The Implications of Managed Care and Welfare Reform for the Integration of Health and Welfare Services

In this era of managed care and welfare reform, the two systems of public health and public welfare are increasingly focused on a shared population and the services designed to promote self-sufficiency and good health among low-income individuals, families and communities. The two service systems are often constrained by categorical funding mechanisms that contribute to service fragmentation, discontinuity and redundancy. This paper focuses on the changing nature of health and welfare, the impact of categorical funding mechanisms, the barriers to service integration, the potentials for partnership, and concludes with implications for enhancing service integration and the quality of services.