The proposed study examines the effects of an innovative, interdepartmental pilot project designed to coordinate mental health services for children who are placed in the custody of the state. The study represents a Public Academic Liaison (PAL) between the University of Tennessee and the Tennessee Departments of Mental Health, Human Services, Corrections, Education, and Health and Environment. Specifically, a quasi-experimental design will be employed to compare the quality and outcomes of mental health services in an experimental group, comprised by two six-county areas which will be participating in the state-sponsored AIMS pilot project, with the quality and outcomes of services in a control group, comprised by two six-county areas that will be matched with the experimental group in regard to demographic characteristics. The objectives of the state-sponsored AIMS pilot project are to provide more timely and appropriate treatment by coordinating and integrating the services of all state departments that serve children in state custody.
The AIMS pilot project will give case management teams the full responsibility and authority for making, coordinating, and monitoring the results of all treatment and service decisions involving all five departments. The case management teams will use a central intake procedure and uniform assessment and classification procedures for all children in state custody and reduce the interdepartmental red tape and the role of the judiciary in treatment and service decisions. It is expected that the quality and outcomes of services will improve significantly for the twelve counties participating in the AIMS project in comparison to the twelve counties serving as controls. It is also expected that causal models developed specifically for this study to explain the effects of organizational processes on the quality and outcomes of treatment services will be confirmed by statistical tests based on latent variable structural analyses. Results of the study will be used to implement a statewide system to coordinate mental health services for the 5,000 children who enter state custody each year in Tennessee.
| Glisson, C; Hemmelgarn, A (1998) The effects of organizational climate and interorganizational coordination on the quality and outcomes of children's service systems. Child Abuse Negl 22:401-21 |
| Glisson, C (1994) The effect of services coordination teams on outcomes for children in state custody. Adm Soc Work 18:1-23 |
