The purpose of this three year project is to extend network analysis techniques to a children's mental health system undergoing major changes. These techniques were developed for the ongoing """"""""Formal and Informal MH Service Networks in RWJ Sites"""""""", a study of the interorganizational networks, patterns of coordination, and client outcomes in five demonstration sites participating in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJ) Program on Serious and Persistent Mental Illness and one comparison community. More specifically, the aims of the project are to: 1). Conduct an interorganizational network study of the formal relationships within a Children and Adolescent Service System Program (CASSP) (N= 45 organizations) as a result of a major service demonstration initiative at five points in time (funding for four of these is requested in this proposal). Using agency boundary spanners as key informants, the structure and levels of coordination among these agencies will be assessed. In addition, the impact of system variables on outcomes for seriously emotionally disturbed children and their families will be examined in conjunction with the second research enhancement project. 2). Study the view of the formal system held by a sample of case managers and case workers (N=50) in key agencies at five points in time, in order to analyze discrepancies in perceptions between them and the boundary spanners, and to evaluate the implementation of the service system changes at the worker level; 3. Assess the survival, beyond the termination of RWJ funding, of the OPP model and the impact of the expanded capitation program on the program; 4). Analyze the impact of changes in financing mechanisms on the interorganizational relationships and network characteristics of the CASSP agencies; and, 5). Investigate the development of service system networks over time in a rapidly changing environment, and identify the factors which best predict the direction of network development.
