Abstract:
This three-part series examines the issue of human services reorganization from several distinct perspectives: the state legislature, an operating division affected by the reorganization; the governor's office; and the social workers in the field. It serves as a vehicle for examining the origins of the different perspectives and for analyzing the ways in which interaction among different actors in a political setting can influence policy outcomes. Part A recounts the history of the Florida Human Services Agency and concludes with the reorganization bill of 1975. Part B examines the reorganization from the perspective of an individual program element, the Division of Mental Health. The division saw the reorganization as a threat to its professional identity, since the division would be abolished and its programs turned over to a regional manager responsible for the administration of several unrelated programs. The objections of the professions in the mental health division--who were disregarded in the reorganization plan--raise questions about the actual benefits of reorganization to the clients of the various programs. Part C describes the effect of reorganization on the actual delivery of services through excerpts of interviews with professionals, generalist administrators, legislators, community leaders, and HSA social workers.
