Ohio Department of Education Families

This practice engages communities in conversations to more effectively align support systems for all youth and families. Communities will achieve measurable improvements related to various tiers of Ohio’s Comprehensive System of Learning Supports (CSLS). These outcomes are: Academic achievement (Tier 2 and 3 youth and school-wide); School climate (school-wide); Attendance (Tier 2 and 3 youth and school-wide); Out of school suspension occurrences (Tier 2 and 3 youth and school-wide); and Juvenile adjudication and recidivism (Tier 2 and 3 youth and school-wide). The Care Team Collaborative (CTC) framework supports schools and communities in their efforts to provide prevention, early intervention and intensive services based on the specific needs of the children and families within each school community.  Tier 1 school-wide prevention – All Care Team schools monitor the school-wide outcomes listed above in an effort to see how all youth are progressing. Specific school-wide prevention and developmental asset-building activities occur throughout the school year.  Tier 2 youth – These are children who demonstrate some risk factors, are receiving school-based supports, and also may be receiving supports from one or more community agencies. Care Teams and/or building staff members monitor outcomes for these youth as listed above. Tier 3 youth – These are children whose parents have signed permission forms allowing multi-agency collaboration and case management for their children. In general, 1 to 5 percent of a school’s population falls into this category.		Contact: Michele Timmons Organization: Muskingum Care Team District: Muskingum Valley ESC Phone: (740) 452-4518    All children and families System alignment work usually occurs through Family and Children First councils. Care Team meetings occur at school. Care Team meetings occur weekly. Asset building and system alignment are ongoing.
Care Team Collaborative (CTC) engages and supports communities and schools to build recognized developmental assets in youth and to align systems of care to more effectively meet the needs of all youth and families. CTC supports youth asset initiatives that make schools and communities safer, more supportive environments where all youth grow into healthy, resilient adults. Care Team Collaborative (CTC) is a uniquely designed, multi-county initiative that carefully balances effective research-based strategies for community engagement, systemic reform and positive youth development with the individual needs of partner counties, agencies and districts – as well with the needs of children and their families. CTC uses broad environmental strategies that address change at individual, classroom and school levels as well as at family and community levels. CTC builds a multi-county, collaborative infrastructure with the capacity to: Share effective practices related to system alignment and community engagement; Provide enhanced opportunities for cross-system training; and Use a common kindergarten through grade-12, multi-agency, Web-based data system that monitors and reports educational, social, emotional and behavioral outcomes (individual, school, community). The CTC infrastructure offers each county, district and project school-quality tools and training that helps them more effectively address nonacademic barriers to learning. As the infrastructure becomes embedded in the community, it becomes self-sustaining, leading to further aligned systems, healthier relationships with youth and a greater voice for youth in decision making. In 2003, PRO-Muskingum Families and Children First, in partnership with Muskingum Valley ESC, created the Care Team Collaborative framework for kindergarten through grade-12 services by merging research-based practices from the UCLA Center for Mental Health in Schools, Search Institute's 40 Developmental Assets and the Ohio Department of Education's Comprehensive System of Learning Supports to promote systemic alignment; blended funding; and increased access to comprehensive educational, social, emotional, behavioral and physical health services such as universal prevention, early intervention and intensive intervention.
See “Measuring the power of prevention,” below.
Funding streams Many funding streams limit collaboration and blended funding. Changing leadership Each time a new building, district or agency leader comes on board we must restart the engagement process.  Measuring the power of prevention It is very difficult to quantify savings in the realm of prevention.
We continually analyze the success of this practice through: • Decreased out-of-school suspension rates; • Improved developmental assets in youth; • Decreased adjudication and/or recidivism; • Youth/family response; and • Improved success in school. Care Team Collaborative helps schools and communities continue their collaborative efforts as long as the partners believe there is a need. Several districts are now "alumni" because they feel they no longer need direct support to continue their work. The CTC works with all other districts and communities at least monthly to provide feedback and support.
PRO-Muskingum Family and Children First incubated this initiative as a result of Partnerships for Success. Muskingum Valley ESC; the Muskingum County school districts of Maysville, Franklin, East Muskingum, West Muskingum, Tri Valley and Foxfire were founding school partners. Muskingum County’s  Mental Health Board and its providers, Children's Services, Job and Family Services, Health Department, Juvenile Court and Sheriff's Department were the founding agency partners. The Coshocton, Morgan, and Seneca county Family and Children First councils have joined this partnership over the last three years. Their partnering school districts are Coshocton City, Coshocton Opportunity Schools, Morgan Local, Fostoria City and Tiffin City.  More than 40 other community and faith-based partners have joined this initiative in support of children and families. School districts and community agencies collaboratively fund the initiative through monetary, in-kind and human resources. Exact funding is determined within each county based on need and available resources. Family and Children First councils support Care Teams by making them the focus of their HB 289 plans and directing any available funding to their projects. Job and Family Services, juvenile courts, law enforcement, health departments and mental health boards all provide funding as well as in-kind and human resources. Care Team Collaborative received competitive grants from the Ohio Department of Education (SCP/ABC, Community School Dissemination and Safe School Violence Prevention). United Way and Big Brothers Big Sisters also are partners.