1 CT’s DCF-Head Start Partnership Working Together to Serve Vulnerable Families & Support the Development of At-Risk Children Presenters: Rudy Brooks Former Bureau Chief, Prevention Services CT Department of Children & Families Grace Whitney Director, CT Head Start State Collaboration Office Child Welfare, Collaboration and the Courts: A Collaboration to Strengthen Educational Successes of Children and Youth in Foster Care Renaissance Arlington Capitol View Hotel, Arlington, VA November 3-4, 2011

Why Should We Partner?  Head Start/EHS and DCF often serve the same children  Many Head Start/EHS children and families are at risk  Great potential for identification and prevention  Head Start/EHS is a natural environment for interventions to occur

What Would the Benefits Be?  Programs understand one another  Establish regular procedures for working together  Achieve continuity of care through case management  Develop creative solutions for unique and difficult cases

How Would Families Benefit?  Families understand and access services  Families feel supported  Placements reduced and permanency increased for children  Children access high quality ECE  Children receive care from knowledgeable, nurturing adults working together

Protocol for Working Together Section I: Identifying and Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect Section II: Communication on Open DCF Investigations Section III: Treatment Planning and Case Management

Protocol for Working Together Section IV: Placement of Children Section V: DCF Referrals to Head Start/EHS Section VI: Agency Planning

DCF-Head Start Partnership Phase 1 - Pilot DCF Areas & 3 Head Start/Early Head Start  Created Protocol for Working Together Phase 2 – Ready Communities DCF Areas & 15 Head Start/Early Head Start  Began quarterly facilitated meetings Phase 3 – Statewide Implementation DCF Areas & 11 Head Start/Early Head Start  Added mental health, other early care, etc.

Evaluation  Quarterly Data Collection Building Trust and Partnership Maintaining On-going Collaboration Improving Services to Families “Stories” of interest

DCF-Head Start Partnership & Collaboration Needs Assessment No working Relationship (little/ no contact) Cooperation (exchange info/referrals) Coordination (work together) Collaboration (share resources/ agreements) %11%36%39% %92% %094%

Results  Simplify/standardize referral processes and intentional enrollment of DCF-involved children, including foster care, into Head Start  Align Treatment Plan/Family Partnership Agreement  Connect mental health supports, housing supports, other early care  Modifying DCF LINK data system to help identify and serve children under five

The Collaborative Process 1. It must be meaningful to you! 2. Balancing Process with Product 3. Mental Models 4. The Collaborative Path

Getting to Know One Another as Organizations

Common Ground

Stage 1: Getting Together Stage 2: Building Trust Stage 3: Developing a Plan Stage 4: Taking Action Stage 5: Going to Scale Improving Outcomes for Children Commit to Collaboration Involve the right people Decide to act Get to know one another Build cooperative relationships Establish shared goals Adapt and expand prototype Deepen collaborative culture Institutionalize processes Implement new processes Collect data Evaluate progress-make course corrections Formalize interagency relationships Define service delivery processes Develop technical tools

Team Self-Assessment  Where are we now?  Have there been changes for which we need to repeat earlier steps to get everyone up to speed?  Are there others we need to invite to our table?  What are some logical next steps to include on our Goal Sheet?  Do we need any additional supports?

What’s Worked for Us.....  Ongoing commitment from and access to all levels of both agencies Critical importance of support at the top!  A process that promotes statewide goals yet respects local differences and needs  Opportunities to share accomplishments with and learn from other communities

What’s Worked for Us..... Community Leaders  Local Meetings  Membership Lists  Quarterly Data Sheets  Quarterly Goal Sheets  “Community NEWS” Federal/State Leaders  Strategic Facilitation  Meeting Supports  Data, Data, Data  Policy/Practice Change  New Resources