TY - JOUR
T1 - Policy Implementation Under Class Action-Based Reform of State Child Welfare Agencies
T2 - The Cases of Washington State and New Jersey
AU - Alvarez, Ariel
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Taylor & Francis.
PY - 2016/7/2
Y1 - 2016/7/2
N2 - Using a case study method, the policy formation and implementation of litigation based system-wide reform of the Washington State and New Jersey child welfare agencies was examined within the context of the policy instruments component of Hasenfeld and Brock’s (1991) political-economy model. Primary findings and recommendations for improving the implementation process include: (a) clarifying weak and ambiguous authority structures by creating a policy agenda linking authority structures to specific plan components; (b) mitigating misalignment and under-resourcing of policy components by stipulating resource requirements within the litigated settlement agreement provisions; (c) strengthening the implementation process by aligning policy action steps and outcome measurements with available data sources and capabilities; and (d) structuring incremental change into the program design for policy reform to increase flexibility to respond to changing agency needs or unpredictable events.
AB - Using a case study method, the policy formation and implementation of litigation based system-wide reform of the Washington State and New Jersey child welfare agencies was examined within the context of the policy instruments component of Hasenfeld and Brock’s (1991) political-economy model. Primary findings and recommendations for improving the implementation process include: (a) clarifying weak and ambiguous authority structures by creating a policy agenda linking authority structures to specific plan components; (b) mitigating misalignment and under-resourcing of policy components by stipulating resource requirements within the litigated settlement agreement provisions; (c) strengthening the implementation process by aligning policy action steps and outcome measurements with available data sources and capabilities; and (d) structuring incremental change into the program design for policy reform to increase flexibility to respond to changing agency needs or unpredictable events.
KW - Case study analysis
KW - child welfare agency
KW - child welfare reform
KW - class action lawsuit
KW - litigated reform
KW - litigation
KW - performance
KW - policy implementation
KW - public administration
KW - public policy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84963542461&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/15588742.2015.1081579
DO - 10.1080/15588742.2015.1081579
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84963542461
SN - 1558-8742
VL - 15
SP - 162
EP - 187
JO - Journal of Policy Practice
JF - Journal of Policy Practice
IS - 3
ER -