Findings from University of Pittsburgh in the Area of Mental Health Reported (More Than a Means To an End: Alignment of Social Service Organizations’ Missions With Representative Payee Program Goals)

2021 MAR 22 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Mental Health News Daily -- Current study results on Health and Medicine - Mental Health have been published. According to news originating from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “Although nearly 5 million Social Security Income and Social Security Disability Insurance beneficiaries receive entitlements through representative payee programs and approximately 5% of these receive representative payee services from social service agencies, few studies have assessed ways that these services align with their organizations’ missions. We conducted nine qualitative interviews with 15 staff members of organizations in Pennsylvania that provide representative payee services in addition to other social or supportive services, with some interviews conducted with multiple representatives within an organization.”

Financial support for this research came from NIH National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from the University of Pittsburgh, “The purpose of the interviews was to explore the goals of representative payee services for these organizations, whether these providers incorporated representative payee services into their organizational missions, and the extent to which organizations incorporate client-centered approaches in their representative payee services. We identified three main goals of the representative payee programs, which were in alignment with the organizations’ missions: financial and housing stability, financial literacy, and improving health outcomes. In addition, participants discussed challenges related to representative payee services that were encountered within their organizations and with clients. Findings indicate that organizations view representative payee services as not just financial management but also a means to improve clients’ knowledge and skills and assist them with achieving their goals. Client-centered practices were emphasized as a means of reducing paternalism and to support clients’ goals.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Given that participants discussed the importance of incorporating client-centeredness into the provision of representative payee services and there are currently no published guidelines or best practices on how this can be achieved, we suggest that guidance on how to effectively provide client-centered representative payee services to improve client outcomes is essential.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: More Than a Means To an End: Alignment of Social Service Organizations’ Missions With Representative Payee Program Goals. Community Mental Health Journal, 2021. Community Mental Health Journal can be contacted at: Springer, Van Godewijckstraat 30, 3311 Gz Dordrecht, Netherlands. (Springer - www.springer.com; Community Mental Health Journal - http://www.springerlink.com/content/0010-3853/)

The news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained from Mary Hawk, University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health, Behav & Community Hlth Sci, 130 DeSoto St, 6120 Publ Hlth, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, United States. Additional authors for this research include Abisola Olaniyan, Stephanie L. Creasy, Monica Merante and Dana Davis.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-021-00799-5. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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