Title: Finding Common Ground: Creating Local Governance Structures.
Author: Mutchler, Sue E.; And Others
Year: 1993
Publication Information: Southwest Educational Development Lab., Austin, TX. Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC
ERIC number: ED387745
Abstract: As federal, state, and local policy makers attend to the economic, educational, social, and health-related needs of children, they are beginning to share a vision of a "seamless web" of high-quality, comprehensive, continuous services for children and their families. It remains a challenging goal because of the complexity of children's needs and the variety of organizations, procedures, structures, and systems set in place to address those needs. This Occasional Paper focuses on the ways in which many states and localities are creating new service systems and roles through a variety of local governance structures. The following eight profiles describe a range of different interventions: (1) Arkansas, Arkansas Families First; (2) California, Healthy Start (Senate Bill 620); (3) Colorado, Family and Children's Initiative; (4) Florida, District Health and Human Services Boards; (5) Iowa, Family Development and Self-Sufficiency Program; (6) Kentucky, Family Resource Centers and Youth Services Centers; (7) Maryland, Children and Family Services Reform Initiative; and (8) New Mexico, Communities in Schools. All eight initiatives emphasize the role of collaboration in creating new possibilities, roles, and relationships for local communities. Each profile is a synthesis of information collection from one or more informants in the state, representing a landscape for analysis and comparison. (JBJ)
