The Public Purchase of Social Care: British Confirmation of the American Experience

Abstract

This article identifies certain characteristic features of purchase of service contracting (POSC) in the English personal social service and compares them with the experience of the USA. It begins with a brief examination of the financial data about POSC and suggests a simple typology for categorising it. Next, the substantive part of the article discusses the practice of POSC in England and the USA. This section focuses upon three particular topics: why public agencies decide to contract-out; the management and monitoring of POSC; and policy issues such as the alleged conflict between public accountability and the autonomy of voluntary organisations. The final section outlines the kind of research agenda which needs to be tackled before making decisive judgments about the utility of POSC as a strategic instrument of social policy. On the basis of existing knowledge, however, the article concludes by outlining a personal view of the essential prerequisites, for developing POSC in the shorter term.

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