Proprietary hospital social work

The rapid growth of the proprietary sector in the provision of social services creates a challenge for the social work profession. Little is known about social work services in for-profit organizations or about how they compare with similar services in nonprofit setting. The authors report on a comparative study of social work services in proprietary and nonprofit hospitals that used the results of the Membership Survey, 1985 of the Society for Hospital Social Work Directors and a sample of 50 proprietary hospital social work departments. Services and staffing, characteristics of directors, and responses to diagnostic related groups are contrasted, and the significance for the profession discussed.