The main elements of electricity price can be divided into three components. These are, wholesale price of energy, price of network services and taxes, each composing approximately third of the final price. It seems that wholesale price is determined quite efficiently, while the price of network services have not been under much interest. However, total welfare can be disturbed significantly, i...

Social welfare and profit are two main factors to be included in the operational goal of bus services. It is assumed that conventional services “welfare pro” with more consideration social welfare, while customized “profit profit, each service maximize overall payoffs, namely, weighted sum profit. A bi-level pricing game proposed shed light on impact services’ competition payoffs when objective...

The idea of performance contracting or performance based contracting has become increasingly popular in the child welfare arena. This isn’t surprising, in that it comes on the heels of two very powerful shifts in the provision of child welfare services since the early 1990s: a rapid growth in privatization and the emergence of major accountability efforts from the federal government in the form...

OBJECTIVE This study examined points of entry into the mental health service system for children and adolescents as well as patterns of movement through five service sectors: specialty mental health services, education, general medicine, juvenile justice, and child welfare. METHODS The data were from the Great Smoky Mountains Study, a longitudinal epidemiologic study of mental health problems...

Despite the recent attention to the prevalence of parental substance use disorders among the families in child welfare services, there are few national data on the number of children in foster care due to parental substance use disorders. Studies that have examined the prevalence of substance abuse among the child welfare population have found widely varying rates. Estimates range from 40% to 8...

T HE public welfare agencies of all 53 States administered funds for child welfare services under the Social Security Act during the year ended June 30, 1952, when more than $113 million was spent for services. The total, which is an estimate based on reports received by the Children’s Bureau from 45 of the 53 State agencies, represents funds from Federal, State, and local sources. An estimated...

Street-level bureaucracy (SLB) is a sociological theory that seeks to explain the working practices and beliefs of frontline workers in public services and the ways in which they enact public policy in their routine work. Developed by an American, Michael Lipsky,1,2 it examines the workplace in terms of systematic and practical dilemmas that must be overcome by employees, with a particular focu...

BACKGROUND Infants are the most likely recipients of child welfare services; however, little is known about infants and families who come into contact with the child welfare system and factors that are associated with service provision. Investigations involving infants and their families present an unparalleled opportunity for the child welfare sector to enhance infants' safety and well-being t...

range of activities, including investigating alleged incidents of abuse and neglect, protecting victimized children, supporting and preserving families, and assisting children who must be temporarily or permanently removed from their parents’ homes. Child welfare agencies are an integral part of the public social services safety net. They often act as the provider of last resort since state law...