Conflict and Its Management in Systems of Care

Conflict is a common, but infrequently studied aspect of inter-organizational efforts to provide care, such as systems of care (SOC) for children with mental health disorders and their families. This multi-year, multi-method study sought to understand the types of conflict experienced in the governing boards of SOC, the impact of these conflicts and conflict management approaches. It also developed recommendations for conflict management. The first phase was a mail and web-based needs assessment of all federally-funded and graduated SOCs (N=59). Results indicated sources of conflict included goals, relationships, and authority. Management techniques included developing a resolution strategy, ignoring it or dealing with it behind the scenes. The presence of conflict negatively impacted functioning of the SOC. Several SOCs were selected for site visits that included concept mapping, interviews with key stakeholders and document review. These maps and their common themes will be presented. The third data collection method was hosting two two-hour conference calls with participants representing a variety of roles in SOCs to share experiences with conflict and its effects. Fourteen major themes were identified and will be described. From these data collection efforts recommendations for identifying and managing conflict in SOC have been developed and will be presented. Examples include issues related to systems change, partnering and sustainability. Testing of alternate conflict management strategies is planned in the near future.