Case History: City of Worcester Partnership Project

摘要

A national partnership program was initiated by DHEW in 1974 to test the impact on State and local government of approaches to improved planning of services, and 20 case histories were compiled in order to make an assessment of the program. The Worcester (Mass.) project demonstrates the difficulties which a city can have in establishing its role within the human services system vis - a - vis private agencies. The office of human services programs (OHSP) and the partnership grantee were created by the city of Worcester to establish collaborative arrangements with neighborhood centers and to develop an information and referral (I and R) system. However, the OEO - funded Worcester Community Action Council (CAC) became a major competitor of OHSP for the allegiance of some of the neighborhood centers. Conflict and competition between CAC and OHSP became particularly intense when two centers were jointly funded for a short time by CAC and OHSP. During its second year, OHSP began to focus more directly on addressing policy issues for the city manager and city council. The city manager developed confidence in the ability of the OHSP director, and OHSP was successful in helping to develop an I&R system in neighborhood centers, in obtaining sources of funding in the city, and in building the capacity of the city manager within the context of the city government. The Worcester experience provided the basis from which lessons regarding human services reform can be drawn, and these lessons are presented from the viewpoints of project staff and evaluators.