The study described in this presentation uses a mixed methodology approach to examining collaboration in systems of care. During the first year data are gathered on state legislative policy regarding systems of care and collaboration in serving children with emotional and behavioral disturbances and their families. The salient characteristics of each state's system of care, as it appears in legislation, will be identified and states will be categorized based on these characteristics. A purposeful sample of states will be selected for intensive study.
In the second year visits will be scheduled to each site to study the impact of legislation in the environment it is intended to impact. Interviews with multiple informants including parents and service providers will be conducted at the state and local levels. The primary methodological approach described in this presentation is backwards mapping. According to this approach, the closer one is to the source of the point of application of some policy, the greater the ability to influence activities and outcomes. The problem-solving ability of complex systems, like system of care, depend, therefore not on hierarchial control but on maximizing discretion at the point where the issue is most immediate. The research begins with the relationships between parent, child and provider and among providers and works backward, using interviews, observation and measures of collaboration to obtain data related to the effectiveness of the policy instrument the state has used to initiate the system of care.
Learning Objectives: 1. During this session, faculty will discuss the methodology of backwards mapping as an approach to examining collaboration in systems of care at the state level. 2. At the conclusion of the session, participants will be able to define and describe backwards mapping as a methodological approach in studying systems of care issues within the children's mental health field
Keywords: Child/Adolescent Mental Health,
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.