Accountaability In California's Adoption Assistance Program (CAAP)
479 Words2 Pages
The issue of accountability is of critical importance to intergovernmental relations. Additionally, literature also indicates that “scholarly attention” has been given to “various aspects” of accountable rather than to performance measurement. The preceding requires us to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of accountability within public administration. The case of California’s Adoption Assistance Program (CAAP) provides an effective reference in examining four measures related to the strengths and weakness of accountability within the following analysis.
We begin with the mechanism of bureaucracy as it relates to accountability. Bureaucracy is manifested in “organizational roles; supervisory relationships; rules; standard operating procedures; and close detailed scrutiny of employee or agency performance”. So it quickly becomes evident why this measurement is so important to accountability within intergovernmental functions. One of the greatest strengths of bureaucracy is the accountability that…show more content… Political accountability “derives from external sources but involve low degrees of direct control”. For CAAP the decentralization of the counties had always been a popular political theme in California, and Governor Deukmejian's Administration was committed to support local autonomy as a matter of principle”. The preceding strength was once again crucial for social worker’s and the Counties of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and San Joaquin flexibility in making timely decisions to on a case-by-case basis. Additionally, this mechanism was critical in managing the political tensions between the State and the Counties within the CAAP case. The weakness within political accountability is the inability to meet the expectations of all external stakeholders like interest groups for instance and being accountable for program consequences regardless of negative or positive