Abstract

Based on the street-level bureaucracy theoretical approach developed by Michael Lipsky (1980, 2010), the article analyzes the collaboration practices between public social services operators and third sector operators considering them more generally as street-level workers. The aim is to understand how, through the exercise of their discretion and through the strategies implemented, they horizontally compensate the structural lack of resources typical of the work context in which they operate. By putting the concept of street-level organizations to the test (Brodkin 2011b), the study tries to take a step forward by inviting us to reflect in terms of «street-level system». The qualitative analysis conducted is based on three Italian local case studies, all belonging to the same Umbrian regional context, investigated through the instrument of semi-structured interviews to public and third sector operators, in this case the local Caritas selected for the study. Taking into consideration also contexts usually neglected by studies of this type, the article aims to shed light on the practical functioning of local social services systems and how they are, ultimately, the result of collective actions within the street-level.