Every policy statement in this report assumes some degree of joint-venturing between at least two independent organizations or agencies. Indeed, the single most important common denominator shared among jurisdictions that have launched a successful re-entry initiative is that some collaboration between representatives of at least two independent organizations preceded the development and implementation of the program or policy. Accordingly, the first step to developing a re-entry initiative must be getting the appropriate people to the table and eliciting a commitment to working together on a particular aspect of the issue.

It is not always obvious, however, who are the relevant (let alone key) actors that need to be engaged to make the re-entry initiative a success. And the mere identification of these stakeholders does not translate into their engagement. Determining how to persuade, or even compel, them to become invested is often an especially complex task.

The following recommendations suggest ways to clear this initial hurdle. Of course, while preliminary discussions among leaders ofdistinct organizations are a starting point and a precursor to cooperation and coordination between systems, they do not, in and of themselves, translate into strong partnerships that can withstand changes in leadership and personnel and sustain the re-entry initiative. ^[1]   Establishing that degree of collaboration is, without question, a core challenge in developing a productive re-entry initiative, and it is explored in more detail in Policy Statement 5, Promoting Systems Integration and Coordination.