The county child abuse protocol system in Georgia: an interagency cooperation approach to a complex issue

In 1987, the Georgia Legislature mandated that each of its 159 counties establish a formal committee made up of representatives from law enforcement, child protective services, school systems, and county child advocacy groups to handle cases of sexual and physical abuse of children, in an effort to eliminate chronic mishandling of serious cases of abuse caused by the lack of a forum for bureaucratic cooperation. No funding was provided to implement the mandate. This article reports research findings that document the protocol committees' activity levels, discusses changes in organizational patterns brought about by the committee system, and offers insight into the degree to which "mandates without money" can influence organizational cooperation.