The Role of Organizational Variables in Predicting Service Effectiveness: An Analysis of a Multilevel Model

Abstract

This study examines the role of organizational context in predicting service effectiveness. It highlights methods for studying this phenomenon for expanding knowledge of intervention effects in social work and other disciplines in the human services. A total of 3,883 children and 13 networks of organizations comprised the study sample. To determine whether the organizational context explains intervention effects, a multilevel model of a hypothesized relationship between organizational variables, child characteristics, and child outcomes was tested. The results indicate that child outcome (measured as out-of-home placement) varies across networks, and this variance is largely explained by workplace conditions. Specifically, organizations that are characterized by their respective workers as having greater routineness of work, strong leadership qualities, and supervisor and coworker support are related to fewer occurrences of out-of-home placement for children who participated in a family preservation program. This study suggests that organizational characteristics are potentially strong determinants of service effectiveness.