Concerns about School-Linked Services

Abstract

The systems that serve families and children should address the basic developmental needs of children. Those needs can best be met within a broadly defined service system that offers both services to promote general development as well as services to respond to the specific problems of individual children in trouble. The question the authors address is whether the model of school-linked, integrated services that places the school in the central position to facilitate access to the range of necessary services is the best approach. Although the school may seem like the logical choice as the lead institution, the authors cite arguments against building a governance structure that favors any single institution. They contend that multiple access points are essential for serving all children in a community and that citizens should participate in defining their community's needs and the strategies for meeting them. Chaskin and Richman present an alternative to the school-based model: they describe the community-based model, in which a diversity of service providers, administrative contexts, and institutions work under collaborative governance in a system of linked services. A community-based system involves the major public and private entities in the community, including schools, social services, churches, health providers, and other community organizations which collaborate within a consortium of existing agencies or a newly created entity. (Abstract Adapted from Source: The Future of Children, 1992. Copyright © 1992 by The David and Lucile Packard Foundation) Model School Based Community Based Child Development Youth Development Social Services Intervention 02-04