PLENARY- Organizational Culture Meets Evidence-based Practice-Demystifying the Dialectics by Luba Botcheva, Ph.D., Program Director, The Children's Health Council Outcomes Research Group, Palo Alto, CA; Eric Epstein, B.S., Coordinator, Southern Oregon Adolescent Study and Treatment Center; and Janina Nadaner, MFT, Clinical Director, Parents Place, Jewish Family and Children Service Agency, San Francisco, CA

Drawing on the longitudinal data obtained in the course of an innovative school-based mental health initiative in Southern Oregon and a multi-agency evaluation collaborative in the San Francisco Bay area, we will put forth guidelines for assessing the dialectic impact of contextual variables of human service agencies, such as organizational culture, leadership, or funding mandates, on the success of the implementation of "soft technologies" of mental health practices. Focus will be on the difficult challenge of adjusting " the fit" between "best practice protocols" and the organizational cultures.