Breaking Down Silos
“There's a lot of intersection between DOH, HCA, and DCYF, and it feels like each entity has their own sort of coalition subgroup that's doing really interesting things, but that doesn't know about anyone else. Sometimes it feels like, Why can't we all just get together and fight the good fight together? It feels like we are working against each other inadvertently.”
One thing that makes IECMH special is that it connects with many different systems, like health care, early learning, and schools. Providers liked the idea of helping the whole child and family by working across these areas. But they also said it can be hard to work in more than one system because the rules don’t always match. Different programs don’t always talk to each other or work together well. Providers said they want better teamwork and communication between systems—both at the state level and between local organizations.
“I love that early support is at an intersection between the medical model, educational model, and social services. Like, really, we're trying to do all of it. Which is a little bit hard. But that's how care should be. Integrated and not just focused on a single medical diagnosis or treatment.”
Call to Action
The focus groups brainstormed several actions those with authority and influence within the IECMH system can take to address Breaking Down Silos. Below are some suggestions, organized by specific roles.
Do you have additional ideas on how to to address Breaking Down Silos? Click here to download a blank template and track your actions!
Connection to Other Topics
The chart below shows how Breaking Down Silos is connected to other topics. The numbers show how often the topics were discussed together.
