Street-Level Bureaucracy: The Dilemmas of the Individual in Public Service

Contents

CONTENTS PREFACE: DILEMMAS OF THE INDIVIDUAL IN PUBLIC SERVICES xi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xvii PART I INTRODUCTION l. The Critical Role of Street-Level Bureaucrats 3 CONFLICT OVER THE SCOPE AND SUBSTANCE OF PUBLIC SERVICES 4 CONFLICT OVER INTERACTIONS WITH CITIZENS 8 2. Street-Level Bureaucrats as Policy Makers 13 DISCRETION 13 RELATIVE AUTONOMY FROM ORGANIZATIONAL AUTHORITY 16 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN STREET-LEVEL BUREAUCRATS AND MANAG£RS 18 RESOURCES FOR RESISTANCE 23 PART II CONDITIONS OF WORK INTRODUCTION 27 3. The Problem of Resources 29 DEMAND AND SUPPLY, OR WHY RESOURCES ARE USUALLY INADEQUATE IN STREET-LEVEL BUREAUCRACIES 33 4. Goals and Performance Measures 40 GOALS 40 PERFORMANCE MEASURES 48 5. Relations with Clients 54 NONVOLUNTARY CLIENTS 54 CONFLICT, RECIPROCITY, AND CONTROL 57 THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF A CLIENT 59 vii Contents 6. Advocacy and Alienation in Street-Level Work 71 ADVOCACY 72 ALIENATION 75 IMPLICATIONS OF ALIENATION 79 PART III PATTERNS OF PRACTICE INTRODUCTION 81 7. Rationing Services: Limitation ofAccess and Demand 87 THE COSTS OF SERVICE 88 QUEUING 95 ROUTINES AND RATIONING 99 8. Rationing Services: Inequality in Administration 105 A COMMENT ON THE UBIQUITY OF BIAS 111 9. Controlling Clients and the Work Situation 117 HUSBANDING RESOURCES 125 MANAGING THE CONSEQUENCES OF ROUTINE PRACTICE 133 10. The Client-Processing Mentality 140 MODIFICATIONS OF CONCEPTIONS OF WORK 142 MODIFICATIONS OF CONCEPTIONS OF CLIENTS 151 PARTIV THE FUTURE OF STREET-LEVEL BUREAUCRACY 11. The Assault on Human Services: Bureaucratic Control, Accountability, and the Fiscal Crisis 159 HOLDING WORKERS TO AGENCY OBJECTIVES 162 ACCOUNTABILITY AND PRODUCTIVITY 170 STREET-LEVEL BUREAUCRATS AND THE FISCAL CRISIS 172 12. The Broader Context of Bureaucratic Relations 180 CONTRADICTORY TENDENCIES IN STREET-LEVEL BUREAUCRATIC RELATIONS 188 viii 13. Supp0rlfor Human Services: Notesfor Reform and Reconstruction DIRECTIONS FOR GREATER CLIENT AUTONOMY DIRECTIONS FOR CURRENT PRACTICE THE PROSPECTS AND PROBLEMS OF PROFESSIONALISM KEEPING NEW PROFESSIONALS NEW NOTES INDEX Contents 201 204 21 3 237 ix ...