Organizational termination and policy continuation: Closing the Oklahoma Public Training Schools

Abstract

Can termination occur withboth a bang and a whimper? This article examines the termination of Oklahoma's State Training Schools for dependent and neglected children and the continuation of the policy of institutionalization and detention through the use of admission to psychiatric hospitals and treatment centers. This case study is discussed in light of Peter deLeon's model of termination and Herbert Kaufman's theory of organizational evolution, and demonstrates the resiliency of public policy, even in the face of organizational termination.