ABSTRACT
Historically, the “voluntary” sector preceded public financing for social services in New York City in the form of settlement houses and other religious and secular nonprofit organizations, some dating back to the nineteenth century. Government contracts with nonprofit organizations became the primary vehicle for utilizing public funds to support human services during the twentieth century, and the role of contracting has continued to expand in the twenty-first. In addition to reviewing the issues in the contracting process and in public reporting of outcomes, it is important to consider how the organization of government affects human services contracting. New York City government continues to expand its publicly financed human services to needy residents. Nonprofit organizations became providers of publicly supported services because they could reconcile their independent missions with the realities of being a government contractor.
