The Project Overview The project has its roots in street-based services. Multidisciplinary Teams (MDTs) are a relatively new and innovative approach to homelessness. Following California's passage of AB 210, many counties have established teams that share information in a specific way to connect and stabilize individuals experiencing homelessness. San Francisco had been using the MDT model to coordinate and collaborate across departments. However, in early 2025, medical and behavioral health street teams joined forces under an umbrella of emergency management leadership to push the MDT model even further. A new structure provides new challenges and new opportunities. First, the size of the new team was the first big challenge. Our program needed to learn how to train more people coming from all disciplines and roles. Second, medical and behavioral health providers operate from different perspectives and models. Finally, the teams needed to get to know each other, build trust, and learn how to work in a new way. The opportunity to craft an innovative approach to services loomed large. The model could help unlock new resources if the program can execute and effectively dispense those resources. The project aimed to compare, contrast, and analyze existing MDTs with the hope of discovering additional methods, approaches, and operating standards. If other MDTs had encountered these challenges, how did they address and resolve these issues? Were there other exciting ideas to consider? Or lessons learned? My Role My role on the team is as a clinical supervisor. I have been with different versions of this program over the past five years, from smaller iterations to moderately sized to the larger team we have now. I helped craft workflows, referral criteria, staff training materials, caseload reviews, and data systems. This project enabled me to apply leadership theories essential to street-based work, specifically servant and shared leadership. I used a trauma-informed lens during my analysis. I kept empathy and the need for healing at the center of my approach. I considered how the team can share power to achieve a shared vision. Essential to my role is building a team and trust. All teams need this, and a team that has recently integrated with another team needs it even more. Strategies and Implementation I searched the literature about MDTs in the context of AB 210 in California. Unfortunately, not much exists currently. I excluded literature on general multidisciplinary teams, which are common in social services, hospitals, and other settings. I then pivoted to reviewing any publicly available data or information on city or county websites, focusing on a select few locations. In addition to applying a trauma-informed lens to my review, I also laid a racial equity framework on top of the analysis. I reviewed each of the six locations, with different areas in mind. I wanted to discover how MDTs establish client eligibility criteria and triage referrals. It was essential to compare how data is used and maintained, both as various departments collaborate and as clinical care plans are developed. I searched for operational information, including how often teams meet, where they meet, how they conduct their meetings, and what their agendas typically consist of. I made a note if equity or identity was mentioned. Finally, I looked at the information through a trauma-informed lens, attempting to discover ways we can reduce harm to our staff and clients as they navigate a system that very often harms on autopilot. Outcomes and Impact My goal is to develop best practices for MDTs and identify any new or innovative ideas in MDT implementation. The amount of information available online varied, but leaned toward less versus more. Sharing information about how the team operates is not part of the legislative bill AB 210; therefore, programs do not make the time to establish an online presence. One aspect that stood out was that all teams were clear on the guidelines for confidentiality and information sharing. Each city or county must establish protocols, training, and follow-up procedures to ensure that client information is treated with the utmost care. Calculated information sharing is a key component of this specific service delivery model. Another key is client identification and care planning. Different locations approached client eligibility differently, with some focusing on utilization numbers and others adopting a more mixed-referral approach. Lessons Learned The limited literature review was unexpected and presented a challenge. I appreciated learning more about the law, AB 210, and what other counties are doing to implement a program with expanded confidentiality permissions. The project demonstrated to me that while other programs may have innovative approaches to MDTs, the best ideas will emerge within our program. We are aware of our challenges, what is working well, and the goals we aim to achieve. Each MDT will have to define that for themselves. With limited information being shared between statewide MDTs, the most effective programmatic changes will likely come from within. Future Implications Future research is needed to identify which client identification and triage methods produce the most effective outcomes within MDT frameworks. A fundamental unresolved question concerns the very definition of MDT “success.” For some stakeholders, success may be reflected in reduced utilization of high-cost crisis services or overall public spending. In contrast, others may prioritize increased engagement in outpatient, preventive, or stabilizing services as a more meaningful indicator of progress. Rigorous data collection and analysis will be essential for distinguishing between outcomes and outputs, and for assessing the extent to which MDTs are achieving their intended objectives. Moreover, many MDTs require support in developing coherent data-flow processes, including determining which data elements are most critical to collect and which elements offer limited value relative to the effort required for collection. Additionally, MDTs could benefit from guidance on how to organize and interpret information.