Rural Community
College Initiative 2006
Fort Worth, Texas
April 6, 2006
Collaborations to Enhance Community
and Population Well-Being
*Keith Mueller, Tim Size, Joe Gallegos, Len Kaye, Larry Otis
Purpose of Chapter: to suggest a policy and
program agenda for HHS that would foster
collaboration among community organizations
and local rural leaders to improve the wellbeing of the community and its residents
NAC believes sustaining rural communities requires
effective local collaborations that involve federally
funded programs and payment systems
Collaboration:
Why the Committee Chose this Topic



More than 225 HHS programs available to
rural communities
Coordination is especially important in rural
communities where resources, services, and
providers are often limited
IOM’s Six Aims to Community Collaboration

Safe, effective, patient and community centered,
timely, efficient, equitable
Collaborations that Work:
Examples

CREATE in Tupelo, MS

Blue Valley Community Action Partnership –
community-based, non-profit serving 15
counties in rural NE And KS; offers more than
30 programs in health services, child
development, emergency services, etc.
Collaborations that Work:
Barriers
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Lack of investment by involved parties
Lack of resources
Long distance travel
Community resistance
Lack of established lines of communication
Collaborations do not occur overnight
Collaborations that Work:
Incentives
1.
2.
3.
4.
BETTER SERVE THE CLIENT
Efficient use of resources
Creating a link between collaboration and
broad goals of the community
Encourage and facilitate efforts of strong
local leaders
*Strong leadership is precondition for successful collaborations.
Communities should strive to always support local leaders,
capture wealth transfer, energize entrepreneurship, and
attract young people
Collaboration:
The Role of Health and Human Services in
Integrating Programs Across Sectors

Health sector is critical in achieving new
directions in rural policy

Importance of thinking of health and human
service programs and policies as integral to
overall community development and rural
economies
Actions and Specific Recommendations
to Facilitate Collaborations
HHS can help establish a policy environment in which
collaboration flourish
ACTIONS:
 Create common reporting requirements for
programs that are linked at the local level
 Encourage programs in other Federal agencies to
participate in multi-sector collaborations
 Facilitate interagency cooperation that allows for
single lines of accountability for funds
RECOMMENDATIONS

The Secretary should support the creation of
a Web resource for “models that work,”
showing successful collaborations in rural
areas (build this into www.raconline.org)

The Secretary should support research that
will further specify opportunities and barriers
RECOMMENDATIONS
(cont.)

The Secretary should support leadership
development for rural community
organizations and residents

The Secretary should require grant recipients
engaged in direct delivery of services to
demonstrate an effect on community
development
Involving Community
Leaders in Community
Development
“No Santa Claus in Washington,
County seat, or state capital.”
George McLean
Tupelo, Lee County,
Mississippi 1940

Poorest town
Poorest county
Poorest state

Poorest in America


Tupelo 2005

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34,000 population-59,000 jobs
Largest non-metro hospital in America
Created 1,000 jobs per yr. for 17 years
3 times All America City
One of Top School Systems in America
Symphony orchestra, Ballet company
Family income near national medium
Upholstery furniture mfg center of America
Regional Shopping Center 12 million shoppers/year
What was the change agent?



George McLean-champion of community, the
Editor of the Northeast Mississippi Daily
Journal
Change in approach to development that
resulted in progress and improvements in
quality of life
Concept that all parties agreed: Community
Development precedes Economic
Development
Guiding principles-Total
Community Development.







Local people must address local problems.
Each person should be treated as a resource.
The goal of Community development is to help people help
themselves.
Meet the needs by starting with the poorest.
Community development must help create jobs.
Expenditures for community development are an investment-not
a subsidy.
Community development must be done both locally and
regionally.
Guiding principles-Total
community development






Start with tangible goals and measure you progress.
Build teams and use team approach.
Leadership is a prime ingredient, but requires
organizations.
Never turn the community development to any
agency that does not include people of the
community.
Persistence is essential and must be updated.
Accountability for performance and finance.
Community Development
precedes economic development





Funding follows careful development of concepts
and people involvement.
Assessment of constraints.
Collaboration in rural areas where resources,
services & providers are limited.
HHS has more than 225 programs for rural
communities.
Go to raconline.org for funding ideas HHS
Collaborations that work:

Barriers






Lack of investment by parties
Lack of resources
Long distance travel
Lack of established lines of communications.
Community resistance
Desire for credit/turf concerns
Collaborations that work

Incentives:





Better serve the client
Efficient use of resources
Creating a link between collaboration and broad goals of
the community.
Encourage and facilitate efforts of strong local leaders.
Importance of thinking of health and human service
programs and policies as integral to overall community
development and rural economies.
Commission on the Future
of Northeast Mississippi
Economic
Workforce
Competitiveness Development
Council
Board
Social
Environment
Taskforce
 Commission
Purpose:

Assess conditions in Northeast Mississippi

Determine the key issues facing the region

Recommend regional strategies to address these issues
CREATE

Commission on the Future of North Mississippi

Identify constraints to growth and prosperity.
 Teen pregnancy
 Workforce development
 Racial reconciliation
 Regionalism/unity
 Inclusive process for each of the 16 counties to identify
county socioeconomic trends and public opinion that affect
the region.
CREATE

High impact opportunities
 State of the Region Report Meeting
 Common Grounds Project
 Local economic developers meetings
 Workforce Development –Market Street Services-Atlanta
 $100,000.00 Grant to each of 16 Counties match with
$200,000.00 from local County.
 Free Clinic-medical services for working poor
 Reading aide for elementary Lee County
Schools($150,000.00/year for 10 years). Now state wide by State
of Mississippi
 Advanced Education Center $12 million, used jointly by Ole Miss,
MUW, Itawamba CC.
Community Development
precedes economic
development
Peter Wolf, Doug Henton, Robert
Puttnam, Vaughn Grisham point to
the Tupelo Model
Guiding principles-Total
Community Development.







Local people must address local problems.
Each person should be treated as a resource.
The goal of Community development is to help people help
themselves.
Meet the needs by starting with the poorest.
Community development must help create jobs.
Expenditures for community development are an investment-not
a subsidy.
Community development must be done both locally and
regionally.
Guiding principles-Total
community development





Start with tangible goals and measure you progress.
Build teams and use team approach.
Leadership is a prime ingredient, but requires
organizations.
Never turn the community development to any
agency that does not include people of the
community.
Persistence is essential and must be updated.
CREATE

Initiatives

Inspiring Mississippi Women to reach full potential
Mission Mississippi (Racial reconciliation)
Northeast Mississippi Youth Foundation
MegaPop-Broadband to North Mississippi
Community Leadership Institute

PUL Alliance 1700 acre Mega Site




It is the responsibility
of the people of Mississippi
to try to raise the level
- economically, educationally,
spiritually and otherwise of all the people of Mississippi.
There’s nobody else who’s going
to come in here and do it for us.
George McLean
CREATE Founder
1904 - 1983
www.createfoundation.com
Quality of Life






Health care
Quality education opportunities
Social involvement
Jobs
Retail
Growth of people
What faces us in the Future?



“The New Texas Challenge” Changing
Demographics
Research of real issues not just perceptions.
Outside help-Consultants
Leadership Development




Grow your own leaders
Focus their skills on strengthening community
Ask them to commit 1 or 2 years to their
dream.
Reach back and educate new leaders in
community.
Collaboration





Federal
Foundation
Regional issues
Local issues
Funding
Application of Technology



On line education
“World is Flat” (why we got left out)
National Community Development Network
Accountability of Actions

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Funding sources will demand results or no
more funding.
Not our money
Funding limitations of tax sources
Increasing competition for funds
It’s just the right thing to do!
Contact:
Larry Otis

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RURAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
645 West Jefferson Street
Tupelo, MS 38804
Email-larryotis@bellsouth.net
Phone 662-842-7657