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| There are currently 92 Children’s Mental Health and Family Services Collaboratives in Minnesota: |
• 31 Integrated Children’s Mental Health and Family Services Collaboratives
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| Collaboratives were envisioned and created as an approach to: |
| • Address the needs of children faced with complex problems |
| • Maximize results and resources by enhancing coordination and reducing duplication among systems |
• Involve communities, particularly families, in system redesign and implementation so their needs are effectively met.
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“In order to better meet the needs of children with emotional or behavioral disturbances or who are at risk of such disturbances, it is the intent of the legislature to establish an integrated mental health service system.”
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| Children's Mental Health Collaboratives were established by the 1993 Minnesota Legislature in recognition that children with severe emotional disturbances or who are at risk of such disturbances often require services from multiple service systems. Since no single agency can assume sole responsibility for providing all services and in order for the services provided to be effective, non-duplicative and less fragmented, a network of child-serving agencies in which the family was a full partner was needed. |
| The Children's Mental Health Integrated Fund legislation created children's mental health collaboratives as entities in which counties, school districts, local mental health entities and juvenile corrections are mandatory partners that come to an agreement with parents, public health and other community-based organizations to provide integrated and coordinated services, pool resources and design services. Collaborative partners strategically decide how to restructure their resources and address liability and other issues to support children and families. |
Through collaboratives, children with emotional disturbances and their families receive a coordinated, multi-agency response to their needs and participate fully in the design and implementation of a common plan of care through an innovative process known as "wraparound.” Wraparound interventions are alternative, flexible and individualized services coordinated through a cross-agency plan of care. These interventions effectively build on the strengths of a child and respond to the needs identified in a child’s assessment so as to improve the child’s ability to function in the home, school and community.
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| Through a comprehensive planning process, each Family Services Collaborative “must design and implement an integrated local service delivery system for children and their families that coordinates services across agencies and is client centered. The delivery system shall provide a continuum of services for children birth to age 18, or birth through age 21 for individuals with disabilities.” |
| In 1993 the Minnesota Legislature established the roles and responsibilities for these collaboratives. Mandatory partners include counties, school districts, corrections, public health, community action programs and Head Start. These partners work together to meet goals to address the health, educational, developmental and family-related needs of children and youth. |
| Family Services Collaboratives strive to: |
| • Improve outreach and early identification |
| • Coordinate assessments and services across agencies |
• Integrate funding and resources.
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