Integratng the family service system from the inside out: A view from the bureaucratic trenches

Abstract

The array of categorical public programs for multineed families has often resulted in fragmented, ineffective, and inefficient services that add to the complexity and frustration experienced by these families. Utah's initiative to develop family-centered, community-based, coordinated services has encountered five major management challenges including (a) resisting nonproductive agency reorganization, (b) maintaining a focus on systems change rather than the creation of yet another new program, (c) changing the culture of service providers, (d) balancing the priorities of prevention, core treatment, and crisis services, and (e) maintaining an emphasis on a family-centered system. Weathering the political preferences for service specialization, a “quick-fix” to social problems, the aloof posture of the judicial system, and oversimplified approaches to evaluation present additional challenges. Sustaining true system change will require accountability, broad community involvement, and skilled leadership.