The Issue: The Center for School Safety has fielded numerous requests from districts and agencies for a useable Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to use when forging community or interagency alliances. Frequently, interagency collaboration requires that a formal arrangement be entered into which details the involvement, expertise, and actions required from each party involved in the agreement. Just what information needs to be where is something which has caused a dilemma which we have been asked to address.

The KCSS, after an extensive review of existing MOAs, has provided here a template designed to be modified specifically for individual situations. Through these modifications, collaborative agencies can custom design a workable document that addresses specific needs rather than try to make a one-size-fits all example try to fit a situation for which it was not designed.

The KCSS encourages you to read through the document carefully before making any modifications. Not all sections will apply to your needs. The template we are providing covers as many areas as we felt might be called into play. Therefore, agreement sections might address law enforcement, the courts, or social service agencies when you are creating a collaboration between only one middle school and local law enforcement. Rather than simply deleting those areas which are not immediately applicable, you are encouraged to read through these areas to get a firmer grasp on what agreement statements are applicable in your particular situation. Once you have a feel for how each segment impacts your situation, download the template in a compatible format, and begin to modify it so that you have a document which speaks to your unique situation as directly as possible.

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