The dissertation developed a conceptual framework for analyzing the impact of environmental variables on the capacity (or ability) of delivery systems, especially substitute care delivery systems, to provide services to emotionally disturbed children, and attempted to empirically validate a portion of the framework. The conceptual framework was organized into a general environment level and a task environment level. Both levels were viewed as a series of variables that could potentially influence (facilitate or constrain) a delivery system service capacity outcome variable. General environment variables included economic, sociodemographic, political/legal, cultural, and technology variables. Task environment variables included (a) contextual variables (i.e., belief-value, strategy, organizational rationale, organizational authority structure, and organizational legitimation/power variables), and (b) delivery system variables (i.e., organizational, individual, group, and interorganizational variables). / The dissertation research study asked two questions: (1) What are the relationships between the general environment economic variable (operationalized as the amount of public money expended on childrens' programs) and the capacity of substitute care delivery systems to provide available and accessible services to emotionally disturbed children? (2) What are the relationships between selected task environment organizational program attribute variables (i.e., auspice, age, and size variables) and the capacity of substitute care delivery systems to provide available and accessible services to emotionally disturbed children? / Following Evan's (1966) focal organization approach, a purposive sample consisting of eighteen residential treatment programs (and their associated substitute care delivery systems) located throughout the state of Florida that primarily served emotionally disturbed children was derived. Data were assembled from two basic sources, that is, mail/telephone survey questionnaires, and public and private organization document information. The Spearman rho statistic was used to assess research question relationships. The study results indicated support for the associations between public or private delivery system program auspice and the availability and accessibility of several delivery system services (i.e., adjunctive, behavior evaluation, education evaluation, medical evaluation, and placement/post placement/day services). Recommendations for future research pertaining to both the conceptual framework and the research study were presented. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-08, Section: A, page: 3096. / Major Professor: Michael L. Frumkin. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1991.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_76459 |
| Contributors | Spencer, Barbara Ann., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 334 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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