Assessing Site Readiness: Considerations about Transitioning to a Privatized Child Welfare System. Topical Paper Number 1

摘要

The purpose of this first paper is to help child welfare administrators think through key issues about transitioning to a privatized system of service delivery. The paper is organized around 12 overarching questions that administrators need to ask themselves when assessing the readiness of their site. Some questions encourage sites to explore specifically why they are privatizing services and whether or not privatization is the best approach to meeting agency goals. The remaining five papers in this series will examine other specific areas. These are: .. Models of Privatization Reform .. Evolving Roles of Public and Private Agencies .. Developing Effective Contracts .. Contract Monitoring and Accountability .. Evaluating Privatization Initiatives This paper series builds on research, described below, conducted under the Quality Improvement Center on the Privatization of Child Welfare Services (QIC PCW), funded in 2005 by the Childrens Bureau, US Department of Health and Human Services. It also draws from the research on privatization in other, closely related social services. Information used for this paper series comes from several sources, including: Telephone discussions with state child welfare administrators from 44 states and the District of Columbia; Regional forums with public and private agency staff and community stakeholders from twelve states that have privatized at least one component of the child welfare system; Literature reviews; and Follow-up interviews and correspondence with public and private agency providers and key stakeholders from several states. From this work we have learned that many states and communities have strong privatization initiatives that continue to move forward. However, some communities have tested privatization and have pulled back from these efforts, largely due to poor performance on expected outcomes. Several existing initiatives have been significantly retooled based on lessons learned and unanticipated consequences of the privatized system.