Reclaiming community: an integrative approach to human services

Taking the community rather than the service system as its starting point, a community-centered approach to service integration seeks to interweave formal and informal systems of care. Working as part of a community--negotiating and building partnerships with families, social networks, and organizations to change problematic patterns and mobilize resources--requires not only collaboration among administrators, but teamwork among front line staff. Team members need to share work, knowledge, and resources, while building collaborative relationships with their counterparts in other organizations, service users, and other residents. Ensuring congruence between new, integrative methods of practice and the way they are introduced and managed may require substantial changes in management behavior. "Resistance" is best understood in this context as feedback to management about its need to change.