Community decision-making: The reallocation of Social Services Block Grant funds during a period of retrenchment
Abstract
The aim of this study is to describe group decision making and purchase-of-service contracting for human services by analyzing the decision-making process of a county in a northeastern state. The intent was to use the county's Social Services Block Grant reallocation process to analyze the way in which group decisions are made and social policy is formulated at the local level during periods of retrenchment. Through a literature review of group decision making and human services allocation/contracting, four questions were identified. (1) What decision-making process was selected and how was it implemented at the local level with regard to the reallocation of Social Services Block Grant funding during a period of retrenchment? (2) To what extent do the group decision makers rely on intuitively consistent rather than empirically verified information in decision making at the local level in regard to the reallocation of Social Services Block Grant funding during a period of retrenchment? (3) What is the nature and extent of politics and political influences in decision making at the local level in regard to the reallocation of Social Services Block Grant funding during a period of retrenchment? (4) What is the nature and extent of risktaking in decision making at the local level in regard to the reallocation of Social Services Block Grant funding during a period of retrenchment? This study employed an observant-participation, case-study method to describe group decision making and purchase-of-service contracting. The qualitative data for this ethnographic study came primarily from direct observation of formal and informal meetings, interviews with key informants, and questionnaires. The Latent Structural Model of Community Decision Making is also applied to this case study. Organizations' relationship to decision makers, resource support linkages with other funders, target populations, and overall reputation are factors considered in this model. Findings are drawn from repeated readings of case study records and interviews, analysis of questionnaires, and categorizations of the major determinants of decision making. Through an analysis and interpretation of data, findings as well as theoretical and practice implications are presented. Conclusions are then drawn from the research.
Subject Area
Social work|Social psychology|Social structure
Recommended Citation
Bolden, Raymond, "Community decision-making: The reallocation of Social Services Block Grant funds during a period of retrenchment" (1992). Dissertations available from ProQuest. AAI9213733.
https://repository.upenn.edu/dissertations/AAI9213733