Policy Paper: A New Look at Public Planning for Human Services

Divergent planning trends in human service fields are described and analyzed. Highlighted are simultaneous emphases on local high impact and state planning, domain issues in comprehensive planning, and the impact of technology and participation. Each trend is posed as an opportunity for attacking a delimited aspect of human service problems-and as a potential danger if it were given undue emphasis. The authors point to longer run dangers of bypassing state delivery systems, problems of domain encroachment and the need for strengthened executive authority in the public sector which can balance the influence of the technocrat-planner with that of greater citizen participation.