Rehabilitation - Challenges


Rehab - Introduction

Rehab - Challenges

Rehab - Essential Conditions

 

Challenges: What problems do rehabilitation non-profits have introducing technology?  (Berman, 1998)

 

Financial Resources:  Rehabilitation Non-profit organizations do not make money, they spend it on service delivery for the people they serve. People can and do come first, and their financial resources never stretch to meeting all the human needs that exist. As a result, technological advances take a back-seat to service provision. 

 

Human Resources: Human capital inside rehab. non profits are usually trained in either social work, rehabilitation, education or health care - if they are trained at all. Current management employees, often baby boomers, have little or no knowledge of technology's potential role in their organizations. They may even remain suspicious of computers and their role in human services, or they may simply be too busy doing their jobs to take the learning leap required to adopt technological supports.

 

Expertise: It is difficult to envision benefits without any knowledge of the power of technology. Because non-profits are typically not competitive in the same way the business sector has been, they may not have been required to develop efficient new ways of doing things, or to look for increasing efficiencies or strategic directions. As a result, they may lack internal expertise in this area.

 

Funder Requirements: Government and other funders such as the United Way try to decrease their administrative expenditures, while maximizing the dollars spent on direct services to clients.  This often means the investment technological infrastructure requires to be adopted and sustained is typically seen as an unnecessary administrative expense that can be better redirected. In the same vein, donors are more likely to want their contributions going towards services rather than other less altruistic 'administrative' expenditures.