Public Financing of Voluntary Agency Foster Care: 1975 Compared with 1957.

The relationship between public and voluntary agencies in the child care field is examined in this discussion of how patterns of public financing of voluntary agency foster care have been influenced by recent changes in public policy. Responses to a 1975 questionnaire sent to state departments administering or supervising services for dependent and neglected children are compared with 1957 data obtained from a similar questionnaire. In the intervening years, changes in federal government policy have encouraged the use of voluntary agencies to provide service through contract arrangements. The period saw an increase in the proportion of total child care programs represented by public fund payments to the voluntary agencies, along with an increase in public control of planning for the children in their care. No state response made reference to the voucher system for promoting consumer choice, although the pros and cons of third-party payment have been much discussed in the literature. Accountability, another aspect of public control of voluntary agencies, was an area of marked development, with child welfare agencies subject to licensing laws in more states in 1975. Increasing reliance on tax funds is seen as a possible threat to the autonomy of the voluntary agencies and to their social action role. Disadvantages of the government's contracting with the lowest bidder involve lowering the quality of service through elimination of programs for staff development, experimentation and advocacy. (Author/BF)