The mission of the Council is to provide leadership and direction regarding the development and implementation of a citywide neighborhood-based family support system. The Council enhances each Collaborative and the neighborhoods they serve by uniting all partners into a cooperative effort dedicated to improving the quality of life for the residents of the District of Columbia.
The Council's key functions include:
Working with CFSA to expand neighborhood services to families;
Advocating on behalf of the Collaboratives to local and federal policy makers;
Facilitating partnerships with District public agencies;
Providing training and technical assistance to the Collaboratives;
Documentation, quality assurance evaluation; and
Raising funds and leveraging resources to support the work of the Collaboratives.
History
The Healthy Families/Thriving Communities Collaboratives began in 1996 through a partnership with the District of Columbia's Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA). CFSA, then operating under the direction of a General Receiver, was interested in developing a new model by which the agency would partner with a network of nonprofit organizations, health providers, schools, the faith community, and city residents to serve at-risk families in their respective neighborhoods. While the city's child welfare system only becomes involved with families at points of crisis, the Collaboratives were designed to build networks of support that are accessible to families before crisis, fostering healthy families and supportive communities in which children, young people, and adults can safely and productively reside and thrive.
As the Collaboratives began to sign service contracts with CFSA, stakeholders in the process identified the need for a policy making body that could coordinate crosscutting issues relating to the Collaboratives. In response, the Healthy Families/Thriving Communities Collaborative Council (the Council) was established in 1997. The Council is composed of two voting members and one alternate member from each of the seven Collaboratives. Four additional non-voting, associate members serve on the Council, including the Consortium for Child Welfare, the Center for the Study of Social Policy, DC Action for Children, and DC Children's Trust Fund.
