Skip to main content
Log in

Using Benchmarking Research to Locate Agency Best Practices for African American Clients

  • Published:
Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Using a collective case study design with benchmarking features, research reported here sought to locate differences in agency practices between public mental health agencies in which African American clients were doing comparatively better on specific proxy outcomes related to community tenure, and agencies with less success on those same variables. A panel of experts from the Ohio Department of Mental Health matched four agencies on per capita spending, percentage of African American clients, and urban-intensive setting. The panel also differentiated agencies on the basis of racial group comparisons for a number of proxy variables related to successful community tenure. Two agencies had a record of success with this client group (benchmark agencies); and two were less successful based on the selected criteria (comparison agencies). Findings indicated that when service elements explicitly related to culture were similar across study sites, the characteristics that did appear to make a difference were aspects of organizational culture. Implications for administration practice and further research are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  • Adebimpe, V.R. (1994). Race, racism and epidemiological surveys. Hospital and Community Psychiatry, 45(1), 27–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Altshuler, A. (1992). Breaking through bureaucracy. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ammons, D.N. (1997). Raising the performance bar ... locally. Public Management, 79(September), 10–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ammons, D.N. (1999). A proper mentality for benchmarking. Public Administration Review, 59(2), 105–109.

    Google Scholar 

  • Andrulis, D. (1977). Ethnicity as a variable in the utilization and referral patterns of a comprehensive mental health center. Journal of Community Psychology, 5, 231–237.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baumann, G. (1996). Contesting culture: Discourses of identity in multi-ethnic London. Cambridge University Press.

  • Berger, P.L., & Luckman, T. (1966). The social construction of reality. Garden City, NJ: Doubleday & Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Biegel, D.E., Farkas, K.J., & Song, L. (1997). Barriers to the use of mental health services by African-American and Hispanic elderly people. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 29(1), 23–42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carroll, G. (1998). Mundane extreme environmental stress and African American families: A case for recognizing different realities. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 29(2), 271–284.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coe, C. (1999). Local government benchmarking: Lessons from two major multi government efforts. Public Administration Review, 59(2), 110–123.

    Google Scholar 

  • Denzin, N.K. (1989). The research act (3rd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erlandson, D.A., Harris, E.L., Skipper, B.L., & Allen, S.D. (1993). Doing naturalistic inquiry: A guide to methods. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flaskrud, J. (1986). The effects of culture-compatible intervention on the utilization of mental health services by minority consumers. Community Mental Health Journal, 22, 127–141.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gonzalez, R.C., Biever, J.L., & Gardner, G.T. (1994). The multicultural perspective in therapy: A social constructionist approach. Psychotherapy, 31, 515–524.

    Google Scholar 

  • Green, J.W. (1999). Cultural awareness in the human services: A multi-ethnic approach (3rd ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, G.W., & Kirk, S.A. (1995). Editorial: Research on diversity. Social Work Research, 19(4), 195–196.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jorgensen, D.L. (1989). Participant observation: A methodology for human studies. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keehley, P., Medlin, S., MacBride, S., & Longmire, L. (1997). Benchmarking for best practices in the public sector: Achieving performance breakthroughs in federal, state, and local agencies. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kopczynski, M., & Lombardo, M. (1999). Comparative performance measurement: Insights and lessons learned from a consortium effort. Public Administration Review, 59(2), 124–134.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, M.Y., & Greene, G.J. (1999). A social constructivist framework for integrating cross-cultural issues in teaching clinical social work. Journal of Social Work Education, 35, 21–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lefley, H. (1990). Culture and chronic mental illness. Hospital and Community Psychiatry, 41(3), 277–286.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lincoln, E.G., & Guba, Y.S. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miles, M.B., & Huberman, A.M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis (2nd ed.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mulkern, V.M., & Manderscheid, R.W. (1989). Characteristics of community support program clients in 1980 and 1984. Hospital and Community Psychiatry, 40, 165–172.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neff, J.A., & Husaini, B.A. (1980). Race, socioeconomic status, and psychiatric impairment: A research note. Journal of Community Psychology, 8, 16–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • O'Sullivan, M., Peterson, P., Cox, G., & Kirkeby, J. (1989). Ethnic populations: Community mental health services ten years later. American Journal of Community Psychology, 17, 17–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Overman, E.S., & Boyd, K.J. (1994) Best practices research and post bureaucratic reform. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 4(1), 67–83.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pinderhuges, E. (1989). Understanding race, ethnicity, and power: The key to efficacy in clinical practice. New York: The Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Quinn, R.E. (1996). Deep change: Discovering the leader within. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roth, D., Lauber, B.G., Vercellini, J., Burns, G., Champney, T.F., & Clark, J. (1996). Services in systems: Impact on client outcomes. In D. Roth (Ed.), New research in mental health (Vol. 12, pp. 388–401). Columbus, OH: Ohio Department of Mental Health.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, A. (2000). Standards for rigor in qualitative research. Research on Social Work Practice, 10(2), 173–177.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schein, E.H. (1999). The corporate culture survival guide: Sense and nonsense about culture change. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scollon, R. & Scollon, S.W. (1995). Intercultural communication: A discourse approach. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Segal, S.P., Bola, J.R., & Watson, M.A. (1996). Race, quality of care, and antipsychotic prescribing practices in psychiatric emergency services. Psychiatric Services, 47(3), 282–285.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singleton-Bowie, S.M. (1995). The effect of mental health practitioners' racial sensitivity on African Americans' perceptions of service. Social Work Research, 19(4), 238–243.

    Google Scholar 

  • Solomon, P. (1988). Racial factors in mental health service utilization. Psychosocial Rehabilitation Journal, 11, 3–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Solomon, P. (1992). The efficacy of case management services for severely mentally disabled clients. Community Mental Health Journal, 28(3), 163–180.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stake, R.E. (1994). Case Studies. In N.K. Denzin & Y.S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 236–247). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stephens, W.M. (1982). A question of generalizability. Theory and Research in Social Education, 9(4), 75–89.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strauss, A.L. (1987). Qualitative analysis for social scientists. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strauss, A.L., & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of qualitative research (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sue, S. (1977). Community mental health services to minority groups. American Psychologist, 32(8), 616–624.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sue, D.W., & Sue, D. (1999). Counseling the culturally different: Theory and practice (3rd ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tien, L. (1992) Determinants of equality and equity for special populations served by public mental health systems. Hospital and Community Psychiatry, 43, 1104–1108.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kondrat, M.E., Greene, G.J. & Winbush, G.B. Using Benchmarking Research to Locate Agency Best Practices for African American Clients. Adm Policy Ment Health 29, 495–518 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020728427169

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020728427169

Navigation