While both theory and empirical research regarding work team performance suggests that conflict can play an important role in determining productivity and other outcomes, the impact of conflict on the effectiveness of service coordination teams is not well understood. In this study, the team records and charts of 189 young people maintained by service coordinators in a system of care initiative were analyzed to identify the number of intra-team conflicts, the participants involved in each conflict, the theme of each conflict and their relationship with the likelihood that young people were successful in meeting their treatment goals. Findings indicate that interpersonal concerns and concerns about team member follow-through were the most frequent types of conflict. More important, our analyses suggest that more frequent conflicts significantly increased the likelihood that a child and family team (CFT) was unsuccessful in helping the youth and family achieve the desired treatment goals. The results underline the need for further research on how structure and functioning of services coordination teams impact youth and family outcomes.
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Acknowledgments
This study was supported by grants from the Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children and Families Program of the Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse Service Administration (Grant No. 6 HS5 SM52910) to Marion County Health and Hospital Corporation and Choices, Inc. and from the Indiana Consortium for Mental Health Services Research at Indiana University. The authors would like to thank Knute Rotto, Janet McIntyre, Vicki Effland, and all of the service coordination staff at Choices, Inc. for their comments on prior versions of this paper. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association in Atlanta in October 2001.
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Wright, E.R., Wright, D.E., Kooreman, H.E. et al. The Nature and Impact of Conflict within Service Coordination Teams for Children and Adolescents with Serious Emotional and Behavioral Challenges. Adm Policy Ment Health 33, 302–315 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-006-0042-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-006-0042-6