Improving Human Services for Children with Disabilities and Their Families: The Use of Vouchers as an Alternative to Traditional Service Contracts

Abstract The use of vouchers has great potential as a management tool for improving human service delivery options for individuals with complex service needs. The administration of voucher systems can radically change both the processes by which children are assigned to programs and the mechanism for funding and managing those programs. An evaluative survey compared a voucher payment system to the traditional contracting approach for early childhood intervention services. Parents, who have children with developmental delays or developmental disabilities from birth to three years, reported high satisfaction with the services their children received. Costs of services were lower using vouchers than under the traditional funding system, thus, providing the ability to serve more children without increasing the funding base. Children served through vouchers received substantially more individual therapy and other supportive services than their center-based peers.