Managing Funding Constraints in Frontline HIV/AIDS Social Services in Canada

The need for HIV/AIDS social services continues to grow; workers confront increasingly complex client needs, and changes to government funding policies present new challenges to frontline social workers. Drawing on a qualitative study involving 59 social service practitioners in Ontario, Canada, this paper explores how frontline workers experience policy changes that restrict government funding. Respondents report that many of their clients are focused on immediate needs, such as food or shelter, rather than their HIV infection. They describe how funding cuts can introduce uncertainty into their work, and they note that their work now feels more bureaucratic and less caring. More organizational work is required to access resources and workers often find themselves playing a gate-keeping role. The paper describes how workers try to minimize the negative policy changes they perceive, but some of their ways of managing increased demand can actually end up increasing barriers to clients. Findings suggest that changing policies can undermine efforts to involve people with HIV in service delivery and to advocate for changing the social context of the epidemic.