The Value of Collaborative Partnerships to Develop a System and Continuum of Care for At Risk Families

Abstract Information: One of the goals of the Miami Dade IMPACT project was to develop a collaborative partnership to support a system and continuum of care to adequately address the needs of families afflicted by addiction and the specific needs of children at risk of maltreatment. A collaborative partnership typically includes agreements and actions between at least two organizations to share resources and work together to accomplish a mutual goal. Hence, this project bought together multiple local community partners in an effort to demonstrate that the services provided by the partnership could change outcomes for families in the child welfare system. A participatory evaluation provided the power to measure the partnership progress by telling the story of its ongoing development and implementation. This presentation will discuss the usefulness of the evaluation and the findings including the successes, challenges, and gaps of a collaborative partnership for families in the child welfare system.

Relevance Statement: A collaborative partnership typically includes agreements and actions between at least two organizations to share resources and work together to accomplish a mutual goal. The partnership may be between organizations in the same field or providing the same type of service or between those working in different sectors. These collaborative relationships between partners can lead to long term partnerships that rely on one another (Saltiel, 1998). A diverse body of literature recommends the formation of strong problem-solving collaborative relationships to improve the present status and future well-being of children, families, and the communities in which they live (Herrenkohl, 2019; Ogbonnaya & Keeney, 2018; Reynolds et al., 2012). Accordingly, the purpose of the Miami-Dade IMPACT (Identify Measure and Prevent Addiction and Childhood Trauma) collaborative was to enhance collaborative protocols and maximize existing practices to increase cross-system cooperation between child welfare, the substance abuse/mental health systems, the courts, and other community key systems. The project sought to develop a continuum of care for families afflicted by addiction and mental health issues who were non-treatment seeking but at risk of losing their children due to child abuse and neglect related calls to the hotline. The overarching objective of the IMPACT Project was to demonstrate that an integrated continuum of care, including an intensive family engagement component, would result in parental retention in treatment, enhanced provision of focused services for children and parents, improved parenting practices, and a decrease in family trauma symptoms. This in turn would lead to enhanced child and family well-being and reduced incidences of child welfare re-referrals and removals.

A participatory evaluation was conducted to determine the progress related to the ongoing development and implementation of the regional partnership. Data was mostly qualitative to be able to tell the story about the partnerhip. Specifically, the evaluation focused on documenting collaboration among key IMPACT Project stakeholders and examining the partnership’s infrastructure, functions, and processes to determine whether proximal and distal partnership outcomes were achieved. The findings of this formative evaluation were used over the course of the project to provide feedback and identify challenges and barriers to sustainability of the collaborative.

References
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Ogobnnaya, I.N. & Keeney, A.J. (2018). A systematic review of the effectiveness of interagency and cross-system collaborations in the United States to improve child welfare outcomes. Children & Youth Services Review, 94, 225-245.
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