Interagency Collaboration
Collaboration at this point means building a relationship with community agencies that serve as resource opportunities for families; this is quite important and very beneficial at the hospital to home point. Some community agencies supporting families from hospital to home could be the Hospital, pediatricians, First Steps, Health Access: Nurturing Development Services (HANDS). Or it could be as simple as a local organization which specializes in Car Seat Safety, coaching the new parents as to the correct installation of an infant car seat. Family and extended family should be involved in planning the transition from hospital to home, as well as close friends who can provide emotional and other supports. If you would like to know more about regional and local resources, click on the KECTP Regional Resource Guide (link here) or contact the local Family Resource Center with the local school district.
In KY, interagency collaboration for early childhood includes state, regional, and community transition planning for children prenatal to age six and their families. Kentucky provides guidance from the state agencies within the KY Early Childhood Interagency Transition Agreement (link). Regions utilize the state agreement in decision making and local county teams use both to determine additional procedures unique to their community agencies, children and families. This systems approach allows agencies and families at each level the opportunity to identify strengths and possible areas of improvement. The KY transition planning process includes Interagency Transition Agreements (ITA) which document policies and procedures with roles and responsibilities (who does what when); Interagency Transition Plans (ITP) which document needs/activities (training, cross program visitation schedule, etc.) across the agency programs; and Interagency Transition Self Assessments (ITSA) which allows communities to discuss and agree upon the current level of recommended transition practice implementation across the community. This acts as a “needs assessment” to determine where transition gaps may occur and the implementation level of recommendations within the KY Early Childhood Transition Report 2005 (link). To find an Interagency Transition Agreement, Interagency Transition Plan, or Interagency Transition Self Assessment for your area, click on
Interagency Agreement