Nonprofit Adaptation to Performance-Based, Managed Care Contracting in Michigan's Foster Care System

Msw, Bowen McBeath; Dsw, William Meezan

doi:10.1300/j147v30n02_05

Cited by 16 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Available literature suggests that administrators and middle managers may be required to devote additional effort to: developing interdepartmental and interorganizational linkages in furtherance of expediting service provision and permanency planning for foster children and their families; designing service-and payment-related tracking systems that can be used to generate regular progress updates; training staff in new service delivery models; and allaying staff concerns and reducing staff attrition related to changing work-related conditions (Flaherty, Collins-Camargo, & Lee, 2008;McBeath & Meezan, 2006;Meezan & McBeath, in press;Smith, 2010). Drawn from open systems' frameworks and influenced by new institutional theories of organizational behavior, these studies imply that social service administrative functions are strongly influenced by large changes in purchase of service contracting conditions (Garrow & Hasenfeld, 2010).…”

Section: Administrative Roles and Managerial Agency In Changing Contrmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some studies have focused upon the adaptations that nonprofit child welfare agencies make in response to changing contractual relationships with public agencies; these studies highlight the manner in which agencies alter frontline and supervisory technical and task environments, interdepartmental relationships, and interorganizational linkages with other service providers to meet new contractual obligations (McBeath & Meezan, 2006;U.S. Government Accountability Office [GAO], 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Privatization and Performance-Based Contracting in Child Welfare: Recent Trends and Implications for Social Service Administrators

Collins‐Camargo

McBeath

Ensign³

2011

Administration in Social Work

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Although social service privatization and performance contracting have increased over recent decades, there is a dearth of information concerning how public and private social service administrators manage performance contracts and develop collaborative relationships that promote desired client outcomes. The Quality Improvement Center on the Privatization of Child Welfare Services (QICPCW) was funded by the federal Children's Bureau to promote knowledge development regarding public/private contracting in child welfare. This article reports on results from interviews with a national sample of public agency administrators by the QICPCW regarding the scope and mechanisms of contracting in the child welfare sector. Results identify key administrative and agency practices that public and private agency administrators used to develop public/private collaborations and sustain effective cross-sector partnerships. Implications for social service administrative practice and research are identified.

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Section: Administrative Roles and Managerial Agency In Changing Contrmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Privatization and Performance-Based Contracting in Child Welfare: Recent Trends and Implications for Social Service Administrators

Collins‐Camargo

McBeath

Ensign³

2011

Administration in Social Work

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“…Applying for government grants is time and labor intensive, can distract from the original service mission (Rushton & Brookes, 2007), and requires a significant level of professional expertise (Gronbjerg, 1991;Smith & Lipsky, 1993). Also, nonprofit organizations can become overly dependent on government sources of revenue (Alexander, 1999;Smith & Lipsky, 1993), can experience a loss of independence and autonomy (Hall, 1987), and can experience a loss of autonomy when limitations are placed on their capacity to engage in legislative advocacy Downloaded by [Northeastern University] at 03:54 19 November 2014 (Ebaugh, Chafetz, & Pipes, 2005;McBeath, & Meezan, 2006;Ostrander, 1989;Saidel & Harlan, 1998).…”

Section: Advantages and Disadvantages Of Public-nonprofit Contractingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Boundary-Crossing Careers of Senior Human Service Administrators: A Cross-Case Analysis

Austin

Santo

Lewis

2012

Administration in Social Work

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Little attention has been given to the boundary-spanning capabilities of human service managers seeking to effectively manage the relationship between public and nonprofit sector programs. This exploratory study begins to identify those capabilities by documenting the boundary-crossing career trajectories of senior human service managers and directors in the United States and United Kingdom. The purpose of the study is to identify the lessons learned by senior managers as they reflected, in retrospect, on their careers in both sectors.

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“…Research indicates, however, that this strategy may lead to goal displacement as nonprofit agencies attempt to appease external influences when choosing their desired outcomes (Wilson, 1989;Froelich, 1999). Case study research indicates that one possible adaptation strategy in this situation is strategic expansion of new services (Alexander, 2000); another is changing service delivery patterns and relationships with other organizations (McBeath and Meezan, 2006). Researchers have explored the heavy influence of funding sources on program design and goals, noting the greater tendency for goal displacement in organizations funded by service-based contracts rather than block grants (Berg and Wright, 1980), the resilience of some nonprofits in the face of pressures exerted by government funders (Bigelow and Stone, 1995), and the need for nonprofits to adopt corporate strategies in order to maneuver within these pressures (Bigelow, Stone, and Arndt, 1996).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Positive and negative effects of external influences on program design

Hetling

Botein

2010

Nonprofit Mgmnt & Ldrshp

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Program fidelity to initial design is a critical measure in implementation research and often considered an important element of program success. This approach assumes that a program' s initial design is immune to the influence of external forces and isS OCIAL SERVICE PROGRAMS are developed in an increasingly complex environment. Their implementation and final realization depend on factors that are both internal and external to the organization developing the program. Implementation fidelity, or how closely an end program matches its original design, is an important strategy used to evaluate a program's success. Although some degree of adaptation is inevitable, and perhaps even desirable, this theory posits that programs are not magically transformed from paper to reality and that administrators must make efforts to ensure that the implemented program reflects the original program design in order to achieve program goals. Assuming that the original program design is based on empirical research and frontline practice wisdom, Funding for this project came from the University of Connecticut Department of Public Policy. We thank Jennifer Campbell, Alissa Johnston, and Shane Van Housen for research assistance and the clients and affiliates of domestic violence agencies in Connecticut for sharing their time and opinions with us. All omissions and errors are our own. most evaluators expect that nonprofit agencies should strive to implement these plans in their entirety. From a program planning perspective, we should then want to understand whether and how the changing external environment hinders or promotes implementation fidelity. This approach assumes, however, that the original program design was in fact based on empirical research and practice wisdom. We challenge this assumption and investigate the process of designing a program and how external influences may affect program development even before the implementation phase.The case study discussed in this article investigates the impact of external influences on the design of a new permanent supportive housing program for domestic violence victims. Our research question considers how external influences affect program design and administrators' abilities to follow their originally intended program theory. We found that such influences change the initial conception of how the program will achieve its intended outcomes and can be perceived as either positive or negative influences by program administrators. These findings lead us to ponder how to apply the concept of implementation failure to the process of designing programs and to conclude that the sector would benefit from critically assessing the process of program design as much as program implementation.

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Nonprofit Adaptation to Performance-Based, Managed Care Contracting in Michigan's Foster Care System

Cited by 16 publications

References 28 publications

Privatization and Performance-Based Contracting in Child Welfare: Recent Trends and Implications for Social Service Administrators

Privatization and Performance-Based Contracting in Child Welfare: Recent Trends and Implications for Social Service Administrators

Boundary-Crossing Careers of Senior Human Service Administrators: A Cross-Case Analysis

Positive and negative effects of external influences on program design

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