From welfare state to Opportunity, Inc. Public-private partnerships in welfare reform

In the old days, our governments provided cash assistance to the poor. Toda y, our governments increasingly contract with nongovernmental organizations , both nonprofit and for profit, to deliver a wide range of services to the poor so that they may become less so. Will these new public-private partne rships solve our nation's welfare poverty problems? It is far too early to tell. However now is the time to begin assessing these partnerships, and fi nd out how they are arranged, what their goals are, what they do, and how t hey will be evaluated This is an initial step toward this assessment.