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Service Coordination by Public Sector Managers in a Human Service Contracting Environment

Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research volume 46, pages 115–127 (2019)Cite this article

Abstract

Despite emerging evidence of contracting for evidence-based practices (EBP), little research has studied how managers lead contract-based human service delivery. A 2015 survey of 193 managers from five San Francisco Bay Area county human service departments examined the relationship between contract-based service coordination (i.e., structuring cross-sector services, coordinating client referrals and eligibility, overseeing EBP implementation) and the predictors of managerial role, involvement, and boundary spanning. Multivariate regression results suggested that county managers identified fewer service coordination challenges if they were at the executive and program levels, had greater contract involvement, and engaged in contract-focused boundary spanning. In conclusion, we underscore the organizational and managerial dimensions of contract-based service delivery.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Portland State University School of Social Work, PO Box 751, Portland, OR, 97207, USA

    Bowen McBeath

  2. University of California-Los Angeles Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Emmeline Chuang

  3. Mack Center on Nonprofit and Public Sector Management in the Human Services, University of California-Berkeley School of Social Welfare, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Sarah Carnochan & Michael J. Austin

  4. Berkeley Institute for Data Science, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Marla Stuart

Authors
  1. Bowen McBeath
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  2. Emmeline Chuang
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  3. Sarah Carnochan
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  4. Michael J. Austin
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  5. Marla Stuart
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Correspondence to Bowen McBeath.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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McBeath, B., Chuang, E., Carnochan, S. et al. Service Coordination by Public Sector Managers in a Human Service Contracting Environment. Adm Policy Ment Health 46, 115–127 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-018-0899-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-018-0899-1

Keywords

  • Human services
  • Mental health services
  • Contracting
  • Evidence-based practice
  • Collaboration