The Collaborative
The Collaborative for Child, Family, and Community Wellbeing, supported by the Center for Applied Research Solutions (CARS), brings together people, ideas, and practical tools to support real-world change for children, youth, families, and the communities that serve them.
The Collaborative is built with you—alongside the people and communities doing this work every day.
Who We Are
We support child and family serving organizations in turning guidance into everyday practice. Our work focuses on helping teams move from big ideas and frameworks into real-world action that improves outcomes for children, youth, families, and the communities in which they live, work, and thrive.
We take a whole child and family well-being approach, recognizing that health is shaped by daily experiences, relationships, and environments. Through small-group learning, ready-to-use tools, and community-powered implementation, we help organizations move upstream—toward prevention, early action, and practical change that can be sustained over time.
Our Approach
Our work is grounded in real-world conditions and designed to be immediately useful:
Whole child and family well-being: Supporting the full context of children’s and families’ lives.
Upstream and practical: Translating early action into clear, step-by-step practice.
Small groups, real work: Virtual sessions, communities of practice, and office hours that produce tangible outputs—like checklists, protocols, and brief action plans.
Data and evaluation: Tracking practice change and tool adoption, not just participation.
Community-powered implementation: Partnering with community-based organizations, schools, and local systems to co-create effective policies and practical tools—using a public health approach to help organizations identify complex challenges, understand contributing factors, and apply prevention-oriented, real-world solutions.
Policy-informed and practice-connected. We help bridge policy, guidance, and funding priorities with on-the-ground practice—supporting teams in understanding policy context while focusing on what’s actionable and achievable in real-world settings.
Areas of Focus
Our work spans a range of interconnected topics that support children, youth, families, and the systems that serve them, including:
System of care approach and cross-sector collaboration
Child, youth, and family mental health
Workforce development and practice change
Lived and living experience, youth and family voice, and authentic partnership
What You Can Explore Right Now
We invite you to engage with the work already in motion:
Our Blog – Reflections, insights, and practical guidance grounded in field experience.
Products & Resources – A collection of practice-focused tools, multimedia content, and curated resources designed to support learning, reflection, and real-world application across diverse settings.
CARS Learning Exchange – A free online community hosted by CARS that brings people together through access to resources and opportunities for shared learning. The CARS Learning Exchange is designed to support collaboration, shared problem-solving, and real-world application across systems and communities.