The effects of organizational climate and interorganizational coordination on the quality and outcomes of children's service systems

Objective: This study examines the effects of organizational characteristics, including organizational climate and interorganizational coordination, on the quality and outcomes of children's service systems. Method: A quasi-experimental, longitudinal design was used to assess the effects of increasing interorganizational services coordination in public children's service agencies. The research team collected both qualitative and quantitative data over a 3-year period describing the services provided to 250 children by 32 public children's service offices in 24 counties in Tennessee. Results: Findings show that organizational climate (including low conflict, cooperation, role clarity, and personalization) is the primary predictor of positive service outcomes (the children's improved psychosocial functioning) and a significant predictor of service quality. Tn contrast, interorganizational coordination had a negative effect on service quality and no effect on outcomes. Conclusions: Efforts to improve public children's service systems should focus on creating positive Organizational climates rather than on increasing interorganizational services coordination. This is important because many large-scale efforts to improve children's service systems have focused on interorganizational coordination with little success and none to date have focused on organizational climate. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd.