The Minnesota Legislature established Children's Mental Health Collaboratives (CMHCs) and Family Services Collaboratives (FSCs) in 1993 as innovative approaches to address the needs of children and youth who face complex problems involving them and their families with multiple service systems.  

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In 1993, the Minnesota State Legislature also provided funding to establish these local collaborative initiatives to better the lives of children and their families by encouraging the integration and reform of services. Five year grants were made available on a competitive basis as incentives for the development of

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“locally-driven service delivery partnerships that help communities come together to improve results for Minnesota’s children and families”

(MN Department of Children, Families and Learning, 1998).

 

Each Collaborative’s funding priorities were based on locally determined needs. While funding for Collaboratives was jump started by these state grants, contributions from collaborative partners, either “in-kind” or cash, were built into the planning as Integrated Service Funds. 

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PACT 4 Families Collaborative - a coalition of individuals, families, county government, and school districts - came together to strengthen families in 1993. PACT 4 (Putting All Communities Together) originally served the counties of Yellow Medicine, Renville, Meeker, and Kandiyohi and the Upper Sioux Community in rural south-central Minnesota by networking programs, providers, and parents to address the assets and needs of all children, particularly those children with mental health concerns. In late 2011, PACT welcomed McLeod County and the name went from

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"PACT 4 Families" to "PACT for Families" 

 

Although there has been a name change that people sometimes find confusing, PACT  still envisions healthy and safe communities where individuals, families, and children care and support each other. They are achieving this by working in collaboration with families and community partners through a coordinated system of care for children and young adults age birth to 24 years.