Effective Collaboration in Human Service

TEAM A- Anita Apostol
BSHS/305
February 12, 2013
Anie Sklar

Effective Collaboration in Human Services

Communication (Who and Content) With the goal of having “effective collaborations” (Rogers, 2009, p. 334) with faith-based organizations, to retain and expand on the services available to their clients, agencies who participate find that communication is the key to their success. Communication encompasses “mundane interactions- personal introductions, meetings, sharing newsletters, and reintroducing staff when there is staff turnover” (Rogers, 2009, p. 334). There are several levels of communication involved, and there is a hierarchy in this communication scheme. There are three levels of communication; executive communication describes the first level. “…the executives from agencies are meeting to talk about how it has worked out thus far with us taking the lead in the collaboration” (Rogers, 2009, p. 337). The first level communication The next level of communication, the second level happens with staff members. The staff members implement or carry out the outcomes of the collaborative conferences. The last level of communication, staff members meet with the clients to discuss options in the true sense of a partnership with the clients and the program that provides the service.
Shared Resources Shared resources, the second category that contributes to effective communication, are the primary reason for developing a partnership between a non-secular agency and a faith-based organization. The ability to share resources with one another increases the agency ability to meet the needs of the community it serves. Shared resources can include “goals, services, money, and opportunity, which can include trainings, transportation, staff, and facilities” (Rogers, 2009, p. 337). An example of resource sharing was “Agency A who effortlessly described on-going work with two county agencies, three community health centers operated by two hospitals and a university, a city recreation center and museum, the YMCA, the Boys and Girls Club, the United Way, and several department stores” (Rogers, 2009, p. 340). Shared resources also includes nontangible items like shared values, an example of shared values include “respect, appreciation, and honesty in communication” (Rogers, 2009, p. 340). The important message to take away is that successful collaboration for social service agencies has evolved into a necessity to survive. Collaboration can become integrally related to the life of the various organizations in the community over time.

Reference

Rogers, R. K. (2009). Community Collaboration Practices of Effective Collaboration as Reported by Three Urban Faith-Based Social Service Programs. Journal of the North American Association of Christians in Social Work.