Collaboration Basics: Strategies from Six Communities Engaged in Collaborative Efforts Among Families, Child Welfare and Children's Mental Health

By Deborah Roderick Stark, September 1999

Three national organizations representing child welfare, mental health, and families initiated the Partnership for Action project. Their intent was to identify practical strategies for mental health and child welfare systems to work together with families on issues that require the attention and commitment of families and both systems. This document provides a summary of lessons learned from the experiences of the six state and community sites involved in the project. Through review of the successes and struggles of these sites, principles to guide collaboration, elements of effective collaboration, and a checklist to guide the collaborative process emerged and are summarized in this document.