Policy & Practice | Summer 2026

partnering for impact

By Christine Dowdell, Natalie Williams, and Karen Walker

Advancing Upstream Solutions to Strengthen Families, Systems, and Community Well-Being

A cross the country, human services agencies are navigating growing challenges related to economic insta bility, food insecurity, workforce strain, housing pressures, and fragmented systems of support. At the same time, communities are demonstrating deep strengths, resilience, resourcefulness, and strong networks of care while calling for approaches that move beyond transactional services toward lasting pathways to stability, opportu nity, belonging, and well-being. This moment calls for more than incremental programmatic improve ment; it requires asset-based, community-centered systems trans formation that builds on existing strengths to create sustainable change. In Johnston County, North Carolina, the Johnston County Department of Social Services (JCDSS) is partnering with the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) to advance this vision through APHSA’s Community & Social Impact (CSI) approach and the Science of Hope as a Framework for Action. Together, the partnership is strengthening leader ship alignment, workforce capacity, ecosystem collaboration, and commu nity partnership to support social and economic mobility. What began as a leadership and workforce development effort has evolved into a broader initiative to rei magine how human services systems partner with communities, align across sectors, and co-create solutions to shared challenges. At the center of this work is a shift from fragmented service delivery to coordinated, generative ecosystems

outputs, it strengthens the conditions that support long-term well-being. Key elements include: n Leadership alignment and workforce capacity n Cross-sector ecosystem coordination n Community-defined outcomes n Lived experience leadership n Shared governance n Prevention-oriented, upstream strategies n Continuous learning and adaptation n Collective ownership of outcomes For Johnston County, this aligns with its “One Johnston County” vision building a more connected, collab orative, and community-centered ecosystem. In a rapidly changing policy environ ment, JCDSS recognized the need to

designed to improve long-term well-being. Moving Beyond Programs

Toward Systems Transformation

Traditional human services systems are often organized around programs, compliance requirements, and siloed funding streams. While essential, these structures can lead to fragmented services, disconnected pathways, and workforce strain. Communities do not experience programs; they experience systems. The APHSA CSI approach supports a different model: community-centered systems transformation grounded in shared governance, collective account ability, and ecosystem alignment. Rather than focusing only on service

Illustration by Chris Campbell

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Policy & Practice Summer 2026