1.     Before approaching providers and agencies with whom you've not worked previously, there is value in preparing. No matter what your job function, consider the other agency's "culture" and how to approach it, and how to be prepared to demonstrate to those organizations or providers why they, too, can benefit from collaborating with you.

2.     Learn more about the agency and its staff. What are the definitions and cultural beliefs around causation, strategies for intervention, sources of funding, policies and procedures, role of staff, including families in the child welfare system?

3.     Conduct cross-training with staff of both agencies (including administrators and supervisors).

4.     Learn about the terms, procedures, and forms that the other agency uses.

5.     Allow additional time to hear staff concerns, priorities, and resources and to determine the next steps in the partnering process. Remember that rapport building may take considerable time but it is critical to achieving positive outcomes for families and children.

6.     Recognize the power differentials that many families experience between agency representatives and themselves; be aware of the larger sociopolitical climate that is influencing agencies' decision making.