The voluntary welfare associations in Germany: An overview

21

Modernization of social services and welfare:

With regard to the process of modernization of social services and welfare current strat-
egies which are also aimed at reducing or limiting the costs of this sector play a domi-
nant role:⁵⁸

• A newly organized competitive system is to provide a new market-oriented steer-
ing concept of social services and welfare⁵⁹ and enlarge the pluralistic offer of
social services and a person’s “right to choose a social service.

• The state is defining its role more and more as an enabling state setting up the
framework conditions for the social service providers.

• The role of the voluntary welfare is no longer co-designing but implementing of
social policy as -in terms of New Public Management - an efficiently and trans-
parently working provider.

• Through means of the Contract-Management the efficient and effective imple-
mentation of social services and welfare are to be guaranteed. In addition the pro-
viding structure is to be changed: More precedence of prevention, self-help and
voluntary commitment is to activate new accesses to personal resources.

These strategies change the relationship between the public institutions and the social
service providers. They change the way of providing social services and welfare and
have already evoked many measures of deregulation, privatization, moving and becom-
ing independent of tasks, the introduction of market-oriented and competitive elements,
the development of private-sector managing methods and the implementation of eco-
nomic steering instruments on both sides.

⁵⁸ See to the process of modernization: Dahme/Kühnlein/Wohlfahrt 2005: 102-103, 245-253; Dah-
me/Schütter/Wohlfahrt 2008: 85-90.

⁵⁹ Boeβenecker∕Trube∕Wohlfahrt 2000: 360-367; DahmeZWohlfahrt 2000: 9-24.

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