service improvement. Most countries that have
developed support services have strong organizations of persons with disabilities and their families
lobbying governments to reform policies on service delivery and to increase or at least maintain the
resources allocated. In the United Kingdom support from a disabled people's organization is an
important influence on people with disabilities signing up for directs payment schemes. Negative
attitudes are a cross-cutting issue in the lives of people with disabilities. Negative attitudes towards
disability may have particular implications for the quality of assistance and support. Families hide or
infantilize children with disabilities, and caregivers might abuse or disrespect the people they work with.
Negative attitudes and discrimination also undermine the possibility for people with disabilities to make
friends, express their sexuality, and achieve the family life that non-disabled people take for granted
(Charlton,2000).

People who need support services are usually more vulnerable than those who do not. People
with mental health conditions and intellectual impairments are sometimes subject to arbitrary
detention in long-stay institutions with no right of appeal. Vulnerability- both in institutions and in
community settings - can range from the risk of isolation, boredom, and lack of stimulation, to the risk of
physical and sexual abuse. Evidence suggests that people with disabilities are at higher risk of abuse, for
various reasons, including dependence on a large number of caregivers and barriers to communication.
Safeguards to protect people in both formal and informal support services are therefore particularly
important (Brown, 2002).

Services for the Elderly

According to World Health Organization (WHO), most developed world countries have accepted
the chronological age of 65 years as a definition of 'elderly' or older person, but like many westernized
concepts, this does not adapt well to the situation in all countries in the world. At the moment, there is
no United Nations standard numerical criterion, but the UN agreed cut-off is 60+ years to refer to the
older population.

The United Nation's Principles for the Older Person states, that the governments should
penetrate the Universal declaration of Human Rights into national programs. An older person should
enjoy independence which means access to food, water, shelter, clothing, health care, proper income
and safe life environments. They should remain participants in the community life and be able to take
actively part of formulation of policies affecting their well-being. To maintain good level of physical,
mental, and emotional health, elderly people should have access to care, healthcare, social services, and
legal services. Old age does not necessarily mean inactive life and an elderly person can live her of his
life into full potential. This self-fulfillment can be in a form of educational, cultural, spiritual and
recreational activities. To live the old age should be also life in dignity. Dignity means life in security, fair
treatment, and freedom of physical and mental exploitation. Dignity should be given to everybody
regardless of age, race, gender and disability(Social Development Division, United Nations ESCAP,2000).

The elderly population in the Philippines is steadily increasing in the past decade. As of the latest
NSCB figures, the elderly dependent population (aged 65 and older)comprises 3.83 percent of the
population; by 2025 it is expected that the elderly will be 10.25 percent of the population. The
implications of this on Philippine development are significant, specifically on social welfare dimensions.
An important point in this regard is the quality of life of the elderly i.e., beyond ensuring their basic
survival needs of food and health, an enabling environment should be nurtured by way of support
services and opportunities for senior citizens to continue their self-development and to contribute to
community and national development. It is also important to note that at present, the heavier weight of
the responsibility of caring for the elderly is on the shoulders of Filipino families, not on the State. The
pension system benefits only those who have been employed in formal and regular work - something
which comparatively few people enjoy. The majority, especially the marginalized groups of agricultural
workers, fishers, laborers and informal workers (e.g. house help, vendors, drivers), rely on the care of
their children, grandchildren or relatives for their wellbeing in old-age. However, even this traditional
support is failing in the changing times. Factors such as the family's economic and social instability
contribute to this decline （www.tsaofoundation.org).

Apart from the Senior Citizens Welfare Act and related laws, there is also the Philippine Plan of
Action for Senior Citizens 2012-2016 which identified three major themes of elderly concerns: senior
citizens and development; advancing health and well- being into old age; ensuring enabling and
supporting environments. This national action plan is solidly based on the active aging framework. The
national government also instituted selective welfare programs for the elderly, specifically the indigent
elderly. Through the DSWD, an indigent elderly can access a monthly pension of PhP500. Priority is given
to senior citizens who are 77 years old and above who are frail, sickly and without regular support from
any family member family nor receiving pension from any government or private agency. The
pensioners are identified through the National Household Targeting System which is the same process
method used for identifying beneficiaries of the national conditional cash transfer program (i.e. the
“poorest of the poor”） It is also mainstreaming home and community-based care programs
（www.tsaofoundation.org).

Dimension of human well-being include material and non-material aspects. There are some
basic needs of all human beings. Some of the known theories of human needs are of Maslow's hierarchy
of needs and Allardt's having, loving, and being approach (Mohit, 2013).

According to Mohit (2013), Allardt's having, loving, and being approach focuses both material
and non-material basic needs of human beings. The basic needs form the bases of the quality of life in
each individual's life. These needs as central for every man and necessary for human development and
existence. Having refers to material conditions that are indispensable for survival and in order to avoid
misery. These needs are nutrition, air, water, material resources, housing, education, health, protection
against climate, environment and diseases etc. Loving refers to a person's needs in relation to other
people. These include among other things attachment and contacts in the local community, family and
kin and friendship (Mohit,2013).

Being refers to needs of being part of society and living in harmony with nature. With this
indicator, one can measure a person's participation in decision and activities that affects his or his own
life; political activities, opportunities for work, recreation and nature (Mohit, 2013).

Social support theory suggests that structural social support is a necessary antecedent of
functional support. Evidence suggests, however, that the perception of social support （functional) is
more predictive of positive health than received or available social support （Cohen, 2004).

For decades researchers have been fascinated by the complexity of social networks and systems
of social support. There is now a wealth of research on the importance of social interaction for quality of
life during old age. This diverse body of literature has been summarized and organized into three areas,
each with a different focus (Chappell and Funk,2011).

Firstly, research on social support began largely by describing the extent, sources, and types of
social relationships in the lives of North American elders. Secondly, as knowledge was gained and
researchers became experienced, attention turned to empirically examining the relationship between
social support and QOL in old age, and thirdly, it later focused on unraveling the complexities of the
concept of social support and the concept of QOL, along with the processes linking the two concepts
(Golden et.al, 2009).

Social support is multidimensional: it can take many forms. Much of the support in old age that
has received the attention of policy makers, practitioners and researchers is directly related to caring
and assistance. This type of support has been recognized by governments and policy makers because of
concerns, about the increasing proportion of elderly in society. Assistance is of concern to families and
friends because they are the most frequent providers of psychological care. Lack of specific types of
social support lead to a decrease in life expectancy, and other forms of psychosocial problems (Golden
et.al,2009).

Health services across the developed world attract high satisfaction ratings from patients,
regardless of levels of service effectiveness and equity of access. People aged 65 and over express higher
levels of satisfaction with health services than younger adults, and they are much less likely than the
latter to report difficulties in access to specialists. Such findings are consistent across different types of
health systems, and regardless of whether surveys are sponsored by individual governments, private
companies, independent research bodies, or collectively across countries by the Commonwealth Fund
（Bowling, 2002).

The consistency with which high satisfaction ratings are obtained in patient satisfaction surveys
explains why governments continue to sponsor them-using them to temper more uncomfortable,
objective data (for example, on hospital waiting lists, mortality rates, five year survival rates).Patient
satisfaction surveys have proliferated in the USA and UK, and are increasing across Europe, as indicators
of the quality of health services. Oddly, governments are less reliant on satisfaction questionnaires in
relation to education, employment, pensions, and other major policy areas, where objective process and
outcome indicators carry more weight (Bowling,2002).

The relative lack of criticism among older people is of particular concern. It is more perplexing
given the results from our own qualitative and quantitative research, which shows that people aged 65
and over value their health more highly than younger people, and that they are quite aware that their
mental and physical health is essential for continued social inclusion. Moreover, research evidence from
the UK and USA shows that people aged 65 and over are more likely to be subject to delays in both
treatment and specialist referrals, are more likely to then become severe, emergency cases, and at
increased risk of complications and adverse events. Older people have been reported to feel “lucky” in
comparison with their parents-their parents had even less control over their health and health care.
Similarly, they may feel “gratitude" because they have better access to a wider range of health
technologies today. Uncritical attitudes might reflect the lack of confidence among older people in
demanding services, reflecting, in turn, their lower levels of education than younger adults. Hence they
might also be less aware of potentially beneficial treatments. There is some evidence from surveys that
people value themselves less with increasing older age, and feel they should be prepared to give up
their place in health service queues to younger people. Perhaps they feel morally obliged, “on the
surface", to gree with this "fair innings" principle(Bowling,2002).

In the study conducted by Rathi and Radhika (2012), significant association was found between
education and life satisfaction of elderly. Respondents with higher levels of education had higher levels
of life satisfaction than those with lower education in both countries. Education may allow people to
have a better understanding of the aging process and help to have better adaptability to the changing
environments. Education could also have a positive effect on health through better knowledge in health
care. Similar findings were observed in studies conducted by Kumar et al (2005).They revealed that
education is an important variable contributing significantly towards the wellbeing and quality of life
among Indian elderly. However, Rayanagoudaret.al(2001) showed a non-significant difference in life
satisfaction according to the elderly people's educational level.

In a study conducted by Meggiolaro and Ongaro (2013),for both men and women, either
subjective perception of health or limitations in usual activities are predictors of life satisfaction, but for
women the effect of these limitations is significantly negative, even in cases of minor impairments. With
respect to social and family relationships, evidence shows a rather complex picture. On one hand, men's
satisfaction seems to be slightly more sensitive to family resources than that of women. For both men
and women, living as a couple has a significant and positive impact on their life satisfaction. Living only
with a partner increases the score of satisfaction of 0.396 points for men and of 0.269 points for women
with respect to the condition of living alone; however, only among men, living with a partner and other
persons is a(weak) source of life satisfaction.

Significant association was found between financial independence and life satisfaction among
the respondents of India and Japan. Among the Japanese those who were financially independent were
satisfied with life (76%) than those who were dependent (59%). However, in India, satisfaction was more
among those elderly in spite of being financially dependent (83%) than those who were independent
(76%).This observation is an intriguing one and indicates that the economic status has a stronger impact
on the life satisfaction among the Japanese and not among the Indians. Among the Japanese, the higher
levels of satisfaction among those who were financially independent could be due the fact that financial
independence allow greater fulfillment of material aspirations. In India, being financially dependent on
the children in old age is a culturally accepted norm. The elderly in India generally expect their children
to look after them in old age, the absence of which could lead to lower satisfaction in the cultural
context of India. Another explanation is that the Indian elderly may derive greater satisfaction by
attaching more values to other factors like close family knit and exchange of support through it more
than their economic condition. The finding indicates the cultural differences in the values and
perception of individuals about one's economic status in the two nations and the resultant differences in
its impact on the level of satisfaction among them.

However, Kumar et.al (2005) and Rayanagoudaret .al (2001) found that life satisfaction and
wellbeing was positively and significantly related with the economic status among Indian elderly. In
Japan, it also found that financial condition was positively associated with the life satisfaction among the
Japanese elderly.

Livelihood and Skills Development

The livelihood and skills development program of the social welfare department has its bases on
the theories of human development within the context of sustainable development, sustainable
livelihoods and poverty reduction (Bell &Morse, 2003).

Sustainable Development (SD) or sustainability has its significance embedded in

intergenerational human development. The concept was borne from the notion of ensuring human
development, while maintaining the planetary life support systems by the United Nations World
Commission on Environment and Development in 1987(Bell & Morse, 2003).

According to Farrington et al (2001), sustainable livelihood approaches should include a central

focus on people and a holistic approach. The central focus on people entails pro-poor strategies that
include analyzing the dynamics of livelihoods, rendering Support and allowing the total participation of
beneficiaries. It should also entail bringing together the various policies and institutional settings that
exist with the intent being to influence and harmonize the differing arrangements in furthering a pro-
poor agenda. The holistic approach involves eradication of the marginalization of poor people,
understanding the complexity of the relationship of their influences, recognition of various institutional
stakeholders, encouragement and promotion of a diversity of livelihood strategies adopted by people
(Farrington et al., 2001).

According to Arce (2003), the theory of livelihood is not only limited to income generation but
also entails the social welfare of people. It is therefore essential to put into context the social well-being
of people into the concept of sustainable livelihood. The significance of the theory of sustainable
livelihood and its basis for this study is borne by the desire to empower the capacity of people to earn
incomes that meets their current and future economic and social needs and minimizes their
vulnerability to external stresses and shocks. The desire to enhance the sustainability of livelihoods for
poor people in developing countries has attracted the attention of many international organizations
(Toner and Franks, 2006).

Synthesis
The related literatures and studies mentioned above was very useful to the study of the
implementation of social welfare services to the local government of the City of Cabuyao to further
strengthen their programs for the welfare of different barangays. Further, this will give light to the
researchers on the things that should be covered by the study. The related literatures and studies will
serve as a path as to where the researchers should be heading to give the city officials the knowledge on
where or what to improve to provide better services to the residents of Cabuyao. It can be a basis for
good governance which is important for a number of reasons like it is taken into consideration when
assessing the impact of policies and determining future development projects. Having good governance
also has an impact on the development of the country because it is where the investors based their
decision in putting up a business with the said country. Good governance must also be seen in caring for
its citizens by providing quality services.

The related literatures and studies will be utilized by the researchers to further strengthen the
study about the social welfare services in the city of Cabuyao which refers to the well-being of all the
members of human society, including their physical, mental, emotional, social, economic and spiritual
state. It can be achieved through laws, programs, benefits, and services that assure or strengthen
provisions in meeting basic needs and to meet the welfare of the society. Social welfare services to be
established, develop and enhance should aim to provide the people with an utmost quality service for
its citizens. It is exclusively to promote social welfare. It is an organization must operate primarily to
further the common good and general welfare of the people of the community such as by bringing
about civic betterment and social improvements.

Studying the Social welfare services of the city of Cabuyao is a very useful tool in giving welfare
to its constituents and providing quality service to its people. The members of the said service should be
well oriented that the customers should be satisfied with the way they are handling and addressing the
needs and issues of their customers. Knowing the satisfaction level of the customers will enable the
social welfare people to improve their service quality. The study can be their spring board in providing
more quality services to the people of City of Cabuyao.

Knowing the satisfaction of the clients specially the programs involved in the daycare center,
services for person with disability, services for the elderly and livelihood and skills development on the
other hand should be taken into account by the CSWD as it is a means to know whether the services you
are lending is hitting the right way. The satisfaction level of the customers means a lot in improving the
services of the government sectors since their primary goal is to serve their constituents. A good
customer service provides an experience that meets customer expectations. It produces satisfied
customers.

Despite the fact that the objective of the social welfare services is to offer their clienteles with
better and quality services, certain problems also arises. Some of their problems include demanding
customers. Dealing with demanding customers is not an easy task but able to cope up with them in a
peaceful manner is an achievement on the part of the social worker. Another problem is dealing with
technology. Harnessing technology to enhance service delivery with quality is not an easy task since
social Workers should undergo trainings and seminars. One issue with technology is that, the system or
database may not be updated to handle huge amount of information of the clients. Funds for the
implementation of the social welfare services may also be a problem since the control of releasing funds
for their projects and activities is in the hands of the local government officials.

On the course of the study, the related literatures and studies will serve as a spring board to
sum up the satisfaction levels of the clients in the social welfare services; we can evaluate the quality of
service we delivered. And to know the quality of this service, we can use a survey the customers about
their experiences in the social welfare services. This survey consists of five indicators. These are
reliability which measures the dependability of the service. Another is assurance which gives the
customers confidence when dealing with the said service. Next is responsiveness which aims to measure
how fast the social workers respond to the needs of their customers. Another is empathy. Many
employees struggle to empathize with customers because they don't have a similar experience they can
relate to. The social worker should take care and understand the feeling as part of providing quality
service to our customers. Last is tangible as one of the aspects of customer satisfaction. It is the actual
facilities that will make customers comfortable in handling business in the social welfare office.