The Effect of Vendorship on the Distribution of Clinical Social Work Services

This study examines the impact of vendorship on the distribution of clinical social work services within the various sectors of the mental health and social service systems and within different types of private practice. Social workers in Massachusetts were surveyed in 1982 and 1983, four and eighteen months following enactment of a state vendorship law. Study findings indicate that social workers have not left organized settings for private practice and that no major increase occurred in the volume of mental health services delivered. The major impact of vendorship is an increase in the proportion of social workers in solo private practice. (September 1986)