The effectiveness of this approach SO depends on the quality of people on the team. Sometimes those meetings are a BIG waste of everyone’s time. Other times, it is amazing what can be done. Different agencies have different functions and resources. So maybe the school picked up a vision problem during a screening, but folks have little money. Another agency gets someone to pay for the exam and another agency to pay for the glasses. Maybe a child needs to be placed in foster placement because he is beating up his mother and siblings and sneaking out of the house at night etc. Mother is asking for help! We were able to find a program that provides parenting training and mentoring for the mother while the son is in foster care. The mother is a frequent visitor in the foster home to observe how they discipline the boy and get him to do his school work. Someone goes to her home weekly and the whole family goes to family tehrapy weekly. This is her third child to be placed in foster care, but we are trying this different approach because none of us wants to see the family apart. We also have someone through the mentor program who comes to school each week to work with the child, mostly just listening and talking with him as a positive male role model. We also got his teeth fixed ( ever try to concentrate when you have a toothache) and have put him on a strict low sugar/ low junk food diet. The boy is doing very well both academically and behavior wise. Curfew is strictly enforced, by the sheriff, if necessary. He asked why we hadn’t done this years ago.

We don’t do a big interagency meeting for every child, only those who have serious needs ( for example, autistic kids), kids in trouble with the law, or at great risk of dropping out. However, a parent, teacher or admininstrator ( rarely, a student) can also request such a meeting. If a student asks, it is ALWAYS a sign of a child under stress. Sometimes students will ask on behalf of another student.

One big suggestion, ask everyone to sum up their important information in three minutes or less. I hate hearing someone read a lengthy boring report full of lots of jargon. Have someone in charge of keeping the meeting on task, not wandering off topic. If the child is old enough ( maybe 4th or 5th grade) include the child in some or all of the discussion. What do they think the problem is? What would they like to see happen?

Finally, someone, the parent, a guardian ad litem , a teacher, someone must serve as the child’s advocate. What is good about this child? What is worth saving, cultivating? How are we going to help? A big gripe session is useless.

I think it is a better system in that services are able to be obtained from the interacting sources vs. having to rely on one provider that can’t meet every need. In dealing with both my sons, it helps me with the school since the agency reps are there at the IEP meetings. BSU can identify and help me with obtaining resources that I don’t even realize are available in our area. They also help give me advice and keep the school from rail-roading me.