Administrative burden research disproportionately examines micro-level burdens on clients claiming benefits from public agencies. Yet we know little about meso-level burdens on third-party providers making up the submerged state—private actors working on behalf of a public purpose—and what effect these burdens have on services. We draw on interviews, participant observation, and focus groups with substance-use disorder (SUD) service providers to map provider burdens and how they affect services that third parties offer. We supplement the provider perspective with data from clients and their families about their experience with services. We find that providers face significant administrative burdens resulting from federal and state policy; that these burdens affect the quality of the services they are able to offer; and, ultimately, that burdens on providers can trickle down to become burdens on clients. Our research has implications for how we understand administrative burdens, the solutions best suited to reducing them, and the role of burdens as a form of hidden politics in the submerged state.

中文翻译：

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涓滴负担：提供商负担对客户体验的影响

行政负担研究不成比例地考察了从公共机构领取福利的客户的微观负担。然而，我们对构成被淹没国家的第三方提供商（代表公共目的的私人行为者）所承受的中观层面的负担以及这些负担对服务的影响知之甚少。我们利用访谈、参与观察和药物使用障碍 (SUD) 服务提供商的焦点小组来绘制提供商的负担以及它们如何影响第三方提供的服务。我们利用客户及其家人提供的有关服务体验的数据来补充提供商的观点。我们发现，由于联邦和州政策，提供商面临着巨大的行政负担；这些负担影响他们能够提供的服务的质量；最终，供应商的负担可能会逐渐成为客户的负担。我们的研究对我们如何理解行政负担、最适合减轻行政负担的解决方案以及负担作为一种隐藏政治形式在水下国家中的作用具有重要意义。