Church-Agency Relationships in the Black Community

Abstract

This article examines referral exchange relationships between black churches and local community health agencies by examining whether organizational and clergy characteristics influence clergy in black churches to refer parishioners to, and receive referrals from, community mental health agencies. We are interested in identifying the typical characteristics of churches and their clergy that tend to participate in these exchanges. The most significant indicators in predicting the probability of church referrals are the extent of interorganizational links and the size of a church. The data do not, however, suggest a reflective relationship; organizational factors do not significantly predict whether a church receives client referrals from community Agencies. We speculate that the lack of reciprocity in this pattern may be caused by a conflict in the levels of rationality within community agencies.

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