Critical Issue: Linking At-Risk Students and Schools to Integrated Services

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DIFFERENT POINTS OF VIEW:

Even among those who support integrated services, not everyone agrees on:

• The Location of Services: Advocates of school-based services argue that services should be based in the schools or at nearby locations. Schools are where the children are; they offer a central location in which to group services provided by outside agencies. In addition, accessibility to children and families is presumed to be high. Proponents of community-based models do not necessarily object to school-based services but believe that effective service delivery requires multiple access points. They also are concerned that location in the schools may limit flexibility and innovation in the design and delivery of services, as well as family access (Chaskin & Richman, 1992).

• The Role of the Schools: Schools are clearly essential partners in collaborative efforts, but should they be first among equals? Schools often provide space for services, and staff play an active role in making referrals. Superintendents and principals are used to controlling activities that occur "on their watch," and many feel their accountability for what happens in the schools should give them special voice within the collaborative. Most observers, however, disagree. "For school-linked service efforts to be effective, their planning and implementation should not be dominated by any one institution--schools or health or social service agencies" (Center for the Future of Children, 1992, p. 10). Even strong proponents of school-based services believe that the fiscal and legal responsibility for the program should be an agency or entity other than the school (Dryfoos, 1994). Kirst (1994) cautions states against designating schools as lead agencies in collaborative efforts. It is all too easy for them to succumb to what he terms "the Sinatra Factor"--let's "do it my way." The consequence of this tendency is that other partners let them--and schools once again are left holding the bag.

• Targeted or Universal Services: There also are different views about who should receive services in school-linked service integration efforts. Some initiatives focus only on students; others provide services for whole families. Some interventions are limited to students defined according to specific at-risk criteria; others are available to the entire student body. Some of these decisions are predicated on views about how scarce resources should be used; others reflect differing opinions about the extent to which schools should engage in service delivery. The larger movement to strengthen communities, of which school-linked service delivery is part, is grounded in the notion that all children and families can benefit from more comprehensive services and more responsive community institutions. Even though initiatives may begin with a fairly narrow focus for pragmatic reasons, their overall aim should be to "roll out" innovations on a large enough scale to have universal impact.