Social Work Organizations, Essay Example

One of the strengths of a governmental social work organization is that it has wider coverage and a state or nationwide machinery that allows for easy information dissemination (Jang & Feiock, 2007). Second is that public social work organizations are less prone to biases against particular subcultures. However, such organizations often find it hard to obtain sufficient financial support because of the thinly spread government budget. No focus is given to particular organizations in terms of support. Also, the organization is prone to impacts from political re-organizations, such as elections. On the other hand, private social work organizations enjoy more focused funding, usually from foundations that are deeply interested in the specific social venture of the organization (Jang & Feiock, 2007). These organizations have the luxury of needing to focus only on a particular area. However, a disadvantage is that the organization’s lifespan depends solely on the foundations that support it, which are much less stable that the government.

Criminal justice agencies suffer from many financial difficulties, leading to the argument that they should be privatized in order for the government to be able to free resources and spend them on other priorities. However, to put the entire criminal justice system in the hands of the private sector seems highly unadvisable. The responsibility to uphold the rights of people during criminal justice processes should still be carried by the government, and this means ensuring that criminal justice agencies should still be directly and unquestionably answerable to the government. However, different departments of criminal justice agencies can be privatized, such as payroll and other departments which are not directly related to the agency’s delivery and documentation of services.

References

Benson, B. (1996). “Privatization in Criminal Justice.” National Criminal Justice Reference Service. Retrieved November 24, 2010 from: http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=174108

Jang, H. and Feiock, R. (2007). Public and Private Funding Reliance of Nonprofit Organizations: Implications for Interorganizational Collaboration. Aspen Institute Nonprofit Sector Research Foundation.