NADDP Participant Guide Module 6: Collaboration

Coaching: 3 hours broken up into 2 sessions

• Community partnerships and collaboration are an essential component of an Adult Services director’s responsibilities. The work of the Adult Services organization depends on the relationships in their community with their public, private non-profit service agencies, the court, tribes or the Native American community and their resource families.
• Although staff at all levels will develop relationships with these various entities at their level, it is critical that the Adult Services director develops and maintains healthy relationships with the leaders of these entities. (Being the Director will not be enough to get you a seat at the table)
• Unlike our sister program, Children and Family Services, Adult Services does not usually have many contracts that bring community partners together. Therefore, the Adult Services director needs to foster these relationships and is key in facilitating these partnerships with community partners. Due to funding limits at times, these partnerships can provide services to the Adult Services clients at no cost because of these relationships.
• Partnerships with families, communities and tribes help to identify and address system barriers, create comprehensive culturally responsive practices, and support and service the seniors and families being served. Through the building of strong partnerships, the work of keeping seniors safe and living independently becomes a responsibility shared with the entire community, not just the Adult Services system.
• Building and sustaining strong partnerships can only be meaningfully achieved when Adult Services staff partner through a lens of cultural humility, i.e., acknowledging gaps in one’s knowledge of others, being open to new ideas, and accepting that people different from us are the experts in their own experiences and views of the world in which we all live.
• One-way Adult Services continues to build partnership is through Multidisciplinary teams (MDT). MDTs are a vital part of Adult Services, and the Adult Services director needs to understand and value the importance of Adult Services program actively participating in these.
• An Adult Services director is the public face of Adult Services for the agency. It cannot be overstated how important it is for the Adult Services director to prioritize community partner relationships and focus on developing and nurturing those relationships. There will be instances where an Adult Services director will need to miss important meetings with partners, and it is always appropriate and important to send a delegate in one’s place (if the meeting allows). However, delegating authority should be used judiciously as partners need to know that they are important to the work of Adult Services and prioritizing meeting with them will assist in accomplishing that.
• One of the most important elements for successful relationships with partner agencies is for the Adult Services director to be open and willing to hear from the partners what the Adult Services agency isn’t doing well in addition to the things they do well.
• Active listening is a critical skill for the Adult Services director. An Adult Services director should not focus on trying to solve the speaker’s problem but on the content of what they are saying and the emotion with which they are communicating the message. Use of powerful questions will deepen the understanding of their perspective. It’s helpful to then summarize what was heard in an effort to ensure clarity about the message but also to assure that you were truly listening to their communication.
• While listening in this way gives you clarity about the message they are communicating, it also allows for the development of concrete next steps that can be communicated back.
• Follow up and follow through by the Adult Services director are essential to maintaining successful and thriving partnerships. This is a visible indicator to others of the Adult Services director’s commitment. The Adult Services director’s ability to communicate back and follow through develops trust among the partners and strengthens collaboration.
• A critical element to the success of partnership building is exploring obstacles impeding the initial engagement, ongoing sharing of responsibilities or long-term collaboration of partnerships. Such obstacles can range from language barriers to power differences to overworked staff.
• The Adult Services director can be a leader in having conversations with community partners about the need for all agencies to share resources and funding, and to partner together in delivery of services and programming. The Adult Services director must approach these conversations with the end goal being a win/win situation for all involved.
• Invite community, Tribal and cross-agency partners (e.g., the Public Guardian, IHSS, Ombudsman, Regional Center, banks, local hospitals) to pinpoint how institutional actions are, or are not, organized to support intended system and community goals. Determine which stakeholders have a perspective to share about the local Adult Services system and identify meaningful roles for each in the system review process. Establishing clear feedback loops to encourage the exchange of perspectives during and following the review will ensure ongoing engagement and improvement over time.
• Ongoing post-system analysis between Adult Services and its partners can offer communities, system leaders, Tribes and staff shared opportunities to improve outcomes through barrier identification and action planning at practice system levels.

1. Listen to You Tube videos “Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program and Adult Protective Services Collaboration” YouTube and APS Leaders Institute Multi-Disciplinary Team Nuts & Bolts: How to Start & How to Level-Up (youtube.com)
2. Read NCEA articles/ briefs

• NCEA article NCEA Issue Brief: Adult Protective Services and Multidisciplinary Partnerships
• NCEA Article NCEA Issue Brief: Faith Communities and Multidisciplinary Teams
• NCEA article NCEA Issue Brief: Reframing Elder Abuse and Multidisciplinary Teams
• NCEA article NCEA Fact Sheet: Collaborating in Guardianship Reform & Addressing Abuse Through WINGS
• NCEA article Law Enforcement: Building Stronger Cases with Elder Abuse Multidisciplinary Teams (usc.edu)
• NCES article NCEA Issue Brief: Multidisciplinary Teams

1. Identify the key contacts in the public partner agencies and reach out to each for an initial meeting.
   1. Identify non-public agency partners important to the agency and initiate contact with these non-public partners.
2. Complete the “How Well Are We Partnering” tool on those partnerships rated a 2 on your meeting landscape document. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-WdREu8VIAVZwwZyagwoMEINtLGIj6onUCCP95Brzl0/edit?usp=sharing
3. As needed: Review The Three Levels of Listening sheet https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HXAloZCLJIu4XQKMazmcxETwYpQWvMhl/view?usp=sharing
4. Review the list of Agencies and community partners for the Adult Services agency and identify who are the key community partners in your county that you will want to reach out to and develop relationships with.
5. If applicable read “Detente and Decorum for Child Welfare Leaders for partnering with Tribes and Native American communities” https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nAM0cwPQ_anqWWY2NBGDyxsF97Gx71A2/view?usp=sharing

1. Building Multidisciplinary teams in APS and the importance of them.
2. Lists of key public, private, community partners important to Adult Services.
3. How Well Are We Partnering? An assessment tool
4. Detente and Decorum for Child Welfare Leaders- A set of guidelines to help Adult Services leaders partner with Tribes and Native American communities.