Partnerships for Effective Systems of Care for Children and Families

The Research and Training Center (RTC) for Children’s Mental Health at the University of South Florida recently released Examining the Relationship between Family-Run Organizations and Non-Family Organization Partners in Systems of Care. Part of RTC’s ongoing systems of care studies, this report explores six family-run organizations, their relationships with their non-family organization partners, and the strategies they use to develop family voice and implement family-driven services.

The relationship between family-run organizations and non-family-run organizations in systems of care is complex in nature, and the strongest relationships appear to be those that are multi-textured. For example, in systems of care with strong family voice, the non-family-run entities consult with the family-run organization as a partner; support the family-run organization, not only with money, but with training and advocacy to carry out their responsibilities; use the family-run organization to trouble-shoot when
they run into problems; are open to learning from them and vice-a-versa–operating as a learning community; and, pay attention to how much the family-run organization can handle in its development.