Assignment

Prepare: Prior to beginning this discussion, read Chapter 1 and Chapter 3 from your textbook, along with the article "The mythology of privatization in contracting for social services."

Reflect: Approximately 1.2 million organizations are registered with the IRS as nonprofit organizations. It is estimated that millions more small formal and informal associations exist that do not register with the IRS because they have revenues of less than $5,000 per year. Nonprofit organizations in America have combined revenues of approximately $621.4 billion, which represents 6.2% of the nation's economy (Luckert, n.d.). Congress developed the Top Tier Evidence standards for nonprofit organizations, defined as: Interventions shown in well-designed and implemented randomized controlled trials, preferably conducted in typical community settings, to produce sizable, sustained benefits to participants and/or society ("Top Tier", n.d.).

In Oregon they have developed an intervention for parenting training for recently separated, single mothers with sons aged 6-10 years. It is administered by Implementation Sciences International, Inc. (ISII), a research-based, non-profit organization providing training for community practitioners in Parent Management Training - the Oregon Model (PMTO®). The cost per family to the organization is $1000 to $1500 dollars. The meetings teach five core parenting practices: appropriate, noncoercive discipline (e.g., setting limits, following through, reinforcing prosocial behavior); skill encouragement (e.g., breaking tasks such as homework into achievable steps); monitoring; problem solving; and positive involvement. They also teach skills tailored to divorcing women, including (i) emotional regulation (e.g., recognizing negative emotions, and practicing techniques to help regulate them); (ii) managing interparental conflict (e.g., through problem solving and negotiation); and (iii) addressing children's divorce-related concerns (e.g., through active listening, problem solving, and recognizing and managing emotions). ("Parent Management Training", n.d.).

Write: Imagine the Lovely People County Board of Eastern Kentucky are considering developing a program such as the ones rerferenced above for their county. The board is split, particularly around money and other resources, as to whether the county itself should implement the program or to take bids from other agents operating in the county. They have tapped you, as a county director of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), to help them make the best choice. You are ready to give them a report based on your research. Utilizing the readings and your own sources, discuss what issues might be involved in your determination of your recommendation to the county board. Based on this analysis let us know what you would recommend. These are some helpful resources that may help guide you in your recommendation:

• "What's the Matter With Eastern Kentucky?"
• Super Pages: Lexington and Area (Telephone Directory)

Use the following questions to help direct you in your response:

• Describe the advantages and challenges of the choice you are recommending over the other.
• Given your counties special needs what recommendations would you give for constructing this program in your county?
• Briefly, how would evaluate the success of the alternative you are recommending?

Guided Response: As a board member, what questions would you have given your fellow peer's recommendation? What recommendations would you have regarding their decision. What suggestions can you give that would address concerns you might have given the constituites you represent? Your post should contain a minimum of 400 words. Respond to at least two of your classmates' postings.