Organizational responsiveness to children and families: Findings from a national survey of nonprofit child welfare agencies

Bowen McBeath, Mónica Pérez Jolles, Emmeline Chuang, Alicia C. Bunger and Crystal Collins-Camargo

Children and Youth Services Review, 2014, vol. 38, issue C, 123-132

Abstract: Although child welfare practice at the frontline, organizational, and systemic levels is predicated on responsiveness to children and families, research has not determined why some child welfare agencies are more responsive to consumers than others. This study examines the influence of children and families on agency operations (“consumer-centricity”) among a national sample of nonprofit child welfare agencies. In testing for external and internal determinants of consumer-centricity, we find that agencies reported a high level of consumer-centricity overall. Multivariate analyses indicate that interorganizational competition was the principal predictor of consumer-centricity; in contrast, internal agency attributes such as administrative infrastructural supports and accreditation status, service technology, agency leadership, and structural characteristics were not associated with consumer-centricity. We propose three areas for continuing child welfare research on consumer-centricity and identify direct and indirect strategies that child welfare policymakers and practitioners may use to promote consumer-centricity among nonprofit child welfare agencies.

Keywords: Consumers; Children and families; Nonprofit organizations; Child welfare agencies; Interorganizational competition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:38:y:2014:i:c:p:123-132

DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2014.01.018

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