Innovative social service collaboration: investigating the collective impact efforts and trauma-informed care practices of the Athens Resource Center for Hope (ARCH)

This study was a formative evaluation of the collaborative efforts of the Athens Resource Center for Hope (ARCH). This study examined this project from both the collective impact and trauma-informed care frameworks. The staff of the four organizations involved with the ARCH project: Advantage Behavioral Health Systems, the Athens Area Homeless Shelter, AIDS Athens, and the Athens Nurses Clinic were all given an online survey measuring the degree to which they were meeting the conditions of collective impact and utilizing trauma-informed care practices. Following the online surveys, follow-up focus groups with staff involved with ARCH, and individual interviews with the ARCH provider board members from each organization were conducted. There were no statistically significant differences found between the organizations in regards to the collective impact scale portion of the survey. There were, however, statistically significant differences found between organizations for several areas in the trauma-informed care scale portion of the survey. These survey results were explained and enhanced by the qualitative data from the focus groups and individual interviews. Overall the conditions of collective impact that were rated highest among the organizations were those of having a common agenda and continuous communication. In regards to trauma-informed care practices, the domain rated highest among the organizations was assessing and planning services, while consumer involvement received the lowest ratings. These findings presented the opportunity for several future recommendations, as well as provided implications for social work practice, research, policy, and education.