Interagency Collaboration

		Email Follow these Steps to email a friend or colleague a link to this information. Interagency Collaboration Year Published: 2008 http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/acloserlook/interagency/ Serving children involved in the child welfare system calls for services and support from a variety of human service and community organizations, which is often a challenging aspect of child welfare casework. Interagency collaboration, a core principle in systems of care, focuses on bringing together and engaging critical stakeholders, such as juvenile justice, mental health, education, law enforcement, and Tribal authorities, in a coordinated and integrated effort to serve children whose needs cross multiple systems. This issue of A Closer Look considers the challenges and strategies associated with building and sustaining interagency collaboration in a child welfare driven system of care. The report draws on current research in the field as well as the knowledge and experiences of nine grant communities currently in the fifth year of a 5-year demonstration grant. Step 1: Recipient email address(es) (First one is Required) To Email Address 1: To Email Address 2: To Email Address 3: To Email Address 4: To Email Address 5:   Step 2: From Email Address (Required) From Email Address:   Step 3: Verify You are Human (Required) Are you Human? True False   Step 3: Send the link Print (PDF 2950KB)  Share
Author(s)	National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center for Systems of Care.
Year Published	2008

Defining Interagency Collaboration

Interagency collaboration in systems of care is "the process of agencies and families joining together for the purpose of interdependent problem solving that focuses on improving services to children and families" (Hodges, Nesman, & Hernandez, 1999, p.8). A more general definition is offered by Linden (2002, p. 7), who states, "collaboration occurs when people from different organizations, produce something through joint effort, resources, and decision making, and share ownership of the final product or service." This collaboration can occur on multiple levels, from frontline collaboration among caseworkers, families, mental health providers, teachers, and others, to collaborative relationships between policy-makers and administrators responsible for addressing organizational mandates, financing, and management. In addition to State and local organizations, interagency collaboration can involve public, private, and/or faith-based sectors as partners. As all agencies invested in serving youth and families are partners, participants may include parents and family advocacy groups, among others. (Robinson, Rosenberg, Teel, & Steinback-Tracy, 2003). In current child welfare practice, the child and family plan, or case plan, defines the services and supports needed by the child and family. An examination of these plans (Knitzer, Cauthen, & Kisker, 1999) reveals gaps created by lack of funding, differing mandates, differing organizational cultures, and lack of effective communication. Collectively, these problems point to the need for systemic change.

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