UC Davis

Community Based Organizations (CBOs) play a crucial role in supporting clients to navigate healthcare and social services, often funded through grants and donations. Nevertheless, the burden of extensive documentation for both service providers and clients can erect barriers that inhibit CBOs from addressing community needs or deter clients from availing services that could enhance their standard of living. This research focuses on how neoliberal policies engender bureaucratic entanglements, thereby escalating the obstacles to access for older individuals in rural settings. The burden of excessive paperwork, combined with other obstacles such as poor quality of care, discourages service seekers from applying for programs beyond their most immediate needs due to fear of mistreatment. By centering the voices of these older individuals, the study aims to understand the impact of these policies on the healthcare safety net. In addition, service providers of Community Based Organizations share how the management of grant deliverables, funding and interorganizational collaboration impact service delivery. Finally, the research explores the concept of Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) as a potential tool for rural unincorporated communities to overcome the challenges that arise from healthcare access barriers.