Essential Conditions for Partnership Collaboration within a School-Community Model of Wraparound Support

Abstract

Children and youth often face barriers that hinder their ability to engage in school, such as poverty, family challenges, and maltreatment. For this reason, children require additional supports if they are to be set up for success in school and life. Collaborative school-community models of wraparound support have been demonstrated as effective approaches for supporting vulnerable children and families to foster positive outcomes. Such models rely on collaborative partnerships between schools and community agencies to coordinate services for children and families. Accordingly, there is a need to understand factors that influence this collaboration in school settings. This study explores partnership collaboration between school and community partners through the case of All in for Youth, a school-based wraparound model of support in western Canada. Focus groups of n = 79 partners across eight schools were analysed, guided by qualitative description methodology. Five essential conditions were identified for partnership collaboration, including value-based training, mutual recognition of expertise, school leadership, established and flexible communication channels, and appropriate staff resources. These conditions can be used to help inform the implementation of similar school-community models of support to foster collaborative partner processes and promote positive outcomes among children, youth, and families.