There is minimal research on the role racism plays in recovery-oriented practice for Black youth. Clinicians’ perspectives on building interagency partnerships have been understudied. We sought to characterize and contextualize interagency relationships in the mental health sector in Ontario and explore their impact on mental health provision.

Research Design & Methods: A mixed methods approach was used to explore clinicians’ perspectives on the collaborative nature of partnerships in the sector. An online survey was disseminated to clinicians in Toronto, Ontario between March 2020 and April 2020 followed by 7 focus groups, which were conducted in Toronto between May 2020 and December 2020 with Black youth, caregivers, community, and clinicians. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS and visualized using social network analysis, while Nvivo 12 was used to perform a thematic analysis.

Results: Interagency collaboration between mainstream agencies was common. Partnerships between Black and mainstream agencies were infrequent. Most mainstream agencies expressed disinterest in future partnerships with Black agencies. Feelings of unpreparedness among clinicians to provide culturally safe responsive care to Black youth became evident.

Conclusions: Project partnerships between mainstream agencies are common. There is a paucity of Black agencies building organizational partnerships with mainstream agencies. There is a limited understanding of the systemic impacts of racism as a barrier to building interagency partnerships and its implications for recovery-oriented practice. The Canadian recovery guidelines do not identify racism as a social determinant of health or discuss potential implications for recovery-oriented practice. They can be strengthened through implementing system-level change and culturally adapted care.