Strategic Planning and Project Design
Counterparts has worked with both national and international organizations to design and develop innovative programs for a broad range of challenging populations:
- Juveniles in a county court system
- Families at risk of losing their children due to perceived abuse and neglect
- Children and youth with severe mental health disturbance
- Eastern European nations developing community-based service systems for families
- Special educators from around the world
The skills and experience Counterparts offers in these program areas includes:
- Facilitation of inter-agency planning groups
- Grant writing
- Developing training for volunteers
- Organizing multi-national seminars
- Finding funding for innovative community-based initiatives in other countries
Developing a Community's Mental Health Plan for Disturbed Youth:
Counterparts served as a planning consultant to a county's mental health coalition charged with developing a multi-agency grant proposal to provide intensive "wraparound" services to children and youth with emotional disturbance as well as supports to their families. Counterparts orchestrated the dialogue within the inter-disciplinary team and worked alongside family organizations to shape—and then write—the grant proposal. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services funded this six-year project for $13 million.
Bringing Mediation into Family Courts:
Counterparts led a cross-disciplinary team that had the task of finding ways to use mediation as a first resort for families in the child welfare system facing the removal of their children due to perceived abuse and neglect. Counterparts led meetings with attorneys, judges, child welfare professionals, social workers, and child and family advocates to develop less litigious ways of handling child welfare cases. This mediation-first system is now up and running in Montgomery County, MD.
Creating a "Court Watch":
Counterparts partnered with a District Court's substance abuse prevention program, police department, and the State Attorney's Office to create a "court watch." This project trained volunteers to observe the way judges, police, and social workers handle young people cited for underage alcohol use and also treat adult drunk-driving cases. Counterparts designed the court-watch process, recruited and trained volunteers, analyzed the findings, and developed recommendations submitted to the County's Senior Judge for improvements in the judicial system's handling of both juvenile and adults cited for alcohol abuse.
Leading a Symposium on Inclusive Education:
Working for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Counterparts planned and ran a multi-national meeting for international educators from Europe, the U.S., Latin America, and Asia. These specialists in inclusive education shared policies and program approaches that promote equal educational opportunities for young people with special needs around the world.
Designing a Systems-Development Project for Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic:
Counterparts wrote a grant proposal that received USDHHS funding from the Joint U.S.-Hungarian Science & Technology Program to support the development of community-based systems of care for children with disabilities in three Central European countries. Over a three-year period, Counterparts wrote the proposal, designed training programs for community-based professionals, planned site visits, and created a final report on these initiatives.