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Proprietary firms and child welfare services: patterns and implications.
Child Welfare
|March 1, 1983
Summary
For-profit companies are increasingly contracted by public child welfare services, challenging traditional views. This shift necessitates adapting administrative approaches to prioritize child welfare outcomes over ideological debates.
Area of Science:
- Social Work and Public Policy
- Child Welfare Services Administration
Background:
- Public child welfare services traditionally opposed proprietary involvement.
- Increasing use of for-profit firms as contractors challenges this norm.
- Broader economic trends influence service delivery models.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the extent of for-profit contractor use in public child welfare.
- To explore the implications of this trend for human service delivery.
- To propose adjustments for effective contracting and vendor selection.
Main Methods:
- Comprehensive survey of public child welfare services.
- Analysis of contractor utilization patterns.
- Review of economic trends impacting social services.
Main Results:
- For-profit firms are extensively utilized as purchase-of-service contractors.
- This widespread use contrasts with historical philosophical opposition.
- Contracting is becoming a dominant service delivery mechanism.
Conclusions:
- Attitudinal and administrative adjustments are needed for effective contracting.
- Vendor selection should be based on empirical evidence, not ideology.
- Optimizing contracting can enhance services for children.