The development of alternatives to institutionally based long-term care requires the creation of greater interdependence among community based agencies and the provision of appropriate interdependence as the foundation for coordinated service delivery. Theoretical models of interorganizational interdependence are examined and assessed for their utility in understanding issues of community based long-term care services. Assumptions underlying available models (power, symmetry, technological, functional and goal consensus) are critically analyzed for their applicability to long-term care. Case study data from a demonstration project which sought to develop alternatives to nursing home care are presented. Interorganizational power relationships are identified as major explanatory variables with distinctions drawn between symbolic and instrumental interdependence among community agencies. A developmental model of the process involved in creating interdependent delivery systems is presented, including the central conceptual notion of cultural lag, or the distance that must be traversed between recognition of the need for greater interdependence among agencies and their capacity to actually create those circumstances. (Author)