A bitter battle has been raging in Jerusalem over the past few months over the city's plan to issue a tender for its after-school child care programs.

On one side is the Jerusalem Community Centers Association (JCCA), the largest provider of after-school programming for young children (tsaharonim) in the capital. On the other side is the municipality's director general and its legal department. Mayor Uri Lupolianski recently suspended the tender after a successful campaign on the part of JCCA director general Zvi Tchernichowsky.

The local authorities, which are the main providers of social services to the public, have over the past several years outsourced nearly all services to nonprofit organizations or to private contractors, including day centers for the elderly and day camps and after-school programming for children.

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"It began with spots here and there that turned into a giant stain covering nearly the entire country," Tchernichowsky said. "I have no doubt that in another decade, everything will be in private hands, without any prior discussion of the values involved, any thought given to the implications."

The state has even made privatization, including the employment of social workers by nonprofits or by employment agencies, a condition of disbursing funds for social services to the municipality.

The dictates from the capital are apparently welcomed most of the time. According to a survey of seven local authorities carried out by Prof. Yosef Katan of Tel Aviv University, 76 percent of employees and managers are at least somewhat in favor of outsourcing social services.

Tchernichowsky cannot understand the excitement. "I am certain that the public sector is much more committed to standards, to qualified employees, to high-quality service, to supervision, than are private bodies," he said.

In a letter he sent to Lupolianski last year, Tchernichowsky urged the mayor to consider the "imperceptible assets" the community centers contribute to the city - "vision, values, social sensitivity, a community perspective, public involvement and the ability to operate multicultural programs."

The JCCA has for years operated as a branch of the municipality in providing varied services in complete cooperation with the residents of all 28 neighborhoods that have community centers. The centers provide, on behalf of the city, services for teens, the elderly, new immigrants and volunteers. It also operates emergency centers for children.

The municipality says the tender is intended to set a single, low price for all after-school programs. Tchernichowsky is convinced that the price cannot be lowered without sacrificing quality. The JCCA charges NIS 760 per child. Its profit margin is less than 5 percent, and an additional 5 percent or so is earmarked for a central fund that enables the JCCA to provide discounts. The rest pays for a teacher and assistant for every 18 children, two activity groups a week and a hot meal.