Marking progress toward service integration: learning to use evaluation to overcome barriers

Abstract

While federal statutes defining categorical programs and funding streams are most often cited as barriers to service integration efforts, there is evidence that service integration efforts are also being stymied by factors at the state and local levels as well. This case study examines five types of barriers to service integration that have been evident in Georgia's Family Connection and describes how an evaluation instrument and process was developed to assess progress toward service integration at the local level. The findings of a pilot study of the use of this instrument suggest that it can help to: (a) define starting points for service integration efforts; (b) identify specific service integration activities that are feasible in the context of a unique community; (c) specify the time needed to be allocated to service integration efforts; (d) identify the local costs and benefits of engaging in service integration; and (e) provide specifications for conducting a self-assessment of progress at the local level toward service integration goals.