Quality of welfare services of contracted nonprofit organization-government partnerships

This study explored the quality of government welfare services provided by contracted nonprofit organizations. A majority of nonprofit organizations apply for government contracts without first evaluating the viability of the partnership. This may result in poor quality of services delivered to recipients. The partnership between government agencies and 2 nonprofit organizations, Goodwill Industries and Project QUEST, was examined through a qualitative case study research approach that may offered insight into the issues related to the quality of services provided by nonprofit-government partnerships. Goodwill Industries and Project QUEST were chosen because each has an established history of participating in nonprofit-government partnerships. The theoretical framework for this study was Deming's concept of total quality management (TQM). TQM has 3 main components: trust, customer focus, and process management. Data collection methods consisted of (a) a document review of the contracts and performance evaluations, (b) interviews with agency officials and nonprofit organizations leaders who participated in nonprofit-government partnerships, and (c) surveys. Three strategies for organizing the data were employed: memos, categorization, and pattern identification. Findings yielded by a content analysis of data indicated that both programs provide quality services, but challenges of lack of structure, understanding of clients needs and quality of programs remain. Recommendations included increased interaction between clients and decision makers will ensure that management knows how well the partnership is functioning. The social change implications of the study are significant as the San Antonio example of nonprofit government partnerships could be implemented in other areas of the United States to increase efficiency and quality of needed community services.