Outreach-Community Engagement

Connecting with Partners

 

Outreach and community engagement are critical components of any human services or public facing program.  Having a well-defined approach can build ongoing relationships within the community that will provide a collective benefit to everyone. 

In this example, we outline a community engagement strategy for the child support program. Success in this program is dependent upon partners to deliver outcomes for families, whether it be:

  • Local hospital to educate and establish paternity

  • Employers to provide timely new hire data, garnish wages, or submit other relevant employee info

  • Courts to process legal aspects of a case and direct recent orders to the program for ongoing support

  • Coordination with key stakeholders at other agencies

Our approach to Outreach and Community Engagement is to first understand the current environment, and to work with you to answer some important questions such as:

Do you have data exchanges to ensure expedited handling?

Do you have a monitoring program to ensure timely and complete info is received from employers?

Have you identified all potential stakeholders and their ability to contribute?

Our approach to a holistic Outreach and Community Engagement plan includes:

  • Coordination with external partners (courts, hospitals, other agencies)

  • Stakeholder Mapping

  • Public Awareness Campaigns

  • Partner Engagement

  • Employer compliance and follow-up

  • Social Media approach

  • Initiatives to increase IV-D caseload

As everything around us changes, becomes automated, and moves faster – there is a growing need to make sure communication strategies with community partners, parents, and stakeholders remains relevant and effective. Does your program have a detailed plan for its community outreach and community engagement?  If not, we are here to help. We can help you look at the mechanisms for communication as well as utilizing research in behavioral science to make sure the message itself is appropriate and effective.  Not all cases are the same – and communication needs to meet people where they are and where they can be receptive.  Let us work with you to review your approach, and come up with an outreach and community engagement strategy that works.