Research over the past decade has documented the importance of developing innovative models for collaborative practice between the fields of child welfare, substance abuse treatment, and dependency courts (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [DHHS], 1999; Young & Gardner, 2002). Models of collaborative practice that appear to hold promise for effective intervention with substance-abusing families who are concurrently involved in the child welfare system include dependency drug courts; outstationed substance abuse specialists in child welfare agencies; recovery coaches to facilitate child welfare-involved parents to participate in substance abuse treatment; and institutionalization of formalized interagency agreements, crosstraining, and information exchange systems (Hunter, 2003). In order to initiate, implement, and maintain collaborative practice, there is a need for greater understanding between both service providers and policy makers of the underlying factors that may both help and hinder successful collaborative programs, policies, and practice. This study examined factors that help and hinder the process of collaboration based on in-depth interviews with respondents (N = 49) from substance abuse and child welfare fields working in five California counties with established formal collaborative policies and programs*. This curriculum, which is grounded in the findings from the study, provides highlights of research and experiential activities in four primary areas that may be used independently or in combination: (a) overview of research on cross-systems collaboration, (b) promising models and elements for collaborative practice, (c) factors that help and hinder collaboration, and (d) facilitating communication and dealing with confidentiality issues across systems.