{"id":31798,"date":"2020-08-27T16:52:30","date_gmt":"2020-08-27T16:52:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/caseyfamilyv2.wpengine.com\/dc-collaboratives\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T16:00:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T16:00:19","slug":"colaborativos-de-dc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casey.org\/es\/dc-collaboratives\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00bfC\u00f3mo brindan apoyo a nivel de vecindario a las familias los colaborativos comunitarios de Washington, D. C.?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For nearly 30 years, Washington, D.C.\u2019s Child and Family Services Agency<\/span><\/a> (CFSA) has teamed with neighborhood partners in a unique collaboration to support families where they live through the Healthy Families\/Thriving Communities Collaborative. This network includes five neighborhood collaboratives, each based in specific wards of the city and focused on the particular needs of that community and its residents.1<\/sup><\/a> While community-based organizations exist in neighborhoods across the country, the longstanding, intentional partnership across multiple organizations and, in particular, with the child protection agency, sets this network apart. This partnership provides the foundation for a population-based approach<\/span><\/a> to child welfare, in which stakeholders committed to a shared vision of child and family well-being come together to support all families in reaching their full potential.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Placing CFSA in neighborhoods<\/h2>\n \n \n \n

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The partnership between CFSA and the collaboratives started in the 1990s and has evolved over the years as the collaboratives grew and working relationships matured. Today, CFSA co-locates its in-home units within each collaborative, giving supervisors, family support workers, and social workers a home base in the same neighborhoods where the families they serve live.<\/p>\n

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An early attempt at co-locating CFSA staff in the communities failed and leaders learned more preparation was necessary. Around 2006, CFSA again began to prepare stationing staff at the collaboratives. The two-year process involved a lot of education, joint retreats, working with the unionized CFSA staff and the union itself, and getting everyone prepared for teaming differently. CFSA leaders also had to determine reporting structures and identify technology to support out-posted staff.<\/p>\n

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CFSA leadership needed to address staff concerns around neighborhood safety and teaming with staff they hadn\u2019t worked with before. Ultimately, staff realized the benefits of co-location and came to appreciate the convenience of being able to see clients in the same neighborhood. CFSA staff witnessed the value that families placed on the collaboratives, in particular that they were seen as trusted members of the community. Over time, CFSA came to be viewed as members of the local collaborative rather than as government workers, which enhanced trust, as did the fact that families did not have to enter a government office to receive services. CFSA staff came to respect the staff of neighborhood collaboratives for their knowledge and expertise about the community and its residents. Likewise, some staff of the collaboratives who had been wary of working with government officials came to see the benefits that CFSA staff could bring to families. In the end, both groups of staff realized that they wanted families to succeed, and that shared goal has unified the network partners over time.<\/p>\n

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Currently, CFSA\u2019s in-home caseworkers manage cases (either court-involved or not) that have been substantiated for child maltreatment and that have a high or intensive family risk level. Being co-located with staff of the neighborhood collaborative allows for more streamlined teaming on case management, visitation, and sharing resources and other community connections in order to address the concerns that led to the referral. Once the risk level has decreased, CFSA may refer families to the collaborative for step-down services and then close the case. In addition, when an investigation has a high risk level but the safety concern is unsubstantiated, or is substantiated but has a lower risk level, those families also may be referred to the collaborative for services. This teaming is a win-win for families \u2014 they benefit from an increased number of resources and community connections, and they receive help from trusted supports without having to travel long distances or navigate multiple entities to secure services.<\/p>\n

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D.C.\u2019s Five Community Collaboratives<\/h3>\n

There are eight wards in Washington, D.C.; some community collaboratives serve more than one ward.<\/p>\n