Coordination of Services in the Juvenile Justice System: Community Care Management Team, Tompkins County, New York

摘要

This case study focuses on the coordination efforts of the New York State Youth Bureau's Community Care Management Team (CCMT) in Tompkins County, a multidisciplinary group of agencies' administrators and caseworkers who meet biweekly for 2 hours to devise and review individual service plans for juveniles. Information was collected during 12 months of observation and part - time work with the Tompkins County Youth Bureau beginning in April 1982. The paper describes the development of the county's demonstration project under the State Interagency Coordination Project: Alternatives for Youth at Risk, the CCMT's structure, and problems encountered by the CCMT's originators during the implementation period. Outstanding features of the CCMT included representation from all major agencies serving youth, inclusion of both administrators and lineworkers, the opportunity for all members to share information, and an emphasis on considering many facets of each youth's life in developing a plan. The report concludes that the implementation phase was inefficient, but effective in building a strong team. The team itself met many objectives, such as improving interagency communication, identifying areas in the system needing change, and providing comprehensive and coordinated services to youth. However, data are not available to determine if coordination of service delivery facilitates healthy youth development. Questions arise regarding the team's cost - effectiveness and its impact on the client's privacy and control. About 40 references and materials from the project are provided.