Factors contributing to effective management of charitable children’s institutions in Nakuru Town East Sub - County, Kenya

Abstract

Orphaned and vulnerable children have failed to receive proper care and protection at charitable children’s institutions because of poor management. This has harmed their growth and development with studies revealing the challenge of maladjustment to society because of either abuse, neglect or exploitation at the hands of caregivers in these institutions. These issues necessitated this study on factors contributing to the effective management of charitable children’s institutions with a particular focus on CCIs in Nakuru Town East Sub County, Kenya. The specific objectives of the study were to: investigate the influence of income-generating activities on effective management of CCIs; assess the influence of stakeholder engagement on effective management of CCIs; and examine the influence of capacity building of CCI staff on effective management of CCIs in the study area. The study was guided by the administrative theory and the resource-based view theory. The study adopted a mixed-method approach. The descriptive research design was deployed to capture data from a target population of 45 respondents comprising of 39 CCI staff (both management and subordinate) and 6 key informants. A complete census was conducted on all the respondents and purposive sampling was utilized to identify key informants. From the target population, a total of 40 respondents (35 CCI staff and 5 key informants) participated in the study Data from the CCI staff was collected using questionnaires while data from key informants was collected using discussion guides. Data were analysed using the descriptive and inferential statistics with the help of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences software (SPSS). A pilot study was conducted at Tumaini Bethany and Holy Family children in Nakuru Town West Sub-County to assess reliability. The researcher observed ethics by protecting the privacy and confidentiality of the respondents’ during data collection, applying for a research permit from NACOSTI and requesting authorization from the department of children services in Nakuru County. Chi-square analysis was conducted to establish the relationship between the independent variables (Income generating activities, stakeholder engagement and capacity development of CCI staff) and the dependent variable (the effective management of CCIs). The findings from the study showed that income-generating activities (p=0.039), stakeholder engagement (p=0.000) and capacity development of CCI staff (p=0.042) had a significant relationship with the effective management of CCIs. The study hereby concluded that effective management of CCIs was dependent on the objectives under review. The study recommended that CCIs in Nakuru Town East required to develop strategies that incorporated income-generating activities in their institutional plans to mitigate shocks that occur when there is little funding from external partners. Additionally, the study recommended that CCIs incorporate stakeholders in the planning and oversight of the institutions to ensure accountability and honesty. The findings of this study are hereby important to CCIs and stakeholders in the child protection system in Nakuru County to ensure better service delivery to the vulnerable youth and children.