A common complaint about agencies that provide social services or cash benefits is the lack of integration in their work. The media regularly reveal stories about people who feel they have been victims of defective coordination and politicians repeatedly stress the need for improved coordination. Yet, problems of coordination continue to emerge at the level of service delivery. In this study the author looks at why problems of integration reappear despite official mandates and agency missions and how such problems are ...
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A common complaint about agencies that provide social services or cash benefits is the lack of integration in their work. The media regularly reveal stories about people who feel they have been victims of defective coordination and politicians repeatedly stress the need for improved coordination. Yet, problems of coordination continue to emerge at the level of service delivery. In this study the author looks at why problems of integration reappear despite official mandates and agency missions and how such problems are related to basic traits of welfare bureaucracies. Based on fieldwork in Norway and Scotland, this study focuses on the issues of integration within and between such agencies.
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