National Stakeholders Collaborative
NCSD, along with the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP), the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD), and the Society of State Directors of Health, Physical Education and Recreation (Society), is one of the founding members of the National Stakeholders Collaborative (NSC).
Since 2003 and through funding from CDC-Division of Adolescent & School Health, the NSC has provided National Stakeholders Meetings for over 30 state teams. The National Stakeholders Meeting (NSM), formerly known as the Regional Stakeholders Meeting (RSM), is a capacity-building process that brings state departments of education and health together to strengthen collaboration to support and improve HIV, STD, unintended and teen pregnancy prevention for school-aged youth. The ultimate, long-term goal of these meetings is to integrate HIV, STD, unintended and teen pregnancy prevention efforts in schools and through other state-funded programs. However, it is important to note that integration means different things to different people and different fields. The National Stakeholders Collaborative defines integration as those activities that bridge gaps across disciplines and promote consistent messages, resulting in stronger health policies and programs to advance the health and well being of youth.
The states that have participated in the NSM process so far are:
Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachussetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Washington.
NSM Process
The NSM is a two-day meeting of state teams of health and education agency staff working on HIV, STD, unintended and teen pregnancy prevention programs in schools and allows them to:
- Articulate a shared vision for HIV, STD and pregnancy prevention programs in schools;
- Describe the assets of each program within their state;
- Identify challenges associated with achieving the shared vision; and
- Name collaborative strategies for overcoming these challenges. State teams vary based on state need and structure, but team representatives often include:
- State HIV and/or health education directors in education agencies;
- State HIV/AIDS directors in health agencies;
- State STD directors in health agencies;
- State adolescent health coordinators in health agencies; and
- State abstinence education coordinators in health agencies.
As the final step in the two-day process, teams create state-specific action plans for enhancing collaboration among their programs.
Technical assistance is provided during and after the meetings and is tailored to each team using the resources and expertise of the National Stakeholders Collaborative. Six to eight weeks after the meeting, the individual teams hold conference calls to discuss progress on the action plan and assess technical assistance needs. From the calls, the NSC identifies common needs and develops conference calls to address those issues. Those calls usually take place three to six months after the meeting, and provide dialogue around challenges and solutions, as well as access to technical experts. Also during this time period, the NSC provides information and facilitation to state teams, offers small grants for additional technical assistance, and guides teams in developing longer-term outcome or impact evaluation plans. The NSC partners also help to maintain communication among team members.
For more information about the National Stakeholders Collaborative, please contact Sandra Serna Smith at ssernasmith@ncsddc.org or 202-715-3863.