In the complex world of modern education, with limited resources and what seems to be an ever expanding list of societal needs and expectations, professional collaboration is essential. One key need and expectation for schools is to provide a safe and healthy environment for students. Good school and community partnerships are important to that end. As part of its Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative grant (Lasting Partnerships for Safe Schools in the Lafayette Parish School System - LPSSē) the team sought to enhance collaboration between the school system and community agencies to facilitate coordination and planning of comprehensive activities, programs, and services that focused on promoting healthy childhood development and prevention of violence and alcohol and other drug abuse. To that end, a task force composed of the LPSSē team and 25 community agencies was formed. The purpose of this study was to establish baseline measures for initial collaborative relationships. The Levels of Collaboration Survey was developed and approved by the IRB for administration to task force members. Surveys were distributed at a monthly task force meeting and then emailed (follow up) to each task force member. The survey asked participants to rate their level of collaboration with each task force agency on a 1 to 5 scale where 5 = Collaboration, 4 = Coalition, 3 = Partnership, 2 = Alliance, 1 = Networking. A chart with key descriptors for each level was provided to participants to help them distinguish between levels. Of the 26 task force members, 16 (62%) completed the survey. Results indicated that level 5 was identified 29 times, level 4 = 10 times, level 3 = 75 times, level 2 = 47 times, and level 1 = 156 times. Zero or no response accounted for the remaining 68 possible responses. The study also examined whether task force members were in agreement with each other for their selected level 5s and 4s. There were only 5 identical agreements for level 4 and 5 selections. Although efforts toward collaboration within the task force have begun, the baseline measures indicate that there is significant opportunity for improvement. The task force plans to conduct educational meetings on ways that collaboration can be improved. Collaborative efforts often begin small, but can grow as each partner better understands their roles and potential to contribute to the health and safety of students. Keyword(s): community-based programs, safety/injury prevention, youth-at-risk