Organizational Factors in the Integration of Services for Children

Abstract

Service coordination is a recurring, but elusive, goal for the multiple social and health systems that provide services for children. One key to understanding the failure to integrate services is found in the dynamics of complex organizations and organizational networks. In this article, I apply concepts from three traditions in organization theory to identify structural, resource, and implementation variables that serve as either incentives or barriers to successful service coordination. Case studies and evaluations of interagency projects confirm the importance of these organizational factors in practice. Although organization theory does not provide unambiguous prescriptions for the design and implementation of interagency projects, it can alert planners and managers to the conditions under which projects have the best chances for success.