An organizational view of privatization: Is the private foster care agency superior to the public foster care agency?

Foster care privatization is emerging as an increasingly popular policy option. One of the assumptions behind this movement towards privatization is a belief in the superiority of the private foster care agency. In an effort to assess this assumption, literature regarding public and private foster care agencies was reviewed with a special attention to the organizational and environmental factors derived from systems theory. Overall, the evidence did not support this assumption, as both public and private foster care agencies had their own areas of relative advantage. Recommendations are offered for future study of organizational characteristics in the foster care field.

► Systems theory concepts were applied to the foster care agency. ► Literature regarding public and private foster care agencies was reviewed. ► The literature points to no clear superiority based on public/private agency status. ► Each agency type (public and private) has its own areas of advantage.