Collaborating across agencies key to literacy

Addressing reading, writing skills needs a co-operative strategy, says Wendy Quinn

I HAD the privilege of experiencing the astonishing power of collective wisdom arising from authentic collaboration during my long career in the Health and Human Services Department.

For about five years, in the early 2000s, my job involved managing complex service areas including mental health, correctional health, disability and alcohol and drug services. Management of a new unit was added in the form of the Complex and Exceptional Needs Unit. This included implementing a new collaboration strategy. The unit was resourced with a small number of people to support the strategy across the very large department, including engagement of other government agencies involved with complex clients such as the Education Department, Police, Department of Justice and Corrective Services.

The genesis of the strategy arose from then-health minister Judy Jackson, who was dismayed her department could not solve the needs of complex clients. People in this group whose needs did not fit neatly into any one service system were sent elsewhere and often ended up with no service at all or very costly services that did not address real needs.

An example is a homeless teenager with a mild intellectual disability and substance abuse issues who is not attending school and is in contact with police and justice for lighting fires.

The collaboration strategy achieved amazing results, finding lasting solutions for situations that were previously deemed unsolvable.

It was underpinned by the vision that collaboration is about people working together to achieve the best outcomes. There was no official additional budget for service delivery allocation. Success relied on tangible support from the highest levels of leadership, a small group of enthusiastic, skilled facilitators employed and carefully developed and well-articulated processes and documentation working at three different levels. Firstly, at service delivery level in all services across the department using the principles to support working together and intervening early. Secondly, intervening with more complex cases with the assistance of key co- ordinators. Key co-ordinators were about 100 designated managers/clinicians. CEN provided them leadership training and support.

The third and highest level of intervention involved the most senior directors/ managers of service areas including hospitals, mental health, housing and child protection meeting to form a Board for Exceptional Needs to pool resources and collective wisdom aimed at finding solutions for the most complex exceptional and even catastrophic cases.

Senior people from other agencies were invited to attend BEN meetings, which operated as high-level case conferences. In line with Alan Brisken’s harvesting collective wisdom work, they were underpinned with collaborative dialogue techniques including deep listening, suspension of certainty, seeing whole systems and seeking diverse perspectives, respect for others and group discernment in tandem with welcoming all that arises, and retaining a sense of humour despite the seriousness of situations.

The strategy was underpinned by five principles expressed in plain English and disseminated via every means possible, including posters that appeared in every meeting room in the department and small business card summaries with liberal use of easily identified artwork.

The principles being: WORK together in a spirit of co-operation. INTERVENE as early as possible. KEEP the client and their world at the centre. FIND solutions that are fair, creative and affordable: Applying an ethical and imaginative filter and wherever possible working with available resources. DESIGN understandable processes.

CEN and the collaboration strategy fell victim to organisation restructure and changes in government direction. These collaborative methods could however be transferable to the issue of literacy in Tasmania.