ABSTRACT
This chapter presents two case studies of purchase-of-service contracting for a particular type of social service—treatment foster care (TFC)—in the American State of Minnesota, County of Hennepin, and the Canadian province of Alberta, Edmonton Region. It also describes the statutory bases for contracting in the two cases, along with federal-statecounty and federal-provincial-region relations. Then, the chapter gives attention to planning for evaluation research on purchase-of-service contracting arrangements. To collect comparative information on government contracting for TFC services, the chapter considers an American and Canadian jurisdiction. The American jurisdiction is Hennepin County, Minnesota; the Canadian jurisdiction is the Edmonton Region of the Alberta Department of Family and Social Services. Both Hennepin County and the Edmonton Region have long histories with TFC; both were sites for two of the earliest and best known programs, and both use purchase-of-service contracts.
