Interagency Collaboration

According to the authors, the goal of the schools system is to improve the plight of at risk children. Collaborative social programs are seen as effective ways to provide for the needs of at risk children and their families. The article provides the findings of a case study conducted on homeless children. The article defines the development of an inter-agency collaborative work to educate homeless children and tries to identify the strengths and the weakness of such an effort. The authors note that it is important to identify strategies that local communities use to provide crisis-oriented services to assist homeless families.
The authors note that interagency collaboration is an important strategy in encouraging the coordination of healthcare.

The study is motivated by the division between substance abuse fields and mental health fields that have resulted in the failure to provide coordinated treatment for people with dual diagnoses of substance abuse disorder and psychiatric disorder. The barriers to collaboration between these agencies include categorical funding for services, administrative structures, scarcity of resources and different licensing requirements. Additionally the two services have different philosophies for training and accrediting service providers. Due to these differences, providers from the two services are likely to disagree on the appropriate treatment strategies for people who have been diagnosed with mental issues and substance abuse issues. The authors surveyed provider agencies a year and two years after collaboration was established. The results showed that there was an increase in interagency joint assessment, referrals and jointly sponsored programs. The authors conclude that providing collaborative services for people with co-occurring mental and substance abuse issues provides a cost effective approach to maximize resources and improve service

The purpose of the study was to explore the perceptions of public health directors on the relationship between mental health agencies and public health agencies. The authors also conducted a secondary analysis on responses to interviews and voluntary comments. The nursing directors described situational, environmental, inter agency and task issues as matters that affect the collaboration between their agencies and mental health agencies. These descriptions provide an understanding into the issues that hinder the collaboration between the two types of agencies. The authors argue that collaboration between mental health and public health agencies can improve the care of people with mental disabilities while enhancing the future of public health in a changing health care