The Transformation of Social Services

Over a relatively short period of fifteen years, there have been significant changes in the clientele, provisions, delivery, financing, and planning of social services in the United States. The collective impact of these changes has brought social services to the threshold of a new era; it is an era in which more consumers from all classes, more types of social service agencies, and more state and local governments have a greater stake than ever before in the establishment of enduring social service networks. This essay explores the basic features of change in five dimensions of social service and the implications of these changes.