ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the rethinking performance budgeting, in theory and as applied in practice. It offers up compelling reasons for continuing to press governments to improve performance and advance budget accountability through applications of performance budgeting. In addition, given the distinctive and variable nature of services provided by different public agencies, the chapter presents a long way to go to fully understand the agency performance experience. Each service type/agency may have its own “flavor” of performance budgeting due to service production protocols, legalities, dominating culture and the like. In the juvenile justice field, for instance, whether a department of juvenile justice perceives itself to serve and/or discipline delinquent youth makes a difference in measurement of program success and the application of performance in budgeting and management. To structure performance budgeting laws, their legal foundations and executive orders for performance systems can be and are tracked and analyzed.
