Community Partnership

Beranda commented on:
Angela commented on: Group 1 and Group 3


Angela completed the introduction and Case Study #1.
Beranda completed Case Study #2 and the Discussion section.

Community Partnership

Beranda Cantrell

Angela Vanderluit

EDAC 648

Introduction

            This paper will examine two different examples of community partnerships.  These partnerships focus on different areas, but have goals related to domestic violence prevention and youth intervention.  The two organizations our group has chosen are the Dawn Project in Marion County, Indiana and On Track Recovery in two Oregon Counties.  The Dawn Project is close to home and On Track is across the country, but both provide good examples of what good can come of community-based partnerships.  The Dawn Project is a partnership created by government officials to treat young people with severe behavioral issues.  This project aims to treat the emotional side of these issues and work with families who are entwined in the system.  The clients of the Dawn Project are at a serious risk of being removed from their homes, so it is important that they take a more holistic approach to treatment than punishment (Children's Bureau, 2010).  On Track Recovery of Oregon utilizes community partnerships to provide treatment for mental health issues, substance abuse, and domestic violence prevention as well as other programs.  On Track is able to provide these services to anyone and everyone regardless of ability to pay because of the community partnerships established.  It is hoped that this exploration of two geographically distant community partnerships will show the benefit and usefulness of such endeavors. 

Case Study:  On Track Recovery

On Track Recovery is located in Oregon.  This community partnership provides treatment for a variety of mental health issues and programs for the prevention of substance abuse and domestic violence.  Because of the partnerships that this community organization has made, they are able to provide services in a way that does not discriminate at all, even based on the inability to pay for treatment.  For On Track Recovery, partnerships mean all the difference when it comes to being able to provide services to those in need.  Because of these partnerships, the organization can treat people even if they would be unable to pay for services.  Their website stresses the importance of getting help regardless of financial situation.  This is so important because the cost can keep people who want and need to enter a treatment course from pursuing it (Programs, On Track Inc). 

The services On Track Recovery is able to provide are important for the health of the whole person and the community.  They offer a wide variety of programs including mental health treatment, substance abuse, and domestic violence prevention.  Because our project as a whole has focused on domestic violence prevention, treatment, and women’s shelters, this community partnership seemed like a good example.  It is important to remember that domestic violence occurs in the context of families and communities.  This problem can be indicative of other mental health or substance abuse problems.  The family that has gone through domestic violence is in need of the other services that On Track provides because of the trauma that is involved in domestic violence.  On Track sees domestic violence and substance abuse as part of a system of problems, and so offers a variety of resources and services. 

On Track Recovery operates to serve the areas of Jackson and Josephine Counties in Oregon.  On Track receives funding from many different partners in the community.  These include the United Way, a local Native American foundation, and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in addition to city and county organizations.  Funding also comes from the following city and county organizational partners:  the Community Justice Department, Health and Human Services, Commission on Children and Families, Oregon Community Foundation, and the city governments of Medford and Ashland.  On Track also receives funds from state and local sources in addition to private insurance and client fees (Agency Funding, On Track Inc.)

Case Study: The Dawn Project

            The Dawn Project is located in Marion County, Indiana. Their mission is to provide “new and improved levels of help and assistance to children with serious emotional disturbances and their families” ("B. the dawn," 2003). The mission is founded upon the belief that these troubled children, and their families, can go from negative to positive development with the proper community support system. The three main goals of the program are: (1) Incorporation of parent involvement in the design, implementation, and evaluation of Dawn and its services. This is done on every level of care – from the child and family to the city, county, and State governance; (2) To provide a single comprehensive system of care to children with behavioral issues and their families, no matter if the primary system of involvement is Child Welfare, Mental Health, Juvenile Justice, Correction, or Special Education; and (3) Development of a system of care in which all the child serving entities achieve positive outcome through early intervention. This comes with increased understanding of, and adherence to, a strengths-based and values-based approach to care ("B. the dawn," 2003). The Dawn project also has four specific objectives to help achieve these goals: (1) expanding services to three new populations; (2) expanding the family organization; (3) participating in an external evaluation process to validate system activities; and (4) develop a social marketing plan on system-of-care principles ("B. the dawn," 2003). Children are referred to the Dawn Project from the child welfare, juvenile probation, or special education systems. The children are accepted into the program based on established eligibility criteria. The eligibility criteria includes: functional impairment in two life domains, involved in two or more systems (child welfare, juvenile justice, mental health, or special education), at-risk of, or already in, residential treatment, resident of Marion county, between five and 17 years of age, and a duration of impairment lasting at least six months (Hepburn & McCarthy, 2003).

Without the community partnerships of important organizations, this project would not exist. The first initiative of the project was to establish a family support group, which is now a family support organization titled Families Reaching for Rainbows. Many other community organizations have teamed up to be a part of this project to provide support to children who have serious emotional or behavioral disorders. These organizations include (Hepburn & McCarthy, 2003):

·         Indiana Behavioral Health Choices (Choices) – the lead agency

·         State mental health agency

·         Special education agency

·         County child welfare agency

·         Juvenile court

·         Local government

The Dawn project also utilizes an interagency governance called the Dawn Project consortium. It is made up of payor agencies, families, referring agencies, the managed care entity, advocates, and additional representatives from public schools. The Consortium meets monthly and works across agencies to integrate school plans, court orders, probation requirements, and mental health plans into one coordinated plan that is manageable for the families (Hepburn & McCarthy, 2003).

The methods used by the Dawn Project to establish partnerships would include finding which organizations could promote positive support to children with behavioral issues, organizations that are willing to partner with the Dawn Project to establish early intervention for such children, and organizations that can provide funding for what the program is trying to accomplish. By partnering with organizations such as Child Welfare and the juvenile court systems, the Dawn project is able to intervene early and promote positive support to children with behavioral issues. While social-networking is not used within the Dawn Project, it does leave them room to grow and expand in the future. The only current way that children are being reached out to is through the community organizations in which the Dawn Project partners with (i.e. court or welfare system suggesting it to families).

Discussion

This section will discuss both organizations and their community partnerships.  The discussion seeks to summarize the main idea behind these partnerships and how they are important to the organization.  The point of the discussion is to find out what type of partnerships can be used for different organizations, and how they use them effectively. 

The first case study was over On Track Recovery, a community partnership that provides treatment for a variety of mental health issues and programs for the prevention of substance abuse and domestic violence. One of the main benefits of this community partnership is that no one is turned away for not being able to pay. On Track Recovery receives funding from over 15 different organizations including: the United Way, local and state agencies, and private insurance. On Track Recovery also partners with local governments, such as the court systems, in order to help people who abuse substances overcome their addictions. Suggestions, from this case study, for community educators who are looking to start a community partnership, would be to try to connect with as many local organizations as possible to get adequate funding. Grants are another way to ensure that you will reach all people in your community, instead of only those with financial resources.

The second case study, the Dawn Project, focuses on helping children aged five to 17 have the support system they need to overcome their emotional or behavioral issues. It includes multiple partnerships such as the Marion County Mental Health Association, school systems, City County Council, Department of Corrections, the Mayor’s Office, service providers, Families Reaching for Rainbows, and the County Auditor. It is important that all of these organizations come together for this partnership to work. This specific organization uses an interagency Consortium that governs different aspects of the program. The Dawn Project takes new clients as recommended by the court or welfare system, provides the support system through school systems and Families Reaching for Rainbows, and organizes all of its funds through the county auditor. Suggestions for community educators wishing to start a community partnership, based off of this case study, would include making sure that you have all of the local organizations you need to be successful. The Dawn Project also utilizes managed care technologies that include information management with “real time” data. This program does not, however, include any type of social media/social networking qualities and that would be something community educators would want to include to spread the word of their organization.

	On Track Recovery	Dawn Project
Main stakeholders and purpose	Funding institutions – make it possible for treatment to occur Family and Community Services – promotion of program	Choices – manages care of children in program State agencies – refer children to program, make manageable care plans for families Family partnership – support group for children and their families
Strategies/tools/methods used for identifying and establishing partnerships and collaborating with partners	Need for monetary donations; establishing partnerships to fulfill this need	Early intervention, manageable care plans, measurable goals
Strategies/tools used for engaging participants	Offering different types of services: Day Treatment, family programs, youth programs, etc.	Most children are troubled so possibility of lessened punishment with completion of program; also the importance of family and positive reinforcement
Main ideas you have learned	Partnership with funding can help program succeed by providing financial resources to those who could otherwise not afford it.	Interagency Consortium is beneficial; Community partnership, as well as family, is essential; common goals/common ground
Suggestions for practitioners	Obtain funding through organizations such as the United Way (if possible); Obtain grants (if possible)	Local partnership is important; information management system; utilize social media/social networking in some way

References

           

B. the dawn project - marion county, indianapolis, in. (2003). Retrieved from http://www.choicesteam.org/documents/choices/excerptfrompromisingapproaches1.pdf

Children's Bureau. (2010). Community partnerships: Improving the response to child maltreatment. Retrieved from https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/usermanuals/partners/appende.cfm

Children's Mental Health Network. (n.d.). Dawn project. Retrieved from http://www.cmhnetwork.org/alumni/map/indiana/dawn-project

Hepburn, K., & McCarthy, J. (2003). Making interagency initiatives work for children and families in the child welfare system. Promising Approaches for Behavioral Health Services to Children and Adolescents and Their Families in Managed Care Systems, Retrieved from http://www.chcs.org/usr_doc/promising_approaches3.pdf

http://www.ontrackrecovery.org/