hollowing out of government

MaryW commented on the word hollowing out of government

The cop-social worker program has its fans. But it also has critics.

Rachel Fyall teaches public policy and governance at the Evans School at the University of Washington. She says this partnership between the Downtown Seattle Association and the police may help people, but it fits into a riskier, larger trend that started in the 1980s.

“We call it a lot of things: 'The contracting regime,' or 'the shadow of bureaucracy.' 'The hollowing out of government,'” Fyall says.

The problem is that a government that doesn’t do social work forgets how to do it. And by farming out social work to contractors, we create an industry devoted to social work – an industry that’s less transparent and less accountable than public employees would be.

Fyall says the key is to pay close attention to results of programs like this – and to hold non-profits accountable.

April 5, 2016