Abstract
This study examines the process of collaboration between agencies working with high-risk gang youth. Using semi-structured interviews with direct practitioners and observations of a collaborative event at a juvenile prison, this theory-generating study examined the strengths of and barriers to collaboration between adolescent-serving agencies. Practitioners indicated the importance of communication and cooperation as elements of a successful collaboration. In practice, however, these elements were often replaced by premature termination of collaborative arrangements, blaming other agencies for failure of youth, and diffusion of responsibility (“passing the buck”). This study proposes agency fear as a factor separating desired from actual practice, and proposes potential causes and outcomes of agency fear.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alter, C. (1990). An exploratory study of conflict and coordination in interorganizational service delivery systems. Academy of Management Journal, 33(3), 478–502.
Alter, C., & Hage, J. (1993). Organizations working together. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Beatrice, D. F. (1991). Inter-agency coordination: A practitioner's guide to a strategy for effective social policy. Administration in Social Work, 14(4), 45–59.
Budman, S. H., & Steenbarger, B. N. (1997). The essential guide to group practice in mental health. New York: Guilford Press.
Burch, J. H., & Chemers, B. M. (1997). A comprehensive response to America's youth gang problem. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention: U.S. Department of Justice.
Clark, H. B., & Clarke, R. T. (1996). Research on the wraparound process and individualized services for children with multi-system needs. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 5(1), 1–5.
Clark, H. B., Lee, B., Prange, M. E., & McDonald, B. A. (1996). Children lost within the foster care system: Can wraparound service strategies improve placement outcomes? Journal of Child and Family Studies, 5(1), 39–54.
Cole, R. F. (1993). Partnerships for care: Systems of care for children with serious emotional disturbances and their families. Washington, DC: Washington Business Group on Health.
Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory. Chicago: Aldine.
Glisson, C., & James, L. (1992). The interorganizational coordination of services to children in state custody. Administration in Social Work, 16(2), 65–80.
Gray, B. (1985). Conditions facilitating interorganizational collaboration. Human Relations, 38(10), 911–936.
Gray, B. (1989). Collaborating. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Groves, I. D. (1998). Implementation status of the Felix v. Cayetano consent decree: October 1996 to December 1997 Honolulu, HI: Felix Monitoring Project.
Guba, E., & Lincoln, Y. (1981). Effective evaluation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Henggler, S. W., Melton, G. B., Brondino, M. J., Scherer, D. G., & Hanley, J. H. (1997). Multisystemic therapy with violent and chronic juvenile offenders and their families: The role of treatment fidelity in successful dissemination. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65(5), 821–833.
Howell, J. C. (1994). Recent gang research: Program and policy implications. Crime & Delinquency, 40(4), 495–515.
Implementation plan. (1995). Honolulu, HI: Office of Instructional Services.
Jankowski, M. S. (1991). Islands in the street: Gangs and American urban society. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Kinnear, K. L. (1996). Gangs. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
Knitzer, J. (1982). Unclaimed children. Washington, DC: Children's Defense Fund.
MacFarquhar, K. W., Dowrick, P. W., & Risley, T. R. (1993). Individualizing services for seriously emotionally disturbed youth: A nationwide survey. Administration and Policy in Mental Health, 20(3), 165–174.
Marmolin, H., & Sundblad, Y. (1991). An analysis of design and collaboration in a distributed environment. In L. Bannon, M. Robinson, & K. Schmidt (Eds.), Proceedings of the Second European Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work. Amsterdam: ECSCW.
McCann, J. E. (1983). Design guidelines for social problem-solving interventions. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 19(2), 177–192.
Mizrahi, T., & Abramson, J. S. (1994). Collaboration between social workers and physicians: An emerging typology. In E. Sherman & W. J. Reid (Eds.), Qualitative Research in Social Work ( pp. 135–151). New York: Columbia University Press.
Nelson, C. M., & Pearson, C. A. (1991). Integrating services for children and youth with emotional and behavioral disorders. Reston, VA: The Council for Exceptional Children.
Penzerro, R. M., & Lein, L. (1995). Burning their bridges: Disordered attachment and foster care discharge. Child Welfare, 74(2), 351–365.
QSR NUD.IST 3.0 [computer software]. (1996). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Quinn, K., & Cumblad, C. (1994). Service providers' perceptions of interagency collaboration in their communities. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 2(2), 109–116.
Richards, T. J., & Richards, L. (1994). Using computers in qualitative research. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of Qualitative Research (pp. 445–562). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Shamsie, J., Sykes, C., & Hamilton, H. (1994). Continuity of care for conduct disordered youth. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 39(7), 415–420.
Short, J. F. (1990). New Wine in old bottles? Change and continuity in American gangs. In C. R. Huff (Ed.), Gangs in America (pp. 223–239). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Small, R., Kennedy, K., & Bender, B. (1991). Critical issues for practice in residential treatment: The view from within. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 61(3), 327–337.
Spergel, I. A. (1992). Youth gangs: An essay review. Social Service Review, 66(1), 121–140.
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of Qualitative Research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Stroul, B. A., & Friedman, R. M. (1986). A system of care for severely emotionally disturbed children and youth. Washington, DC: CASSP Technical Assistance Center, Georgetown University Child Development Center.
Wimpfheimer, R., Bloom, M., & Kramer, M. (1991). Inter-agency collaboration: Some working principles. Administration in Social Work, 14(4), 89–102.
Wood, D. J., & Gray, B. (1991). Toward a comprehensive theory of collaboration. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 27(2), 139–162.
Young, T. M. (1990). Therapeutic case advocacy: A model for interagency collaboration in serving emotionally disturbed children and their families. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 60(1), 118–124.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Okamoto, S.K. Interagency Collaboration with High-Risk Gang Youth. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal 18, 5–19 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026617118197
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026617118197