Quality indicators for multidisciplinary team functioning in community-based children's mental health services

Area of Science:

• Social Work
• Organizational Psychology
• Child and Family Studies

Background:

• Community-based programs serve youth at-risk for out-of-home placement due to emotional or behavioral disorders.
• Effective team functioning is crucial for program success in supporting these youth and their families.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the relationship between organizational social context and program performance.
• To assess the impact of team functioning quality indicators on programs serving at-risk youth.
• To understand the role of family support specialists within these teams.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study of 21 community-based programs.
• Data collected on organizational social context and five quality indicators of team functioning.
• Analysis focused on teams including family support specialists.

Main Results:

• Higher performance on teamwork structures and informal communication correlated with better organizational functioning.
• Successful integration of family support specialists as equal team members was linked to positive outcomes.
• Programs demonstrating strong teamwork exhibited enhanced overall organizational functioning.

Conclusions:

• The organizational social context, particularly teamwork and communication, significantly impacts program performance.
• Integrating family support specialists effectively is key to improving services for at-risk youth.
• Quality indicators for team functioning can inform healthcare reform efforts.