Abstract The different forms of privatization all imply some diminution of the state's role in the provision, financing or regulation of welfare. Privatisation does not simply mean the sale of public assets and greater reliance on private enterprise and competitive markets; it also means the transfer of welfare responsibilities from the state to the voluntary and informal sectors. This is partly an ideological issue, concerning the state's relationship with individual citizens and social groups, and partly a matter of practicalities. Welfare pluralism implies a less dominant role for the state in the provision (as opposed to the financing and regulation) of welfare services: its major themes are decentralization and participation. Some doubt is cast on the capacity and the desirability of the informal and voluntary sectors substituting for the state in social service provision. The family is undergoing substantial changes which may reduce its capacity to provide care and, at the same time, the number of dependents is increasing. The voluntary sector is beset with problems of uneven and incomplete coverage, equity, fragmentation and accountability. The chief consequence of welfare pluralism has been the rapid development of the commercial sector.
Abstract Social services in the Netherlands have traditionally been delivered by non-state agencies, in a climate of support for ‘private initiative’ and resistance to direct intervention by government. These agencies have, however, become almost totally dependent upon government finance, while operating virtually autonomously in a non-politicised sphere where services have become increasingly sophisticated and expensive. The power exercised over public resources and public services by these ‘private’ agencies, particularly at national level, and the lack of control over the welfare sector by government, has been the subject of growing criticism in recent years. The dysfunctions of a ‘voluntary’ system of social services have also become glaringly evident. This article traces the development of a relationship between state and ‘private enterprise’ in the social services which has developed from a strictly ‘separatist’ model to one where a high degree of inter-penetration has been reached. It also examines current efforts to extend this second ‘incorporated’ model of statutory-voluntary relationships by placing social welfare services under a greater measure of public control within a decentralized system of local political responsibility.
All chapters end with Notes. Preface. 1. The Field of Social Welfare Policy. Institutional Perspectives on the Study of Social Welfare Policy. Evolving Institutions and the Welfare State. Analytic Perspectives on the Study of Social Welfare Policy. Political Perspectives on the Study of Social Welfare Policy. Individualist and Collective Approaches to Planning. Conceptions of the Public Interest. Competing Values: Participation, Leadership, and Expertise. Why Policy Analysis is Relevant to Direct Service Practitioners. Emerging Issues: Feminist Perspectives on Social Welfare. 2. The Modern Welfare State. The Evolving Welfare State. Theories of Welfare Growth. Is America Exceptional? Welfare Goals. Welfare Scope. Welfare Realms. Emerging Issues: Renegotiating the Boundaries. 3. A Framework for Social Welfare Policy Analysis. Benefit Allocations in the Social Market and the Mixed Economy on Welfare. Elements of an Analytic Framework: Dimensions of Choice. An Example: The Transformation of Social Services. Application of the Framework. Distributive Justice in Public Assistance. Individual and Collective Values in Public Assistance. Theories, Assumptions, and Social Choice. Emerging Issues: The Search for Equity. 4. The Basis of Social Allocation. Who Shall Benefit? Universality and Selectivity in Income Maintenance. Child Support and Asset Building. Social Effectiveness and Cost Effectiveness. Another Perspective on Allocation: A Continuum of Choice. Allocative Principles and Institutional-Residual Conceptions of Social Welfare. Operationalizing the Allocative Principles. Eligibility Versus Access. Emerging Issues: Generational Equity. 5. The Nature of Social Provisions. Basic Forms: Cash Versus In-Kind. Alternative Forms: An Extension of Choice. Vouchers: Balancing Social control and Consumer Choice. Substance of the Social Provision. Social Provisions as Reflections of Policy Values. Cash, Kind, and the Cycles of Public Assistance. Emerging Issues: Choice for Whom? 6. The Design of the Delivery System. Privatization and Commercialization in Service Delivery. Promoting Coherence and Accessibility: Service Delivery Strategies. Unsettled Questions. Selecting Strategies. Emerging Issues: Services Rationing and Managed Care. 7. The Mode of Finance: Sources of Funds. Sources of Funds. The Philanthropic Contribution. Contributory Schemes and Fee Charging. Public Financing: Not Entirely a Public Matter. Emerging Issues: Financing Social Security. 8. The Mode of Finance: Systems of Transfer. Centralization, Decentralization, and Their Ideologies. How the Money Flows. How Transfers Are Conditioned. Devolving Public Welfare. AFDC to TANF. Emerging Issues: Immigrants, Social Policy, and the States. 9. Policy Dimensions: International Trends in the 21st Century. Pressures for Change. Directions of Change. Implications of Change.