A Study of Shelters for Street Children from an Organizational ...

Management styles were also influenced by management structures of the parent
organisation to which shelters were affiliated. The managers held regular weekly
meetings with staff to brief them on all decisions affecting the operations of the shelter
made by board of managers. Managers felt that circumstances determined how closely
to work with shelter staff but admitted that they endeavoured to provide a good working
environment thereby motivating staff morale and performance. In shelter C the role of
the manager was more difficult and kept the manager under pressure with constant
supervision to make sure that the shelter was working and in order.
4.3.4 Admission Procedures
Shelters managers shared a common assumption that children should not be left on
their own in the streets because doing so would harden the street life survival culture
which increased the possibility of their drifting into crime. The longer a child remained
on the streets the more difficult it was for any intervention. In this regard, they felt that
the residency capacity of shelters could be increased but structural size and location of
shelters inhibited that to happen. They also expressed fear that a large number of
former children living and/or working on the streets would present serious challenges to
maintaining discipline and/order. In deed, shelter managers advocated for preventive
strategies to be put in place to prevent children coming or drifting to street living or
working. They argued that such an endeavour required government in collaboration
with other stakeholders to develop and implement such preventive programs.
4.3.5 Shelters Staffs and Residents
Supervision, discipline, and morale of staff and children presented shelter managers
with constant challenges. This situation arose because of (a) lack of clearly defined
roles of managers, social workers and supervisors. (b) Social workers served as
deputies to managers and acted in that capacity when managers were attending other
meetings or were away for other reasons. The situation in shelter C was replicated in
shelter A except that at times the social worker differed to an even larger extent with
the shelter manager. In shelter D the roles were totally confused. The manager said
Social workers, childcare workers, educators and volunteers each have their
own agenda on what programs should be followed
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