In Fall 1998, a bi-partisan group of leaders from government, business and social services in San Joaquin County, California who wanted to improve outcomes for the children, youth and families in their county formed the Community Partnership for Families. The partnership hired Stewart Wakeling as their director, funded by multiple sources through the county as the Juvenile Justice Coordinator. The partnership decided they wanted to change the way government was investing and working in poor communities. They funded a network of neighborhood family centers that would help families where they lived, providing information, services, referrals and support across many agencies and disciplines. They wanted these family resource centers to link families with each other so they could become self-sufficient, empowered and a part of civic life.

Over time, the partnership became a non-profit and the executive director expanded and diversified the funding base to include county, city and foundation funds. The family resource centers worked to achieve a variety of results: reducing crime, stabilizing families in crisis through integrating services, improving community health, preventing family violence and enhancing school readiness and success for young children and youth. The decision to work on these particular results was largely driven by available public and private funding and staff’s sense of the surrounding community needs. Typically, the partnership or centers held focus groups or conducted surveys to identify resident needs and priority issues for the communities they served.