The dynamics of interagency collaboration: How linkages develop for child welfare and juvenile justice sectors in a system of care demonstration

This paper describes results of a secondary analysis of interorganizational network data collected in an evaluation of a system-level intervention tha t was designed to integrate service delivery across multiple sectors servin g children with serious emotional disturbances. Data measuring the extent o f interorganizational resource exchange were analyzed to investigate change s in patterns of interagency collaboration involving child welfare and juve nile justice sectors. A general pattern of increasing resource exchanges ov er time is characterized as relatively modest but important in demonstratin g incremental growth in cooperative interorganizational relationships. Find ings are consistent with reports documenting the project's implementation a nd qualitative impressions of agency respondents.