1. Privatization on the Frontlines: The Differential Impact on Human Service Workers
Mimi Abramovitz
Bertha Capen Reynolds Professor of Social Policy Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College & The CUNY Graduate Center and Jennifer Zelnick
Associate Professor & Social Welfare Policy Chair
Touro College Graduate School of Social Work
2015 Annual Meeting
EASTERN SOCIOLOGICAL SOCIETY: Carework Mini-Conference
New York, New York
February 26-March 1, 2015

2. Introduction: Privatization, a Key Austerity Strategy:
Privatization, a well-known austerity strategy, is reshaping service provision, working conditions and social work practice and affecting the well- being of the human service workforce.
Many have studied the impact of privatization on human service programs and client needs.
Few have studied its impact on front line human services workers -- paid care workers-- in the public and non-profit sector.
The Human Service Work Force Study; Your Voice in Needed: was undertaken to fill gap
We hope the findings will provide evidence that human service workers need to enter this contested debate about privatization

3. This Presentation Will:
Define Privatization
Describe three stages of welfare state privatization
Present findings from the Human Service Workforce Study

4. Privatization and the US Welfare State:
A preference for market driven public policies; private sector institutions regarded as more productive, efficient, and less costly than government programs.
Shifts a) responsibility for social welfare from the state to the private sector; b) cost of care work from the state to the household; c)burden of care work from the state to women in the home.
Research on how market has shaped the paid care workforce- Mignon Duffy intro chapter.

5. History of Privatization in the US Welfare State :
Marketization: (1930s to the present), Cash benefits converted clients into “consumers” for the market. Managerialism: (New Public Management- 1990s to present) -Importing market/business principles into human service agencies Financialization: (2000s to the present) Promoted human services as an investment opportunity .

6. Operationalization of Privatization on the Frontlines
Our study focuses on Managerialism, the current stage of privatization, closely associated with New Public Management (NPM)
Managerialism/NPM took hold in the context of austerity
Both call for public and non-profit agencies to run like a business
Hallmarks of NPM : Efficiency, productivity, accountability, quantification and standardized measures
Controversy: Some workers see the trends as positive, others are troubled. The Human Service Workforce Survey hopes to bring the voices of frontline workers into the debate

7. The Human Service Workforce Survey
Anonymous, electronic survey- Qualtrics©
Partners:
National Association of Social Workers- NYC Chapter
Human Services Council,
United Neighborhood House,
Behavioral Health Coalition,
Social Service Employees Union, Local 37
New York Non-Profit Press.
Goal: 3,000 completed surveys
This Presentation based on analysis of 2,468 completed between January 2014-February 2015

8. This Presentation of Data Describes…
Demographics/workplace characteristics of respondents
Managerialism/NPM on the job: scale, scope and differential impact
Worker’s assessment of NPM on the job: Speed up, Accountability, Efficiency, Relationship Building
Outcomes and differential impacts on
Service Dilemmas
Threats to Retention
Bending the Rules
Health & Stress

9. Findings Preview
Majority of respondents regarded NPM as “highly problematic”
Important differences by:
Race: white or persons of color
Position: front line or manager
Sector : public, non-profit, for profit
Union Membership
Years in human services

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17. PoC
Manage
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21. Summary of findings 1. NPM impacts are common, and concerns are high
2. Differences in who reports indicators of austerity vs. indicators of NPM
Persons of color, managers, union members and public sector workers reported more austerity on the job.
Whites, managers, non-unionized , and non-profit workers reported more NPM practices.
3. Differences in who is feeling the impacts of NPM
Persons of color, frontline, and public sector workers reported service dilemmas, retention issues, bending the rules, and health symptoms.
Whites, frontline, and non-profit workers reported stress/anxiety, and working overtime without pay.

22. Next Steps…
Complete analysis and disseminate results Organize with survey partners and allies to bring the voice of Human Service Workers into the debate over privatization of human service work. Exploring cross-national studies of the impact of privatization on human services