Please click the Play Video button to watch the video prior to joining the Q&A. Full Description: When an individual or family has a need, the community resource systems meant to support them are complex and often difficult to navigate. The COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted and exasperated barriers many families experience when navigating community systems of care. Addressing the unique needs of families requires a collaborative community approach to connect public health, healthcare, and social service providers. Maternal and child health community leaders are well positioned to facilitate this change by building cross-sector partnerships through a shared vision driven by measurable goals.
During this session, presenters will introduce a framework for collective impact. This framework has been tested in more than 20 communities implementing a shared referral tool. With a focus on improving community systems of care for families, participants will learn how to apply the framework to build the foundation required to align efforts of service providers to develop, measure, and improve referral processes.
The workshop will conclude with a discussion of real-life examples from communities who leveraged existing collaborative processes to streamline COVID-19 response using a shared referral tool. Examples include optimizing COVID funds through community referral data, leveraging community health workers to improve access to services, and creating connection points to new services, including basic needs, to meet community needs. These community designed solutions demonstrate the impact of foundational collaborative practices during times of crisis and provide guidance for replication. Participants will leave the session with specific strategies for building collaborative partnerships designed to improve connections to services in their own community.
Abbreviated Description: Addressing the unique needs of families requires a collaborative community approach to connect public health, healthcare, and social service providers. This workshop will provide strategies for community MCH leaders to build the foundation for strong, collaborative partnerships to better respond in times of crisis through referral practices. Presenters will identify steps to develop a shared vision and explore how to sustain this work through measured impact. Further evidence supporting this approach will be shared through examples of communities’ collaborative work around referrals, resulting in successful connections to services for families while navigating systems and COVID-19 response.
