Contracting for Child Welfare Services in Massachusetts: Emerging Issues for Policy and Practice

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Abstract
The historical and structural context in which the purchase and contracting of child welfare services has developed in Massachusetts is discussed. Inherent policy dilemmas are made explicit and issues of strategic concern to social workers delineated. The author concludes that the contracting process is a potentially dominant factor in specifying the roles of the voluntary and public sectors as well as the opportunities and constraints for collaboration between them. Additionally, such basic items as the definition of a case, standards for services and programs, and fiscal accountability mechanisms are being redefined by the emergence and growth of the contracting process. The issues raised for Massachusetts have implications for other states as well.

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