A Case Study and Analysis

This article discusses the critical issue emerging in the implementation of change strategies designed to improve the effectiveness of human service delivery systems. A review of the literature supports the notion that human service organizations have been largely ignored in the development of change and intervention theories. As a result, little specific information is available regarding the implementation of improvement strategies in human service delivery systems. The article describes the process by which change was intro-duced and implemented in a human service organization. Entry activities, data collection techniques, the action planning process, and the evaluation procedures used in the present intervention are discussed. The article concludes with a dis-cussion of the differences in implementing planned change in human service, as opposed to business and industrial, organizations. Suggestions, theoretical guidelines, and a model are provided for future interventions. Human service organizations (HSOs) today face a host of insistent pressures, which are driving them through a jumble of difficult changes. Obvious issues concern deinstitutionalization (Dorwant, 1980), rising expectations regarding medical care (Davis & Lawrence, 1977), cost containment, and escalating medical costs. It is clear that problems can no longer be addressed through increased funding, rather they must be resolved through a more effective and efficient redistribution o