Our Mission
The mission of the Care Team Collaborative is to mobilize family and community resources and develop systems that create opportunity to build assets and achieve academic success, which will enable all youth to become healthy, resilient contributors in our community.

Core Values

Collaboration + Assets + Relationships + Engaged Learning = Healthy, Resilient Youth

Commitments

The Care Team Collaborative will:
• Engage communities in critical conversations to more effectively align systems to support all youth and families.
• Provide high quality, cross agency professional development related to Search Institute’s 40 Developmental Assets and non academic barriers so adults have the skills needed to ensure all students succeed.
• Promote youth leadership in Care Team schools and communities teaching all sectors the value of youth voice.
• Support communities as they develop a comprehensive system of care available to all children and families.
• Guide communities through Care Team implementation making schools and communities safer, more supportive environments where all youth grow into healthy resilient adults.

Outcomes

As a result of Care Team Collaborative services, communities will achieve measurable improvements in:
• Academic achievement (Tier 2, 3 youth and school wide)
• School Climate (school wide)
• Attendance (Tier 2, 3 youth and school wide)
• Out of School Suspension Occurrences (Tier 2, 3 youth and school wide)
• Juvenile Adjudication & Recidivism (Tier 2, 3 youth and school wide)

What is the Care Team Collaborative?

Care Team Collaborative is a uniquely designed multi county initiative carefully balancing effective research based strategies around community engagement, systemic reform and positive youth development with the individual needs of partner counties, agencies, LEAs, children and their families. CTC uses broad environmental strategies addressing change at individual, classroom, and school levels as well as family and community levels. CTC builds a multi county, collaborative infrastructure with capacity to a) Share effective practices regarding system alignment and community engagement, b) Provide enhanced opportunities for cross system training and c) Utilize a common K- grade 12 multi agency web based data system monitoring & reporting on educational, social, emotional and behavioral outcomes (individual, school, community).

The CTC infrastructure offers each county, district and project school quality tools & training allowing them to more effectively address non academic barriers to learning. As the infrastructure becomes embedded in the community, it becomes self sustaining, leading to further aligned systems, healthier relations with youth, and greater youth voice in decisions. In 2003, PRO-Muskingum, Families and Children First, in partnership with Muskingum Valley ESC, created the Care Team Collaborative framework (K-12 services) by merging the research based practices from UCLA Center for Mental Health in Schools, Search Institute’s 40 Developmental Assets and Ohio Department of Education’s Comprehensive System of Learning Supports to promote systemic alignment, blended funding and increased access to comprehensive educational, social, emotional, behavioral, physical health services (universal prevention, early intervention, intensive intervention).

Download the Care Team Brochure

Download the Care Team Overview PowerPoint

Adelman and Taylor (UCLA Center for Mental Health in Schools) clearly document schools can no longer only focus only on improving instruction and management to reach every child. Schools must include “enabling components” directed at addressing children’s non academic barriers to learning. Schools and communities must work together to build the infrastructure to not just provide services, but ensure that addressing barriers to learning is as much of a leadership priority as curriculum, instruction and management. CTC’s training and support offers school leaders tools to revisit infrastructure and make systemic, strategic changes to comprehensively address non academic barriers.

Search Institute®, an independent, nonprofit organization provides leadership, knowledge, and resources to promote healthy children, youth, and communities. Using 30+ years of research, Search Institute designed the framework of 40 Developmental Assets, positive experiences and personal qualities young people need to grow up healthy, caring, and responsible. Search Institute offers Asset Building resources for every level of child development from birth – high school and for all community sectors. Every CT school community receives intensive Asset framework training to build a common language supporting every child and family. School staff, community partners, student and families use the Asset framework to improve relationships and school climate for all children.

The Ohio Department of Education’s Comprehensive System of Learning Supports is a community approach to closing the achievement gap for all children. The underlying philosophy is every student has a basic right to academic programs and services to meet his or her unique needs to achieve his or her full potential. Early detection and intervention with students experiencing learning and other problems prevent costly and intensive interventions later. A comprehensive system of learning supports is the collection of resources, strategies and practices (as well as environmental and cultural factors extending beyond the classroom) that together provide the physical, cognitive, social and emotional support every student needs to succeed in school and in life (Adelman and Taylor, 2006). Through CTC framework, school and community partners collaborate, using data to identify student and community needs and direct resources at the level and intensity needed to impact change in individual behavior and school wide teaching and learning outcomes.
The Care Team Collaborative framework integrates each of these evidence based models into our three tier Continuum of Care. Care Team Collaborative provides training, technical assistance, support, data collection and evaluation services necessary for school communities to implement this Continuum of Care. A Care Team consists of members of the school staff (administrators, counselors, teachers, and support personnel), youth serving agencies (mental, physical and behavioral health providers as well as juvenile justice and law enforcement) and any other community members interested in supporting youth.

CTC framework requires multi-system collaboration to improve community systems of care. Our 3 Tier approach provides- universal (Tier 1), early intervention (Tier 2) and intensive intervention (Tier 3) services. CTC 3 Tier Approach is a whole child, multi-system approach blending all elements through Asset Development. Youth see a caring community wrapping around them to provide supports whenever/wherever needs. CTC supports school and communities in re-designing infrastructure, making non academic barrier prevention as important as instruction and management. Training, tools, data and evaluation services are provided ensuring fidelity and accessing resources for long term sustainability. CTC’s web-based data system monitors effectiveness and guides continuous assessment toward meeting process objectives and teaching and learning outcomes.

While all Care Teams use this framework, the way in which the framework is implemented in each school is completely designed around that school’s culture and community needs.

Tier One: Whole School Prevention
• Care Team members collaboratively design opportunities so every youth is actively engaged in Asset building throughout the school year. This includes Asset training and activities for students, staff and the community to improve school climate by creating a safe and supportive school environment.
• A major facet is the school wide focus on building positive adult relationships with youth and ensuring that every child has at least three adults in their school community with whom they have a strong, positive bond.

Tier Two: Early Intervention Services
• School staff uses data to target groups of students who need some additional services and supports to improve their likelihood of success. Care Team members provide these supports in both school and community based settings.
• Asset building activities include extended day programs, small group counseling, bullying prevention activities, leadership training, mentoring and classroom presentations on topics such as suicide, depression, and abstinence.

Tier Three: Intensive Services
• Care Teams meet weekly to identify at risk youth and provide wrap around services targeted at meeting that child and family’s individual needs.
• Care Teams, working in partnership with youth and families, design Care Maps for these targeted youth based on their individual strengths and needs and monitor progress related to achieving both academic and social/emotional goals.
By implementing the CTC framework with fidelity, communities make systemic enhancements to their community systems. CTC’s unique blend of community engagement, cross agency training, tools and support prepares schools and communities to partner in new ways.

Result: Increased student access to high quality social, emotional, behavioral and physical health care, improved youth outcomes & efficient and effective use of community resources.

Care Team: A Historical Perspective

Efforts to provide wrap around services to children and families in a school based setting have been occurring in many places, for many years. Fairless High School in Fairless Local School District (Stark County, Ohio) was the first to frame this effort into a replicable model and provide support to other communities in their efforts to better serve children and families. Fairless started their work in the early 1990s as a result of significant tragedies occurring in their school community. At the time of these tragedies, Fairless was also ranked as one of the lowest performing schools in Stark County. With this in mind, the community began looking at the school district, specifically the high school, and asking what they were doing “wrong” that was causing these problems.

The school principal, Mr. Rick Hull, believed it was not that the school was failing these children but the entire community had failed them and as a result, the community must work together to help build up all children. With this in mind, Mr. Hull began an effort to develop partnerships in the community that could work together to provide a continuum of integrated school based services designed to meet the individual needs of their students ranging from whole school prevention to small group intervention to developing treatment plans and services for those children and families in the most need.

As a result of Care Team implementation, Fairless High School slowly began a journey of success. Within ten years, Fairless High School became one of the top ranked schools in Stark County, ACT composite scores had risen significantly and so had the number of graduates showing interest in post secondary education. Once it became evident that Care Team worked, Mr. Hull and his Superintendent, Dr. Greg Hinson began to share their experience and assist others in developing Care Teams in their own schools and communities. What was once a small initiative in a small community is now receiving both state and national recognition. In order to better meet the needs of schools and communities, Mr. Hull and Dr. Hinson have founded Care Team Concepts, LLC. They have been involved in supporting the development of Care Team and related services in over seventeen schools in Ohio.

Care Team Collaborative Development and Services

Muskingum County began its efforts in Care Team development in 2002 as a result of a grant from the Ohio Department of Youth Services. The Partnerships for Success grant provided funding to communities for countywide strategic planning. Muskingum County leaders, including representatives from all nine school districts and all major (and many smaller) social service and government agencies in the county worked collaboratively to design the strategic plan that still guides the work of our community. Through this effort, Dr. Richard Murray, the Superintendent of the Muskingum Valley Educational Service Center (MVESC) learned about the work in Fairless and brought this great opportunity to our community. Care Team Concepts, LLC provided the initial spring board (training our first team) that was used to develop a similar framework for Care Team implementation that has grown into the Care Team Collaborative.

The general philosophy of Care Team Concepts, LLC and the Care Team Collaborative is the same. The difference lies in implementation activities and core services. Care Team Concepts promotes character education in general as a core for prevention services and works typically with individual schools and districts in their development. Care Team Collaborative utilizes Search Institute’s 40 Developmental Assets (www.search-institute.org) as its prevention framework and also requires the school or district to connect with and receive the support of its local Family and Children First Council (www.ohiofcf.org). OFCF is a partnership of state and local government, communities and families that enhances the well-being of Ohio’s children and families by building community capacity, coordinating systems and services, and engaging and empowering families. At the Collaborative we believe that these two enhancements create a richer and stronger community connection that will ultimately result in not only a change in school culture, but also a change in the overall community culture. In addition, the Care Team Collaborative offers a wide range of professional development services designed to assist school and agency partners in more effectively meeting the non academic barriers to learning that so many of our students face (www.ohiocareteam.com/profdev.htm).

Muskingum Valley ESC coordinates the Care Team Collaborative, under the supervision of PRO Muskingum Family and Children…First Board. Over one hundered schools, agencies, faith based partners, and non profits annually support this effort through fiscal, human, in kind resources (www.ohiocareteam.com/partners.htm). It is the goal of PRO Muskingum Family and Children…FIRST Board to continue to expand Care Teams and Developmental Asset building throughout the community so that it ultimately touches every child in Muskingum County. At this time, the Collaborative is directly partnering with the Family and Children First Councils in 4 counties to serve 15 school buildings in 10 districts and 2 community schools.

Care Team Collaborative is also piloting its first urban Care Team school at Independence HS in Columbus City Schools.

Care Team Collaborative offers a wide array of training, tools and supports designed to help schools and communities address non academic barriers to achievement.

Training: Visit our Training and Resources page to view our training calendar. Download our Professional Development Services packets for FY10. CTC staff is authorized to conduct Search Institute’s 40 Developmental Asset trainings, True Colors® training and School Based Conflict Management training anywhere in the Ohio.

Tools:

Surveys-Use these surveys to gauge school climate or developmental assets, pre or post programs.

Readiness Survey-Use this helpful tool to assess the readiness of your school for Care Team initatives.

Supports: CTC offers the following supports to schools and communities:
• Increase capacity to build partnerships between schools and community partners;
• Assist districts in developing partnerships with their local Family and Children First Councils (FCFC);
• Connect districts and FCFC with capacity building and strategic planning resources;
• Facilitate district or building level Family and Community Engagement Team planning
• Design individualized supports to meet specific community needs.

For more information on any services, please contact Michele Timmons, Director at mtimmons@mvesc.k12.oh.us or 740-452-4518 ext 158.

Evidence of Care Team Success

• West Muskingum Middle School: 50% reduction in Out of School suspensions between 2005-06 and 2006-07.
• Foxfire High School: Increased graduation rate from 69% to 84.6% and attendance from 89% to 97.7% in 2006-07.
• Muskingum County: The recidivism rate (percentage of juveniles to re-offend within one year of completing diversion programming) has decreased from 29% to 24%. The DYS Commitment rate has decreased from 19 youth in FY2005 to 6 youth in FY2007 (a 68% decrease over two years).

The examples above are just a few highlights of the results at Care Team schools and counties. For more data related information visit: Care Team Data. Be sure to visit Real Students, Real Change for Care Team success stories.