New York

New York’s Partnership for Families in Recovery used the IDTA to focus on developing tools to assist local jurisdictions to broaden collaborative, family-centered practice to improve outcomes for families at the intersection of child welfare, substance abuse, and the courts.  The IDTA process in New York yielded a set of collaborative practice guidance tools targeted to various organizational levels within the three lead systems, including:

• Executive Summary (PDF - 115 KB)- directed to Commissioners and high-level policy makers.
• New York Gearing Up to Improve Outcomes for Families: A Collaborative Practice Guide for Managers and Supervisors in Child Welfare, Chemical Dependency Services, and Court Systems - for mid-level managers that provides more in-depth background to support the recommended practice approach.
• System-specific, two-sided laminate cards - for quick reference use by front-line staff in each of the three lead systems in their daily practice with families.
  • Practice Guide for Child Welfare Professionals (PDF - 130 KB)
  • Practice Guide for Family Courts Professionals (PDF - 83 KB)
  • Practice Guide for Chemical Dependency Services Professionals (PDF - 52 KB)
• Multi-System Training Framework (PDF - 170 KB) - to support cross-system collaboration and knowledge dissemination, with particular emphasis on the practices promoted in the collaborative practice guide.
• Summary of Strategic Recommendations - to support ongoing planning, implementation and sustainability.
• New York’s team also conducted four regional focus groups comprised of youth and parents representing the project’s priority population. These focus groups yielded a rich supply of feedback for the lead systems that informed not only the development of the collaborative practice guide and corresponding training framework, but also supported the shared values developed by the team and underscored the importance of the project’s overall mission.
  New York Partnership for Family Recovery, Focus Group Summary (PDF - 150 KB)