The Partnerships initiative reflects a Federal commitment to providing top-down support for bottom-up initiatives, with a strong emphasis on encouraging local decision-making. The initiative has outlined five strategies to promote stronger families through partnerships among Federal, State, and local governments. It has also defined six components of an effective framework for building effective intergovernmental partnerships to strengthen families. These include strong support from the top, assistance to communities and States in establishing effective relationships with Federal agency staff, and increased communication with communities and States. Other components include restructured Federal technical assistance, national indicators to measure the well-being of children, and greater flexibility in Federal programs. Appended background information and list of meeting participants