Steps to Successful Community Collaboration

Presented byArtie Williams, LCSW

Director of Mental Health Intensive ServicesMental Health Mental Retardation of Tarrant County

June 2, 2010

AllianceUnited Action

Joining of Forces Combined Effort

Collectivism Teamwork

CooperationConcerted Action

Pooling of Resources

Joint EffortPulling Together

Collaboration: What is it?

The purpose of collaboration is to:

Increase capacity, communication, and continuity of service, while decreasing the duplication of services.

The Sense of a Goose

Author Unknown

People who are part of a team and share a common direction get where they are going quicker and easier, because they are traveling on the trust of one another.

If we have the sense of a goose, we will share information with and provide support to those who are headed in the same direction as we are.

Vision◦ What is to be accomplished and how the

collaboration will be used to get there. Commitment

◦ Pledge to attain specific goals and benchmarks Leadership

◦ Personal commitment, enjoyable involvement, determination to achieve goals and benchmarks

Action◦ A plan to accomplish the goals including

responsibilities, resources and deadlines

Foundations of Collaboration

One man may hit the mark, another blunder; but heed not these distinctions. Only from the alliance of the one, working with and through the other, are great things born.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

French writer (1900 - 1944)

Competition

Networking/Communicating

Cooperation/Coordination

Coordination/Partnership

Coalition

Collaboration

Developing Collaboration

Start with a unifying purpose◦ Identify the problem, complete a needs assessment

Identify Stakeholders and Potential Stakeholders and Resources◦ Mapping◦ Be considerate and show respect for people & time

Set goals and objectives◦ Goals are where you want to go◦ Objectives are how you are going to get there

Identify leaders◦ Can be based on task assignment

Steps to Making It Work

Coordinate tasks and organize committees Set a time line for deliverables Communicate regularly

◦ Set up email distribution lists and update often Periodic evaluation of the process Resolve conflict quickly Celebrate success often!!!!

Steps Continued

Example of A Successful Community Collaboration

Tarrant County Crisis Services

The 80th Legislature

appropriated $82 million over the

FY08-09 Biennium

Crisis Services Funding

Purpose: Offer Diversion alternative for individuals in behavioral health crisis

Create: Community alternatives to jails, emergency rooms, and state hospitals

What options were available

for Tarrant County before

New Crisis Services

Allocation?

●Call Center●Local Inpatient Treatment●23 Hour Hold●State Hospital Inpatient●Jail●Homeless Shelter

Lack of residential and respite care options made for poor continuity and lack of cost effective local treatment options

Crisis Services

Expansion

Tarrant County

Awarded $5,827,402 for Crisis Services!

Crisis Hotline Expansion Mobile Crisis Outreach Competency Restoration Crisis Stabilization Unit Residential and Respite Units

Crisis Hotline Expansion

Call Center staffed by trained crisis counselors

Available 24/7

Accredited by the American Association of Suicidology (AAS)

Ability to handle rapid surge of calls

Services Provided:

Information & Referral

Screening for ongoing services

Telephonic Crisis Intervention

Support & Reassurance

Postvention Follow Up

Mobile Crisis Outreach Team (MCOT)

Services are available 24 hours per day, 365 days per year

Provides face-to-face crisis services

Emergency care,Urgent care, Crisis follow-up Relapse prevention

Serves children, adolescents or adults

Crisis Stabilization

12 Bed

Unit designed

to:

Stabilize crisis to avoid hospitalization or incarceration

Provide respite for individuals at risk of deteriorating

Origin point to triage high risk patients to less restrictive services

Developed in Partnership with John Peter Smith Hospital (JPS)

Located at JPS psych unit; sharing medical staff

Crisis Respite Crisis Residential (8 beds) (13 beds)

●Provide short term monitored treatment to at-risk patients

●Offers a referral point for MCOT

●Provide alternative for patients with severe stressors and housing issues

Provide a residential option beyond hospital and jail

Serve MH Court Consumers that need additional supports to achieve community

re-integrationProvide skills training

to assist with independence

Competency

Restoration Program

Allows for individuals to attempt to restore competency outside a state hospital

Meds and support services provided

MHMRTC will deliver competency restoration services

In jail for those not eligible for bond

In community for those who can bond out

 

Community Collaboration

● Broad stakeholder support-over 100 local stakeholders involved

● Developed broader understanding of how crisis services are funded

● Local stakeholders wanted to participate to bring additional funding and resources to our community

● Stakeholders had input in service designs and processes

● Built on existing partnerships and developed new ones

Community Collaboration

Makes a difference

● County Commissioners-$500K match

● JPSH-Donated facility and associated cost for crisis stabilization unit

● Union Gospel Mission provided facility for Men CRU at a reduced lease rate

● We secured contracts with All Church Home for Children to provide respite to child/adolescents

● Others committed to service availability when patient transitions from crisis

Our Partners Tarrant County

Commissioners JPS Health Network Union Gospel Mission All Church Home for Children Cook Children’s Medical

Center City of Fort Worth City of Arlington Law Enforcement Judicial Representatives School Districts MedStar Ambulance Service

Area Hospitals Mental Health Providers Substance Abuse Providers Emergency Healthcare

Providers Public Health Department Homeless Service

Providers Child Advocacy

Organizations

For further information, please contact us @ (817) 569-4426

Or email: artie.williams@mhmrtc.org

Click icon to add picture

QUESTIONS?

Works Cited

http://www.communitycollaboration.net

Hogue, Teresa. (1993). Community Based Collaborations: Community Wellness Multiplied. Oregon State University, Oregon Center for Community Leadership.

Kretzman, J.P. and McKnight, J.L. (1993). Building Communities from the Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing Communities Assets. Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research, Neighborhood Innovations Network, Northwestern University.