Let's look at an example of an inter-agency partnership. The Wood County Literacy Coalition in Wisconsin is a partnership of state- and federally-funded employment and training agencies, local non-profit agencies, and area vocational and technical colleges. The objective of the Coalition is to increase the coordination of basic skills and literacy instruction. They report that "co-locating" programs allows for necessary day-to-day contact to maximize coordination and communication, and also reduces rental costs for office space. Co-location also allows for sharing office equipment and certain support staff by agencies. Other aspects of the partnership include coordinated planning and systems implementation (collaboration) and the development of uniform assessment, employability, referral, case management, and file systems (Irwin 1994).

In the fall of 1995, FLAG interviewed eighteen community agency staff members who have worked in partnership with family literacy coordinators in Alberta. The perceived benefits of entering partnerships with other agencies, and with family literacy programs, can be summarized as 1) financial or economic, 2) sharing resources and expertise, 3) referrals, access to families, and finding supports for clients, and 4) an integrated approach to better serve clients' needs. (See Chapter IV for information on why agencies enter partnerships.)

Partnerships in education
Partnerships have played a significant role in school reform in Canada and elsewhere. Educators have recognized the need to address the physical and emotional needs of their students as well as their academic needs. Students often come to school with complex social, emotional, health, and developmental problems that create a barrier to learning. A collaborative, approach is seen as necessary for a child's teamdevelopment and success; not only does that collaboration involve institutions and agencies, but parents, families, and community members as well.

An example of this recognition is found in the recommendations that resulted from UNESCO's international conference on early childhood intervention held in The Hague in 1993. The third recommendation states that

concern for literacy should be combined with concern for the survival and optimal development of the well being and competency of the child. This implies an integration of health, nutrition, psycho-social, and cognitive interventions, in a fashion appropriate to local needs.