Working together: Lessons learned from school,family, and community collaborations

Recent advances in treatment modalities and the manner in which services are organized have made it possible to serve children with severe emotional or behavioral disorders (EBD) in a more responsive and less restrictive manner. Current approaches rely on collaboration among child‐serving agencies as well as between parents and service providers. In this article, we explore the role of schools in collaborative efforts on behalf of children with EBD. The demands on school personnel in local school districts are examined, the elements required for effective collaboration are articulated, and an exemplary model of comprehensive collaboration is described. Impediments to effective collaboration are summarized, and suggestions for how to create and sustain reliable partnerships are offered at the level of individual provider and child‐serving organization. Attention is given to contextual factors, such as financing and organizational structure, and also to programmatic issues. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 43: 419–428, 2006.