Together We Can A Guide for Crafting a Profamily System of Education and Human Services Atelia I. Melaville Center for the Study of Social Policy and Martin J. Blank Institute for Educational Leadership with Gelareh Asayesh U.S. Department of Education U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Educational Research Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Improvement and Evaluation For sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office Superintendent of Documents, Mail Stop: SSOP, Washington, De 20402-9328 ISBN 0-16-041721-X U.S. Department of Education U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Richard W. Riley Donna E. Shalala Secretary Secretary Office of Educational Research and Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning Improvement and Evaluation Emerson J. Elliott Gerald H. Britten Acting Assistant Secretary Acting Assistant Secretary Programs for the Improvement of Practice Children and Youth Policy Division Eve M. Bither Ann Segal Director Director April 1993 Edited by Bruce A. Thompson Produced under contract #RP912060001 with: PrismDAE, a division of DAE Corporation, Chevy Chase, MD. Foreword T his book was developed jointly by toward assuring the future success of the U.S. Department of Education America's children. Recognizing that the and the U.S. Department of Health current system of programs serving and Human Services to help communities children is fragmented, confusing and improve coordination of education, health inefficient, the guidebook advocates a and human services for at-risk children radical change in the service delivery and families. Together We Can: A Guide system. It encourages a holistic pproach for Crafting a Profamily System of in treating the problems of children and Education and Human Services reflects families; easy access to comprehensive the work and experience of a study group services; early detection of problems and of researchers and front-line preventive health care services; and administrators and practitioners working flexibility in the use of federal and state with promising programs that link funds for education, health and human .. education and human services. Together services. We Can leads the reader through a five-stage collaborative process with We believe this guide is a practical milestones and landmines portrayed tool for the many communities that are through vignettes and case studies working to create more comprehensive, describing the personal experiences of the family-focused service systems for study group members. children and their families. Together We Can is a practical guide We invite your comments. that can assist local communities in the difficult process of creating a more Richard W. Riley Donna E. Shalala responsive education and human service Secretary Secretary delivery system. The guidebook U.S. Department of U.S. Department of emphasizes the effective delivery of Education Health and supports for families, a crucial step Human Services Together We Can iii Acknowledgments M any individuals played an important synthesizing the Study Group's diverse role in the development of Together views into a cohesive work. We are We Can. Susan Talley and Carol indebted to her for a document that we Mitchell from the U.S. Department of believe grapples honestly with the Education (ED) and Richard Silva from the complexity of systems change, while U.S. Department of Health and Human providing useful guidance to collaborative Services (HHS) spearheaded and partners who want to know what to do coordinated the effort. David Mack and next. Gelareh Asayesh brought her Hunter Moorman from ED and Ann Segal considerable journalistic talents to the from HHS provided valuable insights and preparation of the profiles and vignettes. support throughout the development of the Jeanne Jehl, administrator on special guide. assignment for the San Diego City Schools and a panel member, made a special Without the capable leadership and contribution to the education dimension of direction of Martin J. Blank from the the guide. Jessica Lipschultz and Lisa Institute for Educational Leadership, the Goldblatt of the Institute for Educational guide would not have been possible. He Leadership provided research and served as chair of the School-Linked administrative support that served as the Integrated Services Study Group, and his glue for the process. expertise and ability to understand and facilitate group processes allowed the Study Thanks also to PrismDAE, a division of Group members to bring out their views and DAE Corporation, the contractor responsible perspectives in meaningful ways. He was for managing this entire effort under the able to deal with controversial and direction of Kristin N. Curran. Bruce A. complicated issues with sensitivity. Thompson edited the guide with great care. We are grateful for the Study Group Others to be thanked are Barbara C. Singer, members' generous commitment of time, Francis X. Sullivan, Laurie R. Webb, energy, and contributions. Their knowledge William, J. White, and Lee Zirkel. and insights advanced what we know about We also want to recognize the transforming systems and improving contributions of the OERI Publications outcomes for children and families. Office, particularly the assistance of Nancy Floyd. As principal author, Atelia I. Melaville's analysis and insights were critical in Together We Can v Preface A cross America, people are recognizing Collaborative strategies, in which partners that all of the institutions and share a vision, establish common goals, and agencies whose mission is to nurture agree to use their power to achieve them, and strengthen children and families must are necessary; commitment of resources and collaborate. They realize that no single willingness to alter existing policies are a institution has the resources or capacity to vital part of such strategies. do the job alone. Most importantly, the children and families who participate in our education The U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Health and Human and human service systems are essential to Services charged the School-Linked its reinvention. They are indispensable Integrated Services Study Group with partners with educators, human service capturing the experiences of collaborative professionals, business leaders, civic and endeavors across the country and creating a religious leaders, leaders of guide for integrating services. The Study community-based organizations, and other Group's rich experience has been critical to citizens in creating the profamily system that the vision of communities where learning the guide envisions. can happen and the creation of the profamily system of education and human This guide is dedicated to all the people services described in the guide. It is the who are working to strengthen America's basis for the five-stage collaborative process families. They are the pioneers envisioning at the heart of the guide, which can help the future and risking change. They are new and existing collaboratives enhance devoting time and energy to their belief that their capacity to change the system. our society must do a better job of creating the conditions under which families can Basic to the guide is the concept of carry out their responsibilities and succeed. systems change. We define systems We trust that this guide will empower them change as a revision of the ways that people and help people at all levels of government and institutions think, behave, and use their and in all sectors of society to collaborate on resources to affect fundamentally the types, behalf of a brighter future for all our quality, and degree of service delivery to children and families. To the extent we children and families. The Study Group create that future, we will build a strong believes collaborative strategies are the tomorrow for the America we share. key to systems change. Cooperation, in which partners agree to work together to Martin J. Blank meet their individual goals without Chair, School-Linked Integrated Services substantially changing the services they Study Group provide or the rules and regulations governing their institutions, is not enough. Together We Can vii School-Linked Integrated Services Study Group Contact information as of 1993 Martin J. Blank, Chair Richard (Jake) W. Jacobsen, Jr. Senior Assodate 615 Calle Paula Institute for Educational Leadership Solana Beach, CA 92075 1001 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 310 Washington, DC 20036 Jeanne Jehl Administrator on Special Assignment Margaret Beyer San Diego City Schools Psychologist 4100 Normal Street, Room 2220 8700 Overlook Road San Diego, CA 92103-2682 McLean, VA 22102 Mamie L. Johnson Katherine Hooper Briar Principal Professor Public School 146M Department of Social Work 421 East 106th Street and New York, NY 10029 Director FIU-HRS Professional Development Center Otis S. Johnson Florida International University Executive Director North Miami Campus Savannah-Chatham County Youth Futures North Miami, FL 33181-3601 Authority 128 Habersham Street James C. Ewing Savannah, GA 31404 Principal Walbridge Elementary School Michael Kirst 4960 Maffitt Place Professor of Education and Business St. Louis, MO 63113 Administration School of Education Vivian L. Gadsden Stanford University Associate Director Cubberly Hall National Center on Adult Literacy Stanford, CA 94305 University of Pennsylvania 3700 Walnut Street, Room A-36 Linda Kunesh Philadelphia, PA 19104 Director Early Childhood and Family Education Sidney L. Gardner North Central Regional Educational Director Laboratory Center for Collaboration for Children 1900 Spring Road, Suite 300 California State University, Fullerton Oak Brook, IL 60521 Fullerton, CA 92634 Janet Levy Patricia Pataky Green Program Director Assistant Superintendent Danforth Foundation Prince Georges County Public Schools 231 South Bemiston Avenue Area 4 Administrative Office St. Louis, MO 63105-1996 Foulois Elementary School 4601 Beauford Road Suitland, MD 20746 Together We Can ix Cynthia Marshall Edward H. Tetelman Executive Director Director Cities in Schools Office of Legal and Regulatory Affairs 525 North Tryon Street, Suite 200 New Jersey Department of Human Services Charlotte, NC 28202 CN 700 Trenton, NJ 08625 Linda R. Moore Director Alfredo Tijerina Community Education Leadership Project Coordinator Institute for Educational Leadership School of the Future 1001 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 310 E1 Centro Familiar Office of the Family Washington, DC 20036 Service Center 7151 Office City Drive, Suite 101 Primus J. Mootry Houston, TX 77087 Project Director Corporate/Community Schools of America and Edna R. Vega Assistant Commissioner Executive Vice President Office of Parent Partnerships Better Boys Foundation New York State Education Department 845 West Washington, 2nd Floor 55 Hanson Place, Room 400 Chicago, IL 60607 Brooklyn, NY 11217 William A. Morrill Khatib Waheed Project Director Director National Center for Services Integration Walbridge Caring Communities Program Mathtech, Inc. 5019 Alcott 5111 Leesburg Pike, Suite 710 St. Louis, MO 03120 Falls Church, VA 22041 Merrilyn Parks Coordinator PROJECT COORDINATORS Community Schools Rochester City School District Susan K. Talley c/o 55 Monica Street Education Program Specialist Rochester, NY 14619 Office of Educational Research and Improvement Anne T. Pelletier U.S. Department of Education Director 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW Clinic Services/Family Counseling Center Washington, DC 20208-5644 Massachusetts Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children Carol J. Mitchell 90 Wareham Street Senior Program Analyst Boston, MA 02118 Office of Educational Research and Improvement Argelio (Ben) B. Perez U.S. Department of Education .Associate Superintendent 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW Educational Services Washington, DC 20208-5644 Lansing School District 519 West Kalamazoo Street Richard J. Silva Lansing, MI 48933 Senior Analyst Division of Children and Youth Policy Rosalie Streett Office of the Assistant Secretary for Director Planning and Evaluation Parent Action Department of Health and Human Services The B&O Building, Suite 960 200 Independence Avenue, SW 2 North Charles Street Washington, DC 20201 Baltimore, MD 21201 Together We Can x Contents FOREWORD ......................... ................................... ............................................................ ..................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................ .... .... ................................... .................................................................. v PREFACE ......................................... ........................................ ........................................ ........................................ vii SCHOOL-LINKED INTEGRATED SERVICES STUDY GROUP ................ ................ ................ ................ ... ix INTRODUCTION ...................................... ................ ................ ................ ................ ................ ................ ........... 1 PART I OUTLINING A VISION FOR CHANGE A Loss That Matters ... .............................. .............................. ........................ .................................... .........5 An Alternative: Communities Where Learning Can Happen ........ .............................. ................................. 6 The Current System and How It Falls Short ................. .............................. .............................. ....................8 Changing Direction: Toward a Profamily System ........................................................... ............................ 12 PART II REALIZING THE VISION: A FIVE-STAGE PROCESS Introduction ............................ ................................................................................. .................................... 19 Stage One: Getting Together ......................................................................................................................... 23 Deciding to Act .......................................................................................................................................... 23 Involving the Right People ........................................................................................................................ 25 Making a Commitment To Collaborate .................................................................... ................. ...............28 Reflecting and Celebrating .................... ................. ............................... ........................................... ...... 33 Stage Two: Building Trust and Ownership................. ................ .................. ................. ...... ..................... 35 Developing a Base of Common Knowledge ................ ............... ...... ...... ...... ...... ..... .......................... 35 Conducting a Comprehensive Community Assessment ....... . ...................................... ..... .................... 39 Defining a Shared Vision and Goals ......................................................................................................... 43 Developing a Mission Statement and a Community Presence ...... ...... ................... ...... ...... ...... ........... 44 Reflecting and Celebrating ............................... ............ ..... .............................................................. ...... 45 Stage Three: Developing a Strategic Plan .. .................. ...................................................... ......... .............. 47 Focusing On a Neighborhood ......... .............. ................... ................. ................. ...................................... 47 Conducting a Neighborhood Analysis .................. .. ............ ................. ................. ................................48 Defining Target Outcomes .................... . ................................... ................. ................. ......................... 51 Designing an Interagency Service Delivery Prototype ........... ................. ................. ................. ................52 Together We Can xi Developing the Technical Tools of Collaboration . ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ....... 59 Formalizing Interagency Relationships ..... .............. ............... ............... ............... ............... .................. 62 Reflecting and Celebrating ....................... ............................. .................................................................... 64 Stage Four: Taking Action ......................... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ..................... 67 Selecting, Training, and Supervising Staff . ............... ............... ............... ............... ................................ 67 Implementing an Inclusive Outreach Strategy ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ..............71 Incorporating Sensitivity to Race, Culture, Gender, and Individuals With Disabilities ................................... .............. .............. .............. .............. .... .................................. 73 Evaluating Progress . ................................................................................................................................... 73 Reflecting and Celebrating .......................................................................................................................... 76 Stage Five: Going to Scale .............................................................................................................................. 77 Adapting and Expanding the Prototype to Additional Sites ....................................................................... 78 Developing a Pool of Collaborative Leaders, Managers, and Service Delivery Personnel ................................... .................................. ................................................................... 79 Changing Undergraduate- and Graduate-Level Training in Colleges and Universities ...................................................................................................................................... 80 Deepening the Collaborative Culture .......................................................................................................... 82 Designing a Long-Range Fiscal Strategy ................................................................................................... .82 Building a Formal Governance Structure ..................... ............... ............... ............... ............... ...............85 Building and Maintaining a Community Constituency ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... 86 Promoting Changes in the Federal Role ...................... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... 88 Reflecting and Celebrating ............................ ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............. 91 PART III COMMUNITIES MOVING TOWARD THE VISION Note: This report references sites that utilized Together We Can methods to move towards the vision of community schools. For your resources, we have included links to current sites that have achieved this vision. Links: Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation Evansville, IN http://www.evsc.k12.in.us/schoolzone/schcomm/schcomm.htm Illinois System of Full Service Community Schools Chicago, IL http://www.fscs.k12.il.us/ Bridges To Success Indianapolis, IN http://www.bridgestosuccess.org/ Lincoln Community Learning Centers Initiative Lincoln, NE http://www.lincolnclc.org/ The SUN Schools Initiative Portland, OR http://www.sunschools.org APPENDIX A Checklist 1: Process for Crafting a Profamily System of Education and Human Services ......................... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... .............. 92 Checklist 2: Indicators of Systems Change .................... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............. 96 NOTES .......................................... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ...............99 Together We Can xii Introduction F rom time to time, every family, no Across the country, communities are matter how self-sufficient, needs help: asking what can be done to reclaim the one a short-term loan to pay the rent on child in four who is in jeopardy of school time in a month of unexpected expenses, failure. They are asking how other, often someone to help care for a sick child or highly interrelated, problems that place parent, legal advice, specialized training to youth at risk---poverty, premature compete for a better job, or advice on an parenthood, substance abuse, adolescent child who is not doing well in unemployment, and homelessness---can be school. More serious problems such as addressed so that children can learn. The chronic illness, unemployment, or challenges are fundamental ones for homelessness can make special help a American society. What is required to create continuing necessity. Families with strong communities where learning can happen? support networks and ample financial What supports do families need to raise " resources often can find the help they need children who are educationally and from friends and relatives or---without too emotionally successful and are able to much trouble---in the community. Using the pursue productive and satisfying careers? information and connections of their social How can services be made more responsive acquaintances and their own ability to and more likely to help large numbers of purchase services, these families usually can children and families retain control over act to resolve crises effectively and to keep their lives? How can schools help, and what small problems from getting out of hand. responsibility must be assumed by other institutions that serve children and families? It is not so easy for families with limited financial resources and whose friends and A growing number of communities are relations may not be better off than they are. developing collaboratives to gather the All too often, the prevention and support information needed to discuss these services that can help families maintain their questions fully and to arrive at collective self-sufficiency and ability to care for their decisions for resolving them. With a children are unavailable. Essential education, common vision, the collaborators or partners health, and human services are often in these collaboratives are becoming a voice inaccessible or provided in ways that for children and families. By virtue of their diminish---rather than enhance---families' broad-based representations, collaboratives abilities to control their own lives. Separate, are an emerging force for change in unresolved problems grow into complicated America's communities. These efforts reflect tangles that affect every family member and a growing consensus among researchers, put children at high risk of failing in school policymakers, and practitioners that stronger and later in life. In the process, everyone connections between family, school, and the loses. larger community, particularly among educators and health and human service Together We Can 1