or participation in the provision and delivery of social services. Many private sector agencies continued to function in a few instances, with little or no change in their operations, in some instances, with revised objectives, and, in a great many instances, as contract providers of services authorized and funded by government.
In the mid 1970s, the domestic economy of the United States began to sour, along with the public mood. One of the casualties of this souring of economy and mood was funding for social service programs regardless of whether it was public or private sector funding which was involved (Gummer, 1984). Those programs heavily dependent upon government funding were the hardest hit.
Many factors contributed to the development of the environmental changes which resulted in the reduction of funding for social service programs. The economic recession of the mid 1970s was followed by a severe but brief recession in 1980 and by an even more severe and much longer recession in the 1982 1983 period. The latter recession created severe financial pressures for all organizations public and private; however, the fiscal deficits which resulted for most governments were particularly critical. The so called "taxpayers' revolt," of which the most well known manifestation was the passage by California residents in 1978 of "Proposition 13," resulted in tax revenue reductions, which coincided, in all too many instances, with the reductions in tax revenues resulting from declines in economic activity.
Lastly, there was an apparent change in public mood, which, in part, led to the election of President Reagan, a Republican majority in the United States Senate, and an ef fective working majority for the President (on budget mat ters) in the United States House in 1980. The 1980 national elections resulted in significant changes for social service agenc...