A brief overview of Caring Communities

Caring Communities

Caring Communities is Missouri's ambitious cross-system reforms initiative. This work grew from several community and state initiatives. Two initiatives launched in the late 1980s gave a cohesive shape and direction to the state's approach. St. Louis Walbridge Caring Communities Program demonstrated the importance of neighborhood-based efforts linked to schools. The family preservation initiative showed the value of cross-agency planning and program implementation.

In November 1993, Governor Carnahan established the Family Investment Trust as a state-level entity. The name of the organization was changed to Family and Community Trust by executive order of Governor Bob Holden on April 2, 2001. The Family and Community Trust's charge is to provide leadership in collaboration with Caring Communities Community Partnerships to measurably improve the condition of Missouri's families, children, individuals, and communities; and to encourage collaboration among public and private community entities to build and strengthen comprehensive community-based support systems.

By developing community-based supports and services, the aim is to enhance the well-being of children, which is inseparable from the well-being of their families and the stability and economic viability of the communities where they live.

Core Results for Children and Families

Missouri's vision is for children to have strong families and communities where parents are working, children are succeeding in school and growing up healthy, safe, and prepared to enter productive adulthood. Achieving this vision is measured by six core results:

1. Parents working
2. Children safe in their families and families safe in their communities
3. Children and families healthy
4. Children ready to enter school
5. Children and youth succeeding in school
6. Youth ready to enter the work force and become productive citizens

Policy Directions to Achieve the Core Results

Improving results for children and families requires a dramatic change in the way services are organized and delivered. Four policy directions shape and guide Missouri's system reform initiative to improving results.

1. Being accountable for achieving results
2. Bringing services closer to where families live and children attend school
3. Active community involvement in decisions that affect their well-being
4. Using dollars more flexibly and effectively to meet community needs

1. Being Accountable for Achieving Results

The state agencies and communities engaged in Missouri's system reform initiative agree to focus their work on achieving the six core results. These results provide the framework within which all activity occurs. Furthermore, the state agencies and communities reached consensus on a common set of 18 benchmarks for which baselines are being established on a state, community, and neighborhood level. Progress toward these benchmarks are tracked over time and interventions are targeted to make the greatest impact. State agencies and communities report on progress annually.

2. Bringing Services Closer to Where Families Live and Children Attend School

A key strategy to ensure that services are available and accessible is to respond to what communities requested-services closer to where residents live and students attend school. Caring Communities establishes a school-linked, neighborhood-based approach for the delivery of services. Schools represent the closest approximation of a universal access point for children and families, and form the nexus for creating a neighborhood system of service delivery and care. This system is locally designed through Caring Communities site councils.

 3. Active Community Involvement in Decisions That Affect Their Well-Being

Establishing Caring Communities Partnerships is another key strategy for implementing systems change. A Caring Communities Partnership is a community-wide (county or multiple counties) governance entity. It is a broad-based, collaborative, decision-making entity that consolidates and integrates the planning, development, and financing of service delivery for children and families. The Caring Communities Partnership accepts sustained accountability for achieving improved results in partnership with the state agencies. It functions as the parent board to the neighborhood Caring Communities site councils.

4. Using Dollars More Flexibly and Effectively to Meet Community Needs

Missouri is working to provide more flexible dollars to communities in exchange for accountability for results. The state agencies were successful in requesting a joint appropriation from the state legislature in 1995. These funds act as a catalyst for integrating additional funding streams to achieve the six core results and to support the development of local governance entities. The state agencies continue to work for increased flexibility in other state and federal funding sources. On the community level, public and private funds are used to support Caring Communities.

The Family and Community Trust

The Family and Community Trust was established through Executive Order. The board of directors is composed of the directors of the state agency partners and eight civic and business leaders. The board sets the macro-strategy for the system reform effort, builds leadership in state agencies and communities, measures progress, and keeps the focus on the vision. Family and Community Trust helps state agencies and communities through sustained technical support, conferences, trainings, and resource materials.

Communities

Caring Communities Partnerships bring together stakeholders to shape priorities for children and families. In 1995, the state departments invited seven communities to partner with them to improve results for children and families. Four additional communities became Caring Communities Partnerships in 1996, three more in 1997, and four more in 1998. In June 1999, there are eighteen Caring Communities Partnerships with 103 Caring Communities sites across Missouri. Other communities, called Caring Communities Collaboratives, are preparing to become Caring Communities Partnerships. New Caring Communities Partnerships will establish additional Caring Communities sites.

On the neighborhood level, a Caring Communities site council is the broadly representative decision-making body. It partners with Caring Community Partnerships to plan, develop, finance, and monitor to achieve the Core Results. The Caring Communities council works in partnership with the Community Partnership which serves as the parent board and shares in the accountability for improved results.

State Agency Partners

The departments of Corrections, Economic Development, Elementary and Secondary Education, Health, Labor and Industrial Relations, Mental Health, Public Safety and Social Services are partnering in the system reform initiative. They established a cross-agency structure to work together to measurably improve the condition of Missouri's families and their children, to establish greater collaboration among human service agencies, and to implement the broad-based systems reform initiative.

This structure includes the interagency groups of directors, deputy directors, Results Subgroup, Finance Subgroup, Capacity Building Subgroup, and Caring Communities coordinators.