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When a gruesome child abuse incident becomes public, the Massachusetts Department of Social Services finds it must re-examine its relationship with a grassroots, non-profit social service agency with which the state has contracted to provide "child protective services." By raising the question of whether Massachusetts should continue to contract with La Alianza Hispana, this case raises a wide range of issues about the relationship between government and the independent, non-profit "social sector." What types of publicly-funded services can or should be performed under contract by the independent sector? How should independent contractors be monitored? Do public funds inadvertently push non-profit agencies in directions they might otherwise choose not to go? In this case, these overarching issues are joined in the context of crisis management, as the Department of Social Services faces a public outcry about a horribly burned child and an apparently neglectful family. See also Partners in Child Protection Services: The Department of Social Services and La Alianza Hispana (C10-96-1326.0).