Human Services and Communication

¶ … Partnerships in Human Services

There is a growing need to provide more efficient human services in the face of increasing demand which has steadily increased over the past 2 decades and which is projected to continue to increase for the foreseeable future (Radey & Wilkins, 2011; Samples, Carnochan and Austin, 2013). Partnerships between public and private organizations have demonstrated effectiveness in contributing to this goal, thereby making their effective implementation and administration paramount (Collins-Camargo & Armstrong, 2013).

The role of the human services administrators in developing partnerships for their organizations

Although the specific role of human service administrators will vary depending on their unique practice setting, their general role in developing partnerships for their organizations include the following:

• Applying their understanding of how to promote the effective partnership of the specific sectors;

• Focusing on the formal contractual arrangements as well as those relational aspects of contracting that involve informal expectations, reciprocal relationships and interorganizational interactions that play as critical a role in accountability and performance as contractual requirements; and, • Managing these relationships on an ongoing basis (Collins-Camargo & Armstrong, 2013, p. 34).

Explain at least two elements that contribute to successful partnership between organizations

Two elements that have been consistently been shown to contribute to successful partnerships between organizations are trust and open communication (Collins-Camargo & Armstrong, 2013)

Explain at least one element that might contribute to a failed partnership between organizations

Although a lack of transparency and limited financial resources adversely affect any interorganizational partnership, the mistrust of the lead agency can exacerbate any other constraints to the point where a partnership fails (Parrish, Harris & Pritzker, 2013).

Explain how a human services administrator can address a failed partnership

According to Parrish et al. (2013), developing improving lines of communication in order to resolve conflicting expectations and goals may not be able to save a failed partnership, but these steps can serve as valuable tools for future partnerships by promoting increased trust in the lead agency.

Share an insight you had or a conclusion you drew about the nature of partnerships in human services organizations