Multisectoral Approaches to Service Delivery and Implementation: Collaboration Among Syringe Service Programs in a Midwestern US State

Abstract

Syringe service programs (SSPs) are a key strategy to stem the overdose crisis. These organizations have recently benefited from increased state investment in the US, highlighting the need for collaboration across public and nonprofit sectors in their implementation. This paper examines an emerging, informal multisectoral collaboration among public and private SSPs, public health departments, and law enforcement to address the “wicked problem” of opioid overdoses. Based on 26 interviews with SSP frontline human service employees in a Midwestern US state, the findings explore SSP employees’ perspectives on the development of (in)formal multisectoral collaborations. Results highlight how trust-based informal relationships and frontline relational work spearheaded by SSP employees lay the foundation for governance structures and more formalized collaborations. Through consideration of these findings, it is shown that frontline human service professionals play a pivotal role in facilitating such collaborations through bottom-up relational processes.