History of the Otter Tail Family Services Collaborative

Working Together…
Serving Families
…Improving Lives

The Collaborative began in 1993 following legislation that provided $30,000 for a planning process that involves all sectors of the community to:

1.   Develop a community vision for children and families;

2.   Develop goals to address health, developmental and educational, and family-related culturally specific   needs of children and youth;

3.   Develop a decision-making process and governance structure;

4    Coordinate services to avoid duplication and overlapping assessments;

5.   Design an integrated service delivery system that coordinates funding streams and delivery of services among existing agencies;

6.   Establish an integrated fund to help provide integrated delivery systems and to add additional services;

7.   Maximize federal and private funds;

8.   Submit an implementation grant request by December 1, 1994.  

In October of 1995, the Collaborative was notified that it would receive funding over the next five years to implement the system changes that were suggested as a part of the planning process.  Renewed interest was generated.  Otter Tail County Public Health agreed to be the project manager and hired the first staff to provide coordination.

 A source of ongoing funding for the Collaborative was the Local Collaborative Time Study to provide supplemental services that focus on prevention and early intervention.  The Collaborative made the decision up front that it would not become a grant-making program.  The partners would collectively identify the types of projects needed to meet specific needs, develop services that required member agencies to work together to provide the services, and share the funding that was appropriated to the project.

The Collaborative reorganized in 1999. At that time, Otter Tail Human Services became the financial manager and a contract was offered to Barbara Eiden-Molinaro of Success Services, Inc., to provide ongoing coordination of the projects.  The project had now grown from an infant in the initial stages of development to a toddler beginning to take steps into making changes.

The Collaborative has developed into a partnership of ten school districts, three educational cooperatives, twelve non-profit organizations, and the County of Otter Tail.  The initial vision was for members to work together to create a responsive, flexible system of education, support and services that focus positively on the strengths, needs and potential of each child and family. The revised vision statement is: Working Together…Serving Families…Improving Lives