Teams in Child Welfare Settings: Interprofessional and Collaborative Processes

Abstract

This study explored the dynamics of collaborative, team-based efforts to provide child welfare services in the context of a public/private partnership model of service delivery. The major areas of exploration included interprofessional team processes, factors that contribute to team effectiveness, perceptions of family participation, and attitudes toward privatization in child welfare. The study used a survey design with a self-administered questionnaire delivered to a purposive sample of 165 child welfare and community professionals who were members of interprofessional child welfare teams in a Midwest, urban county. The findings indicate that respect and unity of purpose predict team satisfaction, and that agency type predicts attitudes toward public/private partnership and some aspects of family participation.