The Collective Impact Core has had many names, but we have kept our original purpose. Our goal has always been to work together to meet the needs of people in Lenawee County.
1977 | Human Services Council
Our history begins in 1977. A group of Human Services workers started gathering to network and share information. They kept coming together and became known as the Human Services Council.
1987 | Prevention Services Planning Committee
The Michigan Department of Mental Health issued a report in 1987. This report was titled “Mental Disability Prevention in Michigan.” The language is out-of-date to us now, but the conclusions are still relevant:
- Many of the things that harm people share common causes,
- Many of the things that prevent harm are the same across different areas of practice, and
- Working together is more effective than working alone.
From these conclusion, the state started a new initiative. Lenawee was one of the first counties to join.
At this time, the Human Services Council had more than 60 participating organizations. To meet the needs of this new initiative, they decided to split into two groups.
One group would be open to anyone and continue to focus on information sharing. This group became the Lenawee Human Services Collaborative and still meets today.
The other group would be director-level members. They would focus on coordinating services across their organizations. This Prevention Services Planning Committee would continue to evolve into the Collective Impact Core.
1995 | Multi-Purpose Collaborative Body
The State of Michigan’s Systems Reform Task Force issued a report in 1995. The report was titled “Systems Reform for Children and Their Families: Strategies for Change.” It recommended each county create a group to coordinate human services. The state called these groups of decision-makers Multi-Purpose Collaborative Bodies.
The Prevention Services Planning Committee had been doing this work for many years. So in 1995, they became Lenawee County’s Multi-Purpose Collaborative Body.
2004 | Community Collaborative
After another 10 years, the state affirmed the work of the Multi-Purpose Collaborative Bodies. They also changed their name again. They now called these groups Community Collaboratives. The State expected each Community Collaborative to:
- set the agenda for collaborative activities,
- focus resources on common outcomes, and
- work with the state to collaborate with local communities.
The state is still using the language of “community collaboratives.”
2014 | Collective Impact Core
In 2014, the Community Collaborative evolved again. It became the Collective Impact Core. This group’s purpose was to serve as a champion of Collective Impact in Lenawee County. We hoped to reduce duplication, empower collaboration, and increase communication. Most collective impact efforts include 5 main components. One of these is a “common agenda” or shared purpose. In 2015, the Collective Impact Core identified trauma as their common agenda.
We could not have written – or lived – this history without the contributions of Kathryn Szewczuk, Gratia Karmes, and Mary Ludtke.