Community Engagement and Planning

img_0289The Community Engagement and Planning intervention supports multiple kinds of agencies and academic partners in developing a community plan to improve the community’s ability to address the problem of depression. Community planning for integrated services is an important part of planning in many communities. Although the community experience and wisdom dictates that community planning works – one of the goals of our project is to see if we can translate the benefits of this wisdom into the language of science.

This project is designed to determine what gains may result for agencies serving our community when we take the extra step of community engagement and planning to build stronger network support to address depression. In other words, we are asking the CEP group to take the materials for managing depression available through the study and customize these materials in partnership with the CPIC Steering Council to fit their agencies. If our new partnering agencies are unable to offer all the necessary pieces of the program to manage depression care in, we will work together to develop a referral plan to get clients the depression care they need.

The additional resources for this intervention (over and above those for Resources for Services) include:

  • Guidebooks and resources for community outreach workers and case workers that have not been extensively evaluated for their effectiveness and therefore are not part of Resources for Services. We would like to see if these resources are effective.
  • Cultural competence resources (such as training in engaging culturally diverse groups in services for depression) developed in the community to fit the community.
  • Resources to support community-academic, partnered planning to develop a stronger network of services for persons suffering from depression. That planning will include: 1) tailoring Resources for Services to community needs; 2) integrating Resources for Services with other community programs; 3) developing strategies to share programs across community agencies as needed; 4) co-development of strategies for multi-agency management of care.

Two manuals have been developed to assist the CEP groups in coming up with their community plans: CEP Framework Workbook and CEP Facilitator’s/Co-Leader’s Guide to Running Work Plan Development. Both manuals are downloadable on the right-hand side bar.

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