The Impact of Community Action Programs on Private Social Service Agencies

Evidence from a national evaluation of 50 urban community action programs (CAP) shows that these programs have an impact on institutional change in the private welfare sector. CAP is credited with exerting a moderate influence on change in the proportion of social services delivered to the poor and a strong influence on change in the levels of interaction between social service agencies and the poor. There is a joint effect of CAP impact and interaction with the poor on change in service to the poor. The partial coefficients specify that Community Action Programs have a positive impact on change in service to the poor only when social service agencies are also increasing their interaction with the poor. CAP's effectiveness in expanding the participation of the poor in private social service agencies does not appear to be tied solely to the receipt of funds from the Community Action Agency. This suggests that the impact of Community Action Programs on change in the private welfare sector extends beyond the simple "money talks" principle.