Explain the differences between workers and services at public and private child welfare agencies.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Public child welfare agencies typically serve large numbers of people, offer a variety of programs, and are less costly to clients. Public child welfare programs are often located in county-based departments of social or human services and include adoption, family life education, foster care, child protective services, in-home family-centered intervention, and residential services. Conversely, private child welfare agencies usually focus on specific problems and subpopulations, rely on pay for service, see fewer clients, and are less bureaucratic in nature. It is not unusual for a social worker to develop professional expertise in practice with children and families in public child welfare agencies and then be lured away to a private, more specialized child welfare agency. Although salary and benefits for social workers in the public sector in departments of social services are often very competitive, private agencies attract people through smaller caseloads, greater professional autonomy in decision making, focused services, and less bureaucracy.