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Wednesday, March 10, 2010

COLLABORATING WITH CORRECTIONS

COLLABORATING WITH CORRECTIONS


Corrections cannot address all of the issues to which it is charged, particularly given recent budget restraints. Their first and primary responsibility is to hold separate from society those who have been duly convicted and sentenced by the courts. This they do with admirable efficiency. Very few prisoners escape given the high rate of incarceration in the United States. More challenging for Corrections are other charges.

Corrections does a decent job of keeping everyone safe within the confines of prison. Even so, prisoner on prisoner attacks are common and prisoner on officer attacks occur more often than anyone would like to admit. Given the attitudes and conditions of the population, how safe could it be? 

The most significant casualty of reduced budgets has been the loss of programming to change basic attitudes of inmates and prepare them for release. Education, job preparation, anger management, cognitive skills and dependency programs have suffered a dramatic loss. It is precisely these programs where not-for-profit groups can help deliver lost programming.

Non-profit charitable organizations are prepared to collaborate with Corrections to deliver programming for inmates, but collaboration is a difficult concept for Corrections to accept. Corrections is born of and built on control. The ontology of Corrections is control. It goes against the grain of Corrections to nurture a long lasting collaboration with an outside organization. The more common process is for Corrections to institutionalize any collaborative program that proves successful. Successful programs are thus stifled by policy and smothered to death in bureaucracy. 

Volunteer run collaborative programs are usually successful precisely because they are distinct from the system and must maintain their identity to deliver desired outcomes.

The following is from A Review of Research Literature on Factors Influencing Successful Collaboration
by Paul W. Mattessich, Ph.D and Barbara R Monsey, M.P.H. of the Wilder Research Center,  the A.H. Wilder Foundation, St. Paul, Minnesota and The New Community Collaboration Manual of the National Assembly of National Health and Social Welfare Organizations.


What makes collaboration work?


Collaboration is the process by which several organizations, most often of differing natures (voluntary, non-profit, governmental etc.) make a formal, long-term commitment to work together to accomplish a common mission related to critical and complex social issues of wide concern.Collaboration requires a commitment to participate in shared decision-making and allocations of resources related to activities responding to mutually identified needs.

Collaboration is the highest and one of the most difficult levels of strategic alliances.  It involves a more formal and sustained commitment than cooperatives and coalitions.  While each organization retains its uniqueness and autonomy, collaborating partners can accomplish more by working together toward a common vision than working alone.


Key Components:
·       Mutual respect, understanding and trust for
ü   each other.
ü   each other’s organizations.
ü   how those organizations operate.
ü   the cultural norms and values, limitations and expectations.
·       A view that collaboration is in each party’s self-interest and that benefits will offset costs such as loss of autonomy and “turf.”
·       Ability to compromise.
·       Members feel ownership of both
ü   the process/ the way the group works.
ü   the results.
·       Multiple levels of decision-making at every level in each organization.
·       Flexibility
·       Clear roles and guidelines
·       Adaptability
·       Open and frequent communication; interact often, update each other; discuss issues openly; convey all necessary information to one another and those outside the group.
·       Concrete attainable goals and objectives
·       Shared vision and strategy allowing the latter to evolve.
·       Requires sufficient funds and leadership

Collaboration requires:
·       Shared vision
·       Skilled leadership
·       Process orientation
·       Diversity/ Multiple Sectors
·       Accountability

Barriers and Challenges in Collaborative Efforts:
·       Competition and “turf” issues
·       Personality conflicts between representatives of member organizations
·       Racial or cultural polarization in the community
·       Differing norms and values about cooperation

Preventive Strategies to Minimize Barriers:
·       Keep the commitment and activities simple at first.  Evolve and grow when ready.
·       Make clear communication a priority.
·       Spend time getting to know each other.
·       Encourage members to be “up front” about their needs.
·       Do not avoid “turf issues” and hidden agendas.  Encourage negotiation and communications.  Bring in experts when necessary.
·       Plan activities that are fun and celebrate the accomplishments of the collaboration.  Recognize the contributions of the members and reward their accomplishments.

Ten Dangerous Collaboration Sand Traps!
  1. Loss of direction or focus
  2. Loss of leadership or struggles for leadership
  3. “Founding Member Syndrome”
  4. Unequal involvement and recognition of members
  5. Poor planning efforts
  6. Negative publicity
  7. Failure of planned projects
  8. Burn out or unrealistic demands on members
  9. Bureaucratic structure
  10. Turf battles and competition