VOLUNT ARV CITIZEN PARTICIPATION IN STATE AGENCIES AND DEPARTMENTS: AN ANAL VSIS OF VOLUNTEER

PARTICIPATION AND PROFESSIONAL MANAGEMENT

STRATEGIES by

N~ncy M~cduff B(2rbar12 "Joby" Winans July t 6, 1990 London School of Economics for Asscctatton for Voluntary Action schclers Annua1Conference
~nd

ABSTRACT

A reseerch project in 1988 condu_ctedby the Washington State Center for Voluntary Action shows the level of volunteer utilization in State agencies, bureaus, departments, and commissions, the performance of professional volunteer strategies, cnd whether t~ining is available for those who manage
volunteer programs.

Introduction The state of Wcshington ccknowledges the importance of volunteers to government programs with enabling legislation.
itA volunteer shall mean a person who performs any assigned or authorized duties for the state or any agency thereof, except emergency services workers as described by Chapter 38.52 RCW, brought about by one's own free enoree. recetves no wages, and ts regtstered and accepted as a volunteer by the state or any agency thereof ... for the purpose of engag1ng fn author1zed volunteer service: Provided, that such person shal1 be deemed to be a volunteer although he or she may be granted mafntenance and reimbursement for actual expenses necessarl1y Incurred 1n perform1ng hts or her assfgned or authorized duties. (Revised Code
of WA, 1987, 51.12.035)

The passage of that legislation in 1987 (parts had been passed as early as 1(71) gave permission to state agencies~ buref2us, commiestons, and departments to utilize a volunteer work pool. (The various types of state government entities will be hereafter referred to as agenci es) To eeterrmne the level of volunteer utihzatton.the Washington State Center for Voluntary Action conducted 8 study
2

in 1988 on volunteer ectivities within state ~gencies. The State center defined volunteer in e cover letter ~s "a person who renders aid, performs a service or assumes en ob1ig~tion of his or her own free wil1." Respondents were told that the purpose of the survey was "to find out how meny citizen volunteers are being utilized throughout state ~gencies end the type of work they ere performing." It also indic~ted th~t information would be requested on recruitment, training end placement of volunteers and the experience and training of those m~naging the volunteer programs. The overal1 data was compiled for all responding agencies, by the type of agency. To assess utiltzattcn, the responding agencies were divided into the types listed below. The appendix lists an the agencies under their assigned types Admi nistrati on/ReguIat ion Arts/History Education Law IJustice Minority Concerns Natural Resources/Environment Social Service Transportation/Utilities In addition to information on the number and type of volunteer involvement in the various state agencies, the authors were interested in the level of professional management exhibited by the quelittcetlone and experience of those managing volunteer programs. Oneway to measure professional menaqernent is to compare the use of volunteer management activities determined by the Association for Volunteer

Administration's standards for the Certification of Volunteer Administrators(eVA). The eVA standards are a compilation of research and measurement over a 15year period. They outline the primary characteristics of a volunteer program that uses a professional management process. CVA was developed by experienced longterm volunteer menacers,academics with experience in volunteerism, andprofessional adult educators. Volunteer administrators working towerd certification must demonstrate their knowledge andexperience in suchjob related ski11sas formal recruitment activities, development and implementation of volunteer training, the use of suchthings as job descriptions to spell out volunteer roles/responsibilities, and the development and implementation of reward andrecognition for volunteers. Other skills required for certification include decision-making, strategic pltmning, problem solving, group facilitation, and leadership. In addition, perttcipents in the eVA process develop plans for their ownprofessional development. This study examines only six of the skills required of the volunteer manager in order to obtain certification. They are, no doubt, the most tangible and visible of the required skills for professionally managedvolunteer program. Where Are Volunteers 126 surveys were sent to Washingtonstate agencies. 78 (61.9") responded to the survey. Of the 78 respondents, 32 (41") reported participation in the previous year of 38,833 volunteers. They accounted for 325,507 hours of donated service per week. In organizing responses to the survey by type, based on their function, the list below reports the total number of respondents, the number with volunteer programs, and the percent reporting volunteer activity in 1 gaa.

PERCENTAGE Of VOLUNTEER

PROGRAMS BY TYPE

TYPE

I UITH TOTRL • OF • UITH RESPONDENTS UOLUtfTEER UOLUtfT. PROGRAnS PROG.

Administration/Regulation Education Law/Justice Minority Concems Natural Resources/Environ. Social Services Transportation/Utilities Other Total

20
0

7 0

3S~
0

9
5 1t

5
2

55~ 40"
100~

11 18 0

19
0 9

94%
0

44~
na

78 Volunteering By Type

32

The wide variety of volunteers and activities make generalizations extremely difficult. It is more illuminating to report the ranges by type. Full reports of all responses are in charts in the appendix. In the "Administration/Regulatoryll type, the Board of Accountancy reported the use of 70-80 volunteers QverQ~1n~ \-2 hours per week, whi1ethe Secretary of State's office uses one volunteer for 11- J 5 per week.

annually avertlging 3-4 hours per week. In the "Law andJustice" type, the Department of Corrections hes over 5000 volunteers who give 3-4 hour per week, while the Washington State Traffic Safety Commission had50 volunteers working an average of 1-2 hours per week. As a group, the "Natural Resources/Environment ..type had the largest number of volunteers overall, Outdoor Recreation 200-300, and The State Parks and Recreation Commission with 600. Hours ranged from 9-1 0 hours per week for the Department of Ecology to 1-2 hours per week for the Department of Natural Resource. In the "Social Services" type, the Department of Social and Health Services reported 1600 volunteers, with a wide variety of hours. The Woshington state Soldiers Homeuses 1SO volunteers annually averaging 1-2 hours per week. In the "Other" type, the Department of Personnel uses 2 volunteers for 1-2 hours per week. Respondents were asked whether volunteer functions were advisory or provided more direct service. 75~ (24) reported direct service volunteers and 43~ ( t 4) advisory roles. 11 (34~)of the 32 departments and agencies had both.
PROFESSIONAL VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT ELEMENTS
with 300 individuals and ~~ groups, Department of Fisheries with

In "Art/History"

the Capit01 Museum uses 85 volunteers

Respondents were asked to provide information that would indicate the range and level of professional management activities being carried out by the designated volunteer administrator. There were questions on the survey about six elements required for the effective management of volunteer programs. They were: 1) the presence and use of job description, 2) written policy related to volunteer activities, 3) planned recruitment campaigns, 4) orientation training,S) recognition of volunteer activities, and 6) a record keeping system for volunteer activities. Additionally respondents were asked about
6

training for staff on volunteer management and the future use of volunteers. Of the 32 agencies of Washington government reporting volunteer use, 02'" (20) indicated either full or part-time staffing of the volunteer program. Six (21~) had full-time staff assigned to the volunteer program. Nine (28~) respondents reported "previous experience working with volunteers" as a criteria of employment. Three (9~) of the agencies indicating the use of full-time staff aSSignments to coordinate volunteer activities, and also required previous experience for the job. Volunteer job descriptions were available in four ( 12%)of the agencies. 27(84") respondents provided some type of recognition for volunteers. S9~ (18) reported orientation and training for volunteers. 30 respondents (92~) reported having record keeping systems on volunteer activities. Programs with high volunteer volume were most likely to have all the management elements in place. The Department of Corrections(IILaw and Justice"), with 5000 volunteers, used five of the six managerial elements, the Department of Social and Health Services ("Social Services"), with t 600 volunteers, used all six. Of the six management elements, the Asian American Council used only one, recognition of volunteers. They had 12 volunteers averaging 3-4 hours per week. The "military" volunteers listed in the "Other" category used only two of the elements, registering 1a volunteers annually. The Employment Security Department used only two of the management elements yet recruited 100 volunteers averaging 7-8 hours of service per week. Generalizations on the use of professional volunteer management strateqies by the type of volunteer agency cannot be made. For example, in the "Social Service" type, the Department of Social &. Health services used ell the tools available while Employment Security used only two. Size of volunteer program appeared to be a more reliable indicator of the use of professional volunteer elements than type of agency.

TRAINING 46.8~ (15) of the agencies with volunteer programs reported on-going training to enhance the skills of paid volunteer administrators. The following chart shows the number of
~gencies, department or Boards providing training for staff by

type.

TRAINING FOR STAFF VOLUNTEER ADMINISTRATOR

#

It 1S noteworthy that when a respondent mdicated fu11-time staff there was always on-going training available. When the respondent indicated a combination of full time and part time, it did not always follow that on-going training was available for staff. It was even less likely when there was only part time or no assigned staff. .The Future Onesurvey question asked the respondents to lndicate their use of volunteers in the next five years. Only one agency indicated the discontinuation of volunteers, the Liquor Control Board. Three etete egencie5 indicated that while they currently have no volunteers, they will have within five years. The Department of Revenue, Humt.m Rights Commission, and Utilities and Transportation Commission intend to develop volunteer proqrems,

Observations 1.. Almost 40,000 people per year are volunteering over 325,000 hours per week to their state to. enhance the quality of life in environmental, social service, history, justice, and minority programs. A substantial number of people are also donating time to influence the administration and regulation of state delivered services. This number is almost .1'" of the total Washington state population. 2. The range of jobs available to citizens is staggering. It ranges from advisory at the Department of Social and Health Services to direct service to welfare recipients with the same agency. People are cleaning beaches and leading tours at the Capitol.

3. The commitment by 32 agencies to continue current volunteer

programs~ with 3 more to come on line in the next five years, and only one discontinuing a current program, indicates a growing sensitivity of government to involve citizens at all levels and in a variety of capacities. 4. The study seems to indicate the establishment of VOluntary programs or advisory boards with little attention by administrators to the managerial elements necessary to operate a long-term successful procram 5 Selecting inexperienced employees to operate these voluntary citizen programs is another indicator that few managers of state agencies see a need for specialized training in volunteer meneqement, This observation is supported by the use of part time staff who receive no on-going training to organize and implement the work to be done. 6. The largest programs (in numbers and hours) are often those with professionally trained staff who receive on-going training. This seems to support the connection between training volunteer

the volunteer program.

m~nQgersend their abi1ity to enhence the quantity and quality of

, variety of state programs.

of volunteer programs, citizens are attracted to serve in a

7. Despite the absence of key elements vital to the management

8. This study did not address the issue of retention. A key question for future research is the connection between the use of volunteer menaqement elements and the wil1ingness of volunteers to continue their service.

10

1988 STATE AGENCY SURVEY RESULTS ~gency Name

RESPONSE

CATEGORIES

VOL.

HRS/WK AVERAGE

II IIi I .i t
... ~
l!
~

I I.i I IJ .. ) I ii i I f Ia !
.i

r:
~

fI. C:.

! .If

:i

ii - .ft ~ ~

ADMINISTRATION/REGULATION

~oard of Account. Dept. of Comm. Dev. Labor & Industries L1censlng Llquor Control Bd. Pharmacy Boord Secretary of State cap1tol Museum LIbrary WA. State

PX FX

X
X

XX X XX XX XX
XX

X
X

X X

70-80
NA NA

1- 2 20
NA

X X NA X

X
P X X

XX X NA NA X

20-25 1 7 1 85+ 100-120 7

20 1- 2 7-8 11 -15 3-4 5-6 3-4

NA NA NA NA X NA NA

NA NA

NA X NA NA

ABI l:IISIaB~
PX
XX X
NA NA NA X X

X X X

Hlst. Society East. WA F

XX X

XX X

XX

EDUCATION (NO RESPONSE)

LAW AND JUSTICE

Attorney Gen. Office Correct1ons State Patrol

PX P/F

X XX
X

XX X
X

X
X X X
X

XX
X X X
X

X
X

100-120 5016
NA

16-20 3-4 11-15 7-8 1-2

X X X
X

P
X X
X

Trame Safety
Traffic. Safe. Comm.

X
X

185 50

Agency

Name

RESPONSE

CATEGORIES

• VOL.

HRS/WK AVERAGE

IJ I I f J ;i i t i I I It i I i!I J iI I J I i I !J I s
J
~

.2

J!

lie

C.

MINORITY CONCERNS Asian/Amer. Affairs Blind Serv.Dept

NA NA NA NA NA X X W

X XX

X X

12 16 10-15 80 18-20
360 Ind/99grps

3-4 3 3-4 9-10 1-2

varies varies

NATURAL RESOURCE Conservation Comm. Ecology: Shoreline Natural Resource Outooar Recreation Parks end Recreation Pug. Sound Water Qua .X WlIdl1fe [COMB.] Fisheries P/F X FX

NA
PX PX

NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA X X X
X X X X

X
X

X
X X

X
X X

PXX PX

X XX

X X

X X X

600 700 2830 200-300 1607+ 100 150 150

XNA X X
X

XX X X

1-2
varies NA

XX

XX XX

SOCIAL SERVICES D. S. H. S. [COMB.] Employment Securtty WA Veterans Home WA Soldiers Home P/F X X P PX FX

XX

XX XX X X

varies

XX
X X XX XX X X X XX XX

7-8 1-2 5-6

Agency Name

RESPONSE

CA TEGOR IE5

z VOL.

HRS/WK AVERAGE

j II i I t II .~

'i

i IIi1 II i I , 1I J .. f I •
~

;i ;i

ii

J
~

.i

TRANSPORTATION/UTILITIES OTHER

( NO RESPONSE)

M1Utary
Personnel

P
NA NA NA

X
X X X X X

X NA NA
X NA NA X XX

10 2

9-10
1-2

~rade/Econ. Dev

PX

25-30

3-4