TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY

Educational Human Resource Development: 
Comparative Service Delivery Strategies

Fall 1999

Table of Contents

Course Information
Instructor
Course Description
Course Objectives
Required Textbook
Course Requirements
Special Topic Presentation
Seminar Paper
Class Policies
Course Schedule
Links to Class Overheads
Links to Class Exercises

Course Information

Course title: Theory of Educational Human Resource Development Research: Comparative Service Delivery Strategies
Course number: EHRD 690

Class Web Page: http://www.utexas.edu/courses/streeter/fl1999ehrd690/ehrd690.html
Days: Wednesday
Time: 4:00 to 7:00 P.M.
Place: Professional Development Academy, 2608 Richcreek Rd., Austin, TX, Room 109
 
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Instructor

Name: Cal Streeter

Office: The University of Texas at Austin, School of Social Work, SWB 2.240
Office hours: Wednesday, after class, or by appointment
Phone: 471-0543
E-mail: cstreeter@mail.utexas.edu

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Course Description

Human service professionals work in diverse practice settings. Often these setting are referred to as host settings because the human service professional is not the predominant professional group.  Examples of such settings include schools, hospitals, juvenile detention facilities, and private corporations. While practice in each setting has distinctive characteristics, there are a number of organizational and interorganizational factors that are common to professional practice in all fields. These include policy and program design elements, operational elements, and the nature of operational connections among organizations. This course centers on the comparative analysis of the design of service delivery systems in various fields of practice. It also examines the range of technology used in these organizations, procedures involved in designing and analyzing alternative service delivery systems, and the effects of differences in legal contexts, governance and administrative structure on the functional connections among governmental, nonprofit and for-profit organizations.

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Course Objectives

By the end of the course the student will be able to:
  1. Analyze service delivery systems using several key dimensions, including legal contexts, program rationales, governance and administrative structures, service population, program linkages, implementation structures, and characteristics of general and task environments;
  2. Evaluate service delivery systems as multi-organizational systems with specific reference to such issues as interorganizational cooperation, collaboration, coordination, and service integration;
  3. Assess the range of stakeholders in the service delivery system and understand the issues involved in interprofessional collaboration;
  4. Diagram and map a service delivery system, including core and peripheral service providers and elements in the task environment such as funding sources, legitimating or sanctioning groups, and advocacy groups;
  5. Formulate and critique alternative strategies for initiating change in multi-organizational service delivery systems.
 
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Required Textbook

Schorr, Lisbeth B.  (1997).  Common Purpose: Strengthening Families and Neighborhoods to Rebuild America.  New York: Anchor Books.

A reading packet is available from Abel's Printing located at 715 West 23rd. To obtain a copy you will need the instructors name and the course number.  The phone number is 472-5353.  Students in other classes have told me there have been some delays in getting the reading packet.  You may want to call to verify that it is ready before you go to pick one up.

Additional readings may be assigned as the semester progresses. In that case, copies will be made available at least one week in advance.

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Course Requirements

There are two major course requirements for this class.  The first requirement is a group presentation on a special topic related to the course.  During the second half of the semester students will work in a small groups to prepare a presentation on a special topic.  These presentations will be worth 40% of the final grade.  The second requirement will be a seminar paper.  This will be an individual paper on a topic of the students choice.  This paper will be worth 60% of the course grade.

Course requirements, due dates, and their contribution to the final grade are summarized below.

 
Assignment 
Percent of Final Grade
 
Due date
Special topic presentation 
 
Seminar paper
40% 
 
60%
See course schedule
Dec. 1 (Last class day)
Each of the course requirements is described below.
Special Topic Presentation. Beginning on October 27, students will work in small groups to facilitate a class discussion on a special topic related to the course.  There are five special topics (see course schedule).  For each topic, a group of 4-5 students will be responsible for preparing course material for that class session and for conducting the class during the first half of the class session.  During the second half of each class a guest speaker will talk about what is happening on that topic in the Austin area.  The assignment gives students an opportunity to develop in-depth knowledge in one of the topical areas and to share that information with the other students in the class.

The presentation can include any information that the group feels is relevant to the topic.  The format of the presentation can be developed by the group.  It can follow a traditional seminar format or the group may want to do something different.  For example, the group might involve the class in some type of experiential activity.  The group may chose to use video tapes, audio tapes, or some other type of multi-media (assuming we have access to the necessary equipment).  Each group will have approximately 75 minutes for their presentation.  I have some material relevant to each of the special topic and would be happy to make that information available to the group.  If the group identifies information in The University of Texas library system I may be able to retrieve that information for the group.
 
Seminar Paper. Each student will write a major seminar paper on a topic chosen by the student.  Topics for the paper can be rather wide ranging, depending on the students' interests.  But the paper should be clearly relevant to the domain of the course.  The paper should be publication quality and about 20-25 double spaced pages in length.  References should be provided as appropriate.  The paper should be clearly conceptualized, well researched, and concisely written.

It is assumed that the paper will report current research found in the professional literature.   However, it should also include the student's critical thinking and analysis of the topic. Students should plan to submit a brief description/outline of the paper topic by September 29, 1999.  The description should provide enough information so that I can determine the general focus for the paper.

 
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Course Schedule

The course schedule below identifies class topics and reading assignments for each class session.
 
Date Topic
Sept. 1 Introduction and course overview
Sept. 8 Current context of human service delivery systems: does anything work? 

Schorr, L. B. (1997).  Common Purpose: Strengthening Families and Neighborhoods to Rebuild America. New York: Anchor Books.  Forward, Introduction, and Part I.  (Book) 

McKnight, J. (1995).  The Careless Society: Community and its Counterfeits. New York: Basic Books.  (1) The Professional Problem, (2) Professionalized Service and Disabling Helping (3) A nation of clients?,  (4) Do no harm, (5) Redefining community, (6) A reconsideration of the crisis in the welfare state.  (Reader) 
 
Sept. 15 Reforming systems and rebuilding communities 

Schorr, L. B. (1997).  Common Purpose: Strengthening Families and Neighborhoods to Rebuild America. New York: Anchor Books.  Part II and Part III.  (Book) 

McKnight, J. (1995).  The Careless Society: Community and its Counterfeits. New York: Basic Books.  Regenerating Community.  (Reader) 
 
Sept. 22 Understanding multi-organizational systems and their environments  
 
Austin, D. M. (1995). Understanding the service delivery system. In Keys, P. R. & Ginsberg, L. H. (Eds.). New Management in Human Services. Silver Springs, MD: NASW, 27-43.  (Reader)
 

Harrison, M. I. (1987). Using the open system model. In M. I. Harrison, Diagnosing Organizations: Methods, Models, and Processes. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.  (Reader) 

Scott, W. R. (1985).  Systems Within Systems: The Mental Health Sector, American Behavioral Scientist, 28 (5), 601-618.  (Reader) 
 
Sept. 29 Networks and strategic alliances  
 
Limerick, D. and Cunnington, B.  (1993).  Managing the New Organization.  San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Inc.  Chapter 2: Organizational Choice: A New Blueprint for Managers; Chapter 3: Networks and Alliances: The Heart of the New Organization; Chapter 4: Managing Networks: Nine crucial Competencies; and, Chapter 8: The New Organization: A Challenging Paradigm of Autonomy, Empowerment, and Collaboration. (Reader) 

Streeter, C. L. & Gillespie, D. F. (1992). Social Network Analysis. Journal of Social Service Research 16 (1/2), 201-222. (Reader) 
 
Oct. 6 Interprofessional collaboration and stakeholders in the system 
 
Austin, D. M. (1993). Program analysis and program design. Unpublished manuscript.  (Reader) 

Mostert, M. P.  (1998).  Interprofessional Collaboration in Schools.  Needham Heights, MA:  Allyn & Bacon.  Chapter 2: Definitions and Characteristics of Interprofesional Collaboration; Chapter 3: The Context of Interprofessional Collaboration: effective Teamwork; Chapter 4: Practical Aspects of Interprofessional Collaboration; and, Chapter 7: Conflict Management and Resolution.  (Reader) 

Winitzky, N. Sheridan, S., Crow, N., Welch, M. and Kennedy, C.  (1995).  Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Variations on the Theme, Journal of Teacher Education, 46 (2), 109-119. (Reader) 
 
Oct. 13 Patterns of interaction in multi-organizational systems 
 
Bogenschneider, K.  (1996).  Family Related Prevention Programs: An Ecological Risk/Protective Theory for Building Prevention programs, Policies, and Community Capacity to Support Youth, Family Relations, (April), 127-138.  (Reader) 

Franklin, C. and Streeter, C. L. (1995). School Reform: Linking Public School and Human Services. Social Work, 40 (6), 773-782.  (Reader) 

Kirst, M. W.  (1994).  School Links Services: Pitfalls and Potentials, Spectrum, (Fall), 15-24.  (Reader) 

Morgan, G.  (1995).  Collaborative Models of Service Integration, Child Welfare, 6 (Nov.-Dec.), 1329-1343.  (Reader) 
 
Payzant, T. W.  (1992).  New Beginnings in San Diego:  Developing a Strategy for Interagency Collaboration, Phi Delta Kappan, (October), 139-146.  (Reader) 
 
Oct. 20 Designing multi-organizational systems 
 
Adelman, H. S. & Taylor, L.  (1997).  Addressing Barriers to Learning: Beyond School-Linked Services and Full-Service Schools, American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 67 (3), 408-421.  (Reader) 

Eber, L. & Nelson, M.  (1997).  School-Based Wraparound Planning: Integrating Services for Students With Emotional and Behavioral Needs, American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 67 (3), 385-395.  (Reader) 

Homonoff, E. E. & Fineman Maltz, P.  (1991).  Developing and Maintaining a Coordinated System of Community Based Service to Children, Community Mental Health Journal, 27(5), 347-358.  (Reader) 
 
Jenkins, J. R., Ronk, J., Schrag, J. A., Rude, G. G. & Stowitschek, C.  (1994).  Effects of School-based Participatory Decision Making to Improve Services for Low-performing Students, The Elementary School Journal, 94 (3), 357-373.  (Reader) 

Jones, B. A.  (1992).  Collaboration: The Case for Indigenous Community-Based Organization Support of Dropout Prevention Programming and Implementation, Journal of Negro Education, 61 (4), 496-508. (Reader) 
 

Streeter, C. L. (1992) "Redundancy in organizational systems," Social Service Review, 66 (1), 97-111.

 
Oct. 27 Special topic:  Asset building models for youth development 

Barbara Pearce:  The Georgetown Project 
 
Nov. 3 Special topics: Building Safe Schools and Safe Neighborhoods 
 
Darla Gay and Trisha Green: Austin Neighborhoods Project 
 
Nov. 10 Special topic:  Full service schools  

Don Loving:  Communities in Schools (CIS) 
 
Nov. 17 Special topic: Strategic networks and strategic planning 

Fred Butler: Community Action Network (CAN) 
 
Nov. 24 NO CLASS--THNAKSGIVING 
 
 
Dec. 1 Special topic: Quality schools 

Last class day 
 
 
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Last updated on 27 August 1999

Send comments to cstreeter@mail.utexas.edu