Collaboration In Service Delivery Research Articles

School of social work in partnership with community: finding areas for potential collaboration in service delivery

ABSTRACT In seeking to bridge the micro-macro divide in social work education, we conceptualized, developed, and initiated an innovative university-community partnership-based pilot internship program over a two-year period with four social work student interns placed within the cross-section of local government, social service agencies and community. Our goal was to work within the tripartite context to identify gaps in service delivery in the communities and support local organizations in addressing the gaps. The social problems identified through the internship program revealed service gaps in the areas of substance abuse treatment, intimate partner violence, parenting support, poverty alleviation and services for clients of color and individuals presenting with juvenile delinquency issues. While lack of student preparedness, agency policies, cost and lack of a clear understanding of the internship structure and goals constituted some barriers, the first year of the pilot’s implementation provided a strong case for university-community engagement and resulted in the creation of a comprehensive program structure to guide the execution of this internship model in future.

Are There Managerial Practices Associated with the Outcomes of an Interagency Service Delivery Collaboration? Evidence from British Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships

Are There Managerial Practices Associated with the Outcomes of an Interagency Service Delivery Collaboration? Evidence from British Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships

Are There Managerial Practices Associated with Service Delivery Collaboration Success?: Evidence from British Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships

Little empirical work exists measuring if interagency collaborations delivering public services produce better outcomes, and none looking inside the black box at collaboration management practices. We examine whether there are collaboration management practices associated with improved performance of Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships, a crossagency collaboration in England and Wales. These exist in every local authority in England and Wales, so there are enough of them to permit quantitative analysis. And their aim is crime reduction, and crime data over time are available, allowing actual results (rather than perceptions or self-reports) to be analyzed longitudinally. We find that there are management practices associated with greater success at reducing crime, mostly exhibited through interaction effects such that the practice in question is effective in some circumstances but not others. Our findings support the arguments of those arguing that effective management of collaborations is associated with tools for managing any organization, not ones unique to managing collaborations: if you want to be a good collaboration manager, you should be a good manager, period.

Application of a Model for the Development of a Mental Health Service Delivery Collaboration Between Police and the Health Service

Changing societal trends have revealed an increased prevalence of mental illness and diminished health resources from which to offer services. This has lead to a need to develop new and more efficient police and health service models of practice. Services offered by the police department in the management of mental health crisis in the community are essential in minimising the risk of individuals with mental health problems causing harm to themselves or a member of the public. In addressing the difficulties associated with police playing an important role in the management of mental health crisis in the community, but having little training in mental health issues, this paper discusses a proposed innovation for New South Wales police in Australia through the development of a Crisis Intervention Team model.

Linking Practice and Science in the Substance Abuse Treatment of Homeless Persons

The Homeless I Project represents the successful linking of practice and science in the development, delivery, and evaluation of innovative interventions for substance abuse and homelessness in a community-based setting. Several positive outcomes resulted from the collaboration between university investigators and providers of health care for the homeless. These included a productive research and service delivery collaboration, important project and community linkages, national research and service delivery linkages, service enhancements for homeless persons with substance abuse problems, development of an innovative abstinent-contingent work therapy and housing program, significant client participation rates, effective dissemination of method and results, and continued practice and research. Obstacles and solutions related to integrating science and practice, overcoming community resistance, and maintaining linkages are presented. Suggested applications for linking science and practice are offered.

Managing stakeholders a Tourism Planning Model

Collaboration among key players is a fundamental ingredient in sustainable development efforts. To this end, this article discusses stakeholder theory and its application as a normative planning model, and introduces the relationship/transaction strategy continuum as a tool for applying this theory in development. In this application, planning authorities are directed to identify and proactively consider the transaction vs relationship orientations of key stakeholders. Congruency across this orientation increases the likelihood of collaboration in service delivery. In presenting case instances of tourism efforts, the application of the proposed stakeholder orientation matrix is illustrated. The article concludes with market segmentation strategies designed to promote alignment of the stakeholder orientations.

A long road ahead: A progress report on educating homeless children and youth in america

Abstract The plight of contemporary homelessness in American society has been well documented, including the growth in homeless families with school age homeless children and independent homeless youth. The impact of homelessness on schools and schooling has resulted in a school-age population with complex problems for which no simple solutions exist. This article chronicles the progress made in recent years in addressing the educational needs of homeless children and youth in America and notes particular areas of concern that remain to be solved if education is to hold a meaningful place in their disrupted lives. Specifically, concerns regarding awareness and perceptions of homelessness, early childhood educational needs, intervention with special populations, interagency collaboration in service delivery, and the need for comprehensive evaluations of homeless education efforts are discussed. Additionally, suggestions for improving policy and practice salient to educating homeless students are offered