What is the Best Outsourcing Strategy? Nonlinear Association between the Outsourcing Degree of Institutional Care and the Costs of Substitute Care in Child Welfare within Finnish Municipalities

ABSTRACT

The main aim of the study was to explore the association of outsourcing degree to the cost of institutional care in child welfare. There was no essential difference in cost when the municipalities had outsourced either almost none or all of their services. The highest costs were associated with the situation wherein about half of services were outsourced. However, the association depended on the sizes of municipalities. Among the big municipalities the highest costs were associated with the situation wherein about a quarter of services were outsourced. Among the small municipalities the association was similar to the whole data.

KEYWORDS:

• Contracting and accountability
• privatization

Notes

¹ Family support may include the following open care services: (i) A family worker can regularly visit a family at home, and family work may include discussions, guidance, and support for the parents in raising their children; (ii a) a support person can be assigned to a child or a family (a support person is an adult who helps with homework, for example, or is involved in a child’s or family’s hobbies); (ii b) a support family is an ordinary family, which a child can meet, for example, on weekends; (iii) financial aid for the child’s hobbies is available if a family cannot afford to fund a child’s hobbies; (iv) peer group activities, such as group meetings, that a parent may participate in to discuss issues with other people in similar situations; (v) treatment and therapy services supporting a child’s rehabilitation.

² The decision to remove a child can be made by a municipal officeholder (who is a qualified social worker), if the decision is made in consent with the parties and if no one opposes the decision. If the decision is made involuntarily then confirmation is needed in an administrative court.

³ The Gini coefficient measures income equality: 0 expresses perfect equality, and 100 expresses maximal inequality.