Community Collaborative (Partner Meeting)

What is the Fulton County Family Partnership?

A non-profit human service agency that provides support, education and resources to families in Fulton County as well as a forum for county Health, Human Service, Government, Education and consumers. These Partners collaborate toward the goals of making services readily available, reducing duplication of services and meeting the needs of the residents of Fulton County. The most identifiable programs of the FCFP are the Family Center, Dental Clinic and Transportation Services. To help ensure FCFP meets the needs of the county, they established a community collaborative planning network known as The Partners.

A Partner is …

Any member or organization in the community interested in promoting the quality of life in Fulton County. Can take part in discussion at any meeting. Participate on any committee. Has one vote at the annual meeting in December. Pays a membership fee yearly.

A Board Member is

First a Partner. They have “governing” authority over the affairs of the Partnership including; funding, programs, personnel, and policies. Is elected to a 3 year term. Attends board meetings on even months. Can be a committee chair.

What do the Partners do?

The purpose of the Partner Meeting is to assess the health and human service needs of Fulton County residents using the public health model to identify and plan strategies to meet those needs.
The Partners:
• Identify community needs and gaps in services in the areas of Health and Human Services.
• Set priorities for action based on community strengths
• Define clear, measurable outcomes that can be tracked over time to show progress.
• Select tested, effective programs, policies and practices.
• Evaluate progress toward desired outcomes.
• Continue process of identification of gaps, priorities, outcomes, practices and evaluation.

How do the Partners collaborate?

The format of the Partner Meeting ensures that the collaborative group strive to make services readily available, reduce or eliminate duplication of services, and provide a forum for all those who have a stake in this county to work together to identify and solve problems.
The Partners:
• Meet on the 3rd Tuesday of each month from 12:00pm – 1:30pm.
• Network with other Partners over a healthy lunch.
• Use current community analysis tools like the Fulton County Medical Center Community Health Needs Assessment and PA Youth Survey to guide a “full” calendar of meaningful and up-to-date topics to be presented each meeting.
• Engage speakers who deliver pertinent information on the designated monthly topic.
• Use Follow-Up reports to continue the engagement and discussion of identified priorities of service.
• Work to strengthen and secure resources to support the programs and practices.

Who are the Partners?

The FCFP Partners are a collaborative group that meets monthly and brings together decision makers from health and human service organizations, local government, businesses, schools, judicial system/law enforcement and local residents.

How can you benefit by being a Partner?

By being engaged in the Partner meeting, you have the opportunity to become part of an integrated network of services in Fulton County. We can identify community needs by taking time to gather around a table. We can reduce the duplication of services by working together. We can prevent people from falling through the cracks by combining our resources. This allows the county to have local control and flexibility to maintain support and sustainability. By focusing on outcomes we ensure accountability for resources.