Benefit - cost analysis in the evaluation of child welfare programs

Broad evaluation of the financial consequences of social programs has been somewhat of an orphan stepchild of policy analysis, especially within states. A full benefitcost analysis is expensive and complex to implement, requiring that evaluators reach far beyond the immediate framework of the program to consider the effects of choices made across a wide programmatic and social spectrum. It takes time to do properly, and public officials tend to need swift answers. But particularly now, as greater integration of social welfare programs is actively under consideration in many jurisdictions, benefit-cost analysis should be a central tool of social welfare program evaluation.