Transforming Together: Implementation Guide
Including Non-Government Agencies and Community Organizations/Service Providers in County Leadership Teams In addition to the voices and wisdom of youth and parents, the ILT and EAC should amplify their work in partnership with key contractors, community-based organizations, and other non-government agencies. Interest holders should co-design the nature and scope of the public-private partnership for a whole-child system, and they can operationalize it in a few ways. Tool Spotlight : The Examples of Successful Multi-Agency Collaborations resource showcase ways counties have engaged CBOs and service providers as full partners in governance, offering models for shared accountability and public-private alignment. Having non-government entities as signatories to an MOU and active in a shared leadership agreement (or potentially having voting power if that is the decision-making model) can introduce complexities that require all partners to adapt. As mentioned above, all partners in the ecosystem must begin with a shared mindset that prioritizes improved outcomes for children, youth, and families. Individual agency and/or organization expectations or interests regarding who will do what in supporting children, youth, and families should not be primary drivers of the ecosystem design and/or implementation. Some ways to meaningfully achieve this desirable public-private leadership structure include: ● Incorporate CBO agency leaders as routine attendees, either as guests or participants in the work. Clarify their expected roles (and influence) early on and document these expectations in any system-wide agreement documents and in practice. ● Encourage CBO partners or contractors to submit annual or semi-annual reports to the ILT or EAC, sharing updates regarding the efficacy of programs, outcomes, impact, and community perspective. ● In larger counties, identify an informal CBO “liaison” who can attend the EAC or ILT meetings and participate and support the process. Liaison voting status should depend upon the structure of the community build. ● Establish semi-annual retreats, where the systems leaders and community partners spend time in strategy and dialogue to foster alignment and measure impact toward their shared goals, outcomes, and intentions. These longer engagements can provide rich opportunities to align visions and create shared solutions that enrich the entire ecosystem of support.
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