Collaboration: a study of a children's initiative.

In times of shrinking resources within the social services, collaboration is being promoted as a more efficient way of meeting the needs of children and families. A study of a children's initiative collaborative developed to address the problems of children is reported. The authors present and use an evaluation framework which incorporated the dimensions of context, process, and outcomes of collaboration. The findings, based on the initial two years of collaborative effort, suggested the membership of the group and the process and structure governing the group's operations impacted the process and outcomes of the collaboration.