This workshop targets direct service and management professionals in youth-serving sectors such as residential care and treatment, day treatment, child welfare, child and youth mental health, and family support services of varying kinds.
The goal of the workshop is to explore strategies for operationalizing collaborative activities and practices in ways that are responsive to need while realistic in the context of resources and the availability of time. Emphasis will be placed on the role of young people and their families in providing leadership and direction for any intervention strategies that pool together knowledge, resources, and practices from across organizations and sectors. One core principle that will continuously be elaborated on and exemplified is that community collaboration starts with centering young people’s voices and family self-determination. While collaboration always sounds good, the risk of de-centering the people most impacted is high given the bureaucratic and rule-driven nature of child and youth services.