Expanding Service Delivery: Does it Improve Relationships Among Agencies Serving Homeless People with Mental Illness?
Description:
Enhancing interagency services integration for homeless people has been advocated as an approach for improving service delivery to this population. In contrast to system-level top-down interventions, this study examines the association of expanded funding of client-level homeless services, a bottom-up approach, with strengthening of interorganizational relationships. We compared Veterans Affairs/non-Veterans Affairs interagency relationships at VA facilities supporting community-oriented programs (N=72), at VA facilities supporting on-site internally focused homeless programs (N=10), and at facilities with no specialized homeless programs (N=47). VA facilities that supported community-oriented homeless programs enjoyed stronger VA-community agency relationships than the other two VA facility types. The study identifies an effective bottom-up resource-based approach to services integration. (Authors)
Type of Resource:
Journal
Publication Date:
2002
Volume:
29
Issue:
3
Pages:
243-256