Interagency teams: A vehicle for service delivery reform

Human service delivery organizations often have great difficulty implementing new service delivery technologies. This study examines the extent to which interagency service delivery teams facilitate the implementation of a popular reform that significantly challenges the status quo: family-centered service delivery. Survey data from 121 providers representing 25 agencies within one county suggest that interagency teams may promote provider implementation of new service delivery practices. Teams members were more likely than nonteam members to implement practices consistent with family-centered service delivery. Consumer focus group data support these findings, with consumers noting that services received from providers in the team context were more individualized, empowering, and comprehensive than the services they typically received in the county. The implications of these findings for practitioners and scholars interested in facilitating human service delivery reform are discussed.