COURT IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM TRAINING 

 

Collaborative Process 

for the  

Child Welfare System A Multi­disciplinary Curriculum for Improvement of 

the Child Welfare System 

 

 

 

 

Collaborative Process for the  

Child Welfare System:  

A Multi‐Disciplinary Curriculum for Improvement of the Child Welfare System  

By J. Robert Lowenbach J. Robert Lowenbach Consulting  

2010 

 

Court Improvement Program Office of the Colorado State Court Administrator 

101 W. Colfax, Suite 500 Denver, CO 80202 

 

 

 

Colorado Court Improvement Program Training Wheel Curricula

It is not surprising that the diverse culture of the child welfare system creates knowledge and experience gaps for child welfare participants and practitioners alike, which leads to the question, “How can individuals who are involved in the child welfare system know about that system as a whole as well as the roles of others involved in it?”

The Colorado Court Improvement Program (CIP) is in the process of designing training to answer this very question. The Training Wheel Curricula is made up of nine separate modules, each representing a discipline or service area associated with the Child Welfare process. The purpose of each module is to assist multi-disciplinary Best Practice Court Teams in building a foundation of core knowledge within each discipline or service area. While each discipline or service area may have a required professional knowledge and skill base that exceeds core knowledge, it is core knowledge in all areas that creates an understanding of the child welfare process as a whole.

The Collaborative Process for the Child Welfare System curriculum was authored by J. Robert Lowenbach, J. Robert Lowenbach Consulting at jrlconsulting@q.com.

For questions about the Collaborative Process for the Child Welfare System curriculum or about other Training Wheel curriculum, please contact Kay Yorty, Training Coordinator for the Colorado Court Improvement Program at margaret.yorty@judicial.state.co.us 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

 Competencies/Learning Objectives 1

Materials 2

Expectations of Faculty 4

Preparation 5

Welcome and Introductions 9

Assessing Our Common Values – Building a Shared Vision

10

Systems Thinking: The inter-connectedness of systems 24

Strategic Planning: Getting from Here to There 33

Conclusion and Evaluation 48

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TABLE OF APPENDICES

Charting Your D&N Community’s Common Values Faculty Resource 1a

Drawing of Old Woman Faculty Resource 1b

Drawing of Young Woman Faculty Resource 1c

Composite Drawing of Woman Faculty Resource 1d

Collaborative Process PowerPoint Faculty Resource 2

Agenda Handout 1

Advance Reading – Improving Outcomes Together Handout 1a

Collaborative Process Common Values Survey Summary Handout 1b

Building a Better Collaboration Handout 1c

Collaborative Process Notes Page

Handout 2

Hypothetical – Changing Caseworkers Handout 2a

Hypothetical – Visitation

Handout 2b

Hypothetical – Concurrent Planning Handout 2c

Hypothetical – Kinship Placements Handout 2d

Hypothetical – Referral Delay Handout 2e

FAMJIS Management Reports Handout 3a

SWOT Analysis Worksheet Handout 3b

Letter to Collaborative Participants Handout 3cs

Danielle’s Story Handout 3d

Leveling the Playing Field Handout 3e

Action Planning Worksheet Handout 3f

SMART Goals Worksheet Handout 3g

Resource Bibliography Handout 4

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COLLABORATIVE PROCESS FOR THE CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM

COLLABORATIVE PROCESS FOR THE CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM

Time 7 hours

Purpose To assure that stakeholders in the child welfare system have an appreciation of the vital importance of collaboration with other stakeholder groups/organizations in order to assure the safety, permanency and well being of children and the provision of due process to families who are participants in the dependency and neglect court and agency process. In order to accomplish the purpose it is essential to create an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust amongst the various stakeholders who attend. Ideally, participants will be empowered to use the knowledge gained through their participation to create or more effectively lead or participate in collaborative efforts in their judicial districts. This curriculum, as one of nine spokes in the CIP multi-disciplinary training wheel will be most effective if many of its participants have attended the Roles and Responsibilities training first.

Competencies/ Learning Objectives

Following the training, participants will have an understanding of the following issues and/or demonstrate the following qualities regarding the collaborative process:

• How to undertake a strategic planning process. • Who are necessary stakeholders in the process. • How to create meaningful assessments. • How to create and implement action plans. • The reason/s that support/s their involvement in the

collaborative process. • A working definition of collaboration. • The most fundamental techniques of collaboration.

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COLLABORATIVE PROCESS FOR THE CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM

• Willingness to collaborate to promote the safety, permanency, and well-being of children, youth, and families.

• That they are members of a collaborative process in their district.

• Ability to identify ways in which collaboration will support them in fulfilling their respective roles and responsibilities, benefit their respective entities, advance the safety, permanency, and well-being of children, families and youth, and provide for due process for families.

• Ability to describe the roles, responsibility, and value of each stakeholder in the collaborative process and in the dependency system and will demonstrate empathy for other stakeholders in the dependency system.

• The ways in which they are already collaborating in their respective roles.

• Ability to enunciate what they - professionally and individually - can contribute to the collaborative process

• New ways in which they can contribute to the collaborative process.

• How to undertake a strategic planning process for collaboration

• How to create meaningful assessments. • Understanding of the value and benefit of collaboration

as it relates to the safety, permanency, and well-being of children.

Materials All materials as well as this curriculum are provided in electronic and printed format.

Faculty Resource 1a: COMMON VALUES SURVEY TEMPLATE

Faculty Resource 1b: DRAWING OF YOUNG WOMAN Faculty Resource 1c: DRAWING OF OLD WOMAN Faculty Resource 1d: COMPOSITE DRAWING OF WOMANFaculty Resource 2: COLLABORATIVE PROCESS

POWERPOINT

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COLLABORATIVE PROCESS FOR THE CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM

Handout 1: AGENDA Handout 1a: ADVANCE READING – Improving

Outcomes Together Handout 1b: COLLABORATIVE PROCESS

COMMON VALUES INVENTORY SUMMARY

Handout 1c: BUILDING A BETTER COLLABORATION

Handout 2: COLLABORATIVE PROCESS POWERPOINT HANDOUT

Handout 2a: HYPOTHETICAL – CHANGING CASEWORKERS

Handout 2b: HYPOTHETICAL - VISITATION Handout 2c: HYPOTHETICAL – CONCURRENT

PLANNING Handout 2d: HYPOTHETICAL – KINSHIP

PLACEMENTS Handout 2e: HYPOTHETICAL – REFERRAL

DELAY Handout 3a: FAMJIS MANAGEMENT REPORTS Handout 3b: SWOT Analysis Worksheet Handout 3c: LETTER TO COLLABORATIVE

PARTICIPANTS Handout 3d: DANIELLE’S STORY Handout 3e: LEVELING THE PLAYING FIELD Handout 3f: ACTION PLANNING WORKSHEET Handout 3g: SMART GOALS WORKSHEET Handout 4: RESOURCE BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Expectations of (Back to Table of Contents) Faculty

The trainer must be a leader in the court system. Ideally, the trainer should be a current or former Lead Judge in a juvenile court. The trainer must thoroughly familiarize him/herself with this curriculum and be also be familiar with Building a Better Collaboration as a foundation for this program. The small group facilitators should be knowledgeable and skilled in concepts of court and agency process and relationships and in ethical considerations of stakeholders. Ideally, facilitators will have attended the Roles and Responsibilities training. All trainers must also be skilled in facilitating productive discussion amongst diverse groups of stakeholders.

Facilitators of the small groups may come from any of the professions represented in the child welfare and court system. The ideal facilitator is someone who will ask probing questions, facilitate a civil discussion, redirect participants who may dominate the discussion and keep the group on task – not someone who will dominate the discussion.

COLLABORATIVE PROCESS FOR THE CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM PREPARATION

COLLABORATIVE PROCESS (Back to Table of Contents) PREPARATION

Facility: The ideal facility is a public meeting area such as a government office, library or church. The main meeting room must be large enough to accommodate the number of registrants. Participants should be seated in groups that are diverse in terms of stakeholder role. Ideally, the room will be set up with rounds to seat up to 8 participants. If rounds are not available, tables should be set up to accommodate face-to-face interaction of small groups. Classroom style seating is the least desirable option. The main meeting room should have audio equipment so that all participants can easily hear the presentations. It must have a screen or a wall that is appropriate to display a PowerPoint presentation. Finally, the facility should have sufficient space to permit the breakout groups to meet in separate rooms.

Recruitment: As in Roles and Responsibilities training, a diverse group of stakeholders is essential to the success of this training. For this reason slots should be reserved for stakeholders representing various groups, including: judicial officers, court staff, family court facilitators, guardians ad litem, respondent parent counsel, county attorneys, CASAs, DHS caseworkers, supervisors and managers, foster youth, parents and grandparents, educators, foster parents, visitation supervisors/therapists, mediators, psychologists, mental health and drug and alcohol treatment providers, tribal representatives, etc. It will be essential to assure attendance of and involve lead judges in the recruitment of other participants. In order to do this it is important that the training be scheduled far enough in advance to allow participation by judicial officers whose dockets are scheduled at least 6 months in advance.

The ideal class makeup may be somewhat different than that for the Roles and Responsibilities curriculum in that it is most important to engage senior decision-makers in stakeholder agencies to truly appreciating the power of collaboration. As stated earlier, the value of this training will likely be enhanced if many of its participants have previously attended the Roles and Responsibilities training.

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After registration has closed, the Lead Faculty should divide the class into discussion groups that are diverse in terms of stakeholder roles. Colored dots or numbers should be used on the nametags to delineate the groups.

If advance registration does not reflect sufficient diversity of stakeholders, the Lead trainer must take steps to assure recruitment of an appropriate blend.

Lead Faculty must assure that registration forms include email addresses for all participants as materials and notices will be sent to participants via their email addresses both before and after the training. The person delegated to be in charge of registration should create a distribution list to be used for registrant communication.

It will likely be necessary for the lead faculty to contact participating Lead Judges and encourage them to take steps to assure full participation. This may include motivating or prodding attorneys or heads of agencies, sending repeat notices, etc. Lead Faculty should monitor early registration and where necessary contact Lead Judges so that a diverse group of participants can be assured.

Pre-Training Common Values Survey: In order to meet the objectives and attain the core competencies for the Collaborative Process curriculum it is first necessary to engage and motivate the participants to understand the potential and value of the collaborative process in improving outcomes for families and children. There are significant barriers presented in achieving this goal. One of these barriers is an assumption that diverse stakeholders have vastly different beliefs, values, and goals about how to protect children and families. In order to assist in overcoming this barrier the Lead faculty should communicate with participants in advance of the training and encourage them to participate in the survey entitled “Charting Your D&N Community’s Common Values.” This will allow Lead Faculty to gather the responses and prepare a PowerPoint file that demonstrates areas of harmony or dissonance in the responses. It is expected that most areas will demonstrate strong levels of harmony. However, it is important to also identify areas of dissonance and to discuss the reasons for the dissonance. The areas of dissonance may identify areas that are ripe for discussion in a collaborative

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atmosphere that is anchored in the knowledge that each stakeholder shares many common values. Identifying these areas of harmony and dissonance allows the program to be directed to the specific needs of those participants. To this end, the survey contained in Faculty Resource 1a should be used to conduct an anonymous survey.

Lead Faculty should modify the survey using the template found in Faculty Resource 1a. The Colorado Office of the State Court Administrator (SCAO) has an account with www.surveymonkey.com. When presented in Colorado, Lead Faculty should contact staff at SCAO Court Improvement Program or Judicial Training (303-861-1111) to obtain the member login and password. The survey set forth in Faculty Resource 1a was created on November 10, 2010 and can be easily retrieved using that date. Lead Faculty should rename the survey for each training date and location to state the date and place of the training and should edit the first question of the survey to include that information. If this program is presented outside of Colorado, Lead Faculty can use a product other than Survey Monkey or can join Survey Monkey and construct the survey using the questions and format found in Faculty Resource 1a. Because of the length of the survey, the free membership in Survey Monkey will not be sufficient for this survey. Instead, it will be necessary to join Survey Monkey at a level that will allow for the number of questions and responses in the survey. Once the survey is created, the link to the survey must be sent electronically to those signed up to attend. The survey link with an accompanying message should be emailed to participants at least 14 days in advance of the training and the survey should close at least 7 days prior to the training in order to allow the Lead Faculty to gather the responses and prepare a PowerPoint presentation that demonstrates areas of harmony or dissonance in the responses. An electronic reminder should be sent to participants periodically until the predetermined closing date. After the survey closes, Lead Faculty will review the survey, print the summary responses as Handout 1b and construct a PowerPoint presentation that demonstrates the many areas of harmony and the areas where dissonance was demonstrated. Survey Monkey allows users to create charts from the

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data using raw numbers or percentages. For the PowerPoint presentation it is best to select “Column Chart” and to express values in terms of percentages.

Advance Reading: In order to prepare participants to appreciate and discuss the value of collaboration across systems, an article entitled “Improving Outcomes Together: Court and Child Welfare Collaboration” by Cecilia Fiermonte and Judge Nancy Salyers has been selected for reading in advance of the training by the participants. (Handout 1a) This short article (11 pages) was published by Fostering Results, a publication of the Children and Family Resource Center of the Pew Charitable Trust. This article presents an array of collaborative efforts that have changed the lives of many children and families that they have touched. It is important for faculty to weave the promise of collaborative efforts that are represented in this article throughout the training. Approximately 10 days before the training, the Lead Faculty should draft an email message to be sent to all participants in which they are welcomed as participants in this important training and encouraged to complete the advanced reading. In the message it is important to let participants know that the selections are short and that reading them is important in setting the stage for a successful training. This message should be sent to participants from the Lead Judge in the participant’s district or Lead Faculty if a judge.

COLLABORATIVE PROCESS FOR THE CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS

WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS (Back to Table of Contents) Time: 15 minutes Description of Activity: Welcome participants to Collaborative Process Training and thank them for taking the time out of their busy schedules to improve their system. Thank them for participating in the Common Values Survey and for completing the Advance Reading. Briefly introduce yourself (your biography for introduction should be included in the materials) and take a moment to explain why you are committed to education as a means of helping to improve the lives of children and their families. Take care of housekeeping issues including:

• Information about the facility (restrooms, parking, breakout rooms) • Participant materials

o Expense reimbursement forms and rules o CLE forms

Thank the organizers of the training and the rest of the faculty. Explain that although many of the participants may already know several people, not everyone does, and it is important to wear their nametag. Ask participants to participate in an introduction activity at their small table. In their introductions they should give their name, their stakeholder role (agency and position), how long they have been in their current role, and the single greatest strength in the child welfare court and agency system and why they consider that to be a strength. Explain that each introduction should be less than a minute.

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COLLABORATIVE PROCESS FOR THE CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM ASSESSING OUR COMMON VALUES: BUILDING A SHARED VISION

ASSESSING OUR COMMON VALUES: BUILDING A SHARED VISION Time: 110 minutes (2.2 CLE) (Back to Table of Contents)

Description of Activity:

In order to meet the objectives and attain the core competencies for this curriculum  it is first necessary to engage and motivate the participants to understand the potential and value of the collaborative process in improving outcomes for families and children. There are significant barriers presented in achieving this goal. These barriers include doubt about whether other stakeholders are pursuing the same values, concerns about judicial independence when engaging in collaboration, protectiveness concerning traditional roles of stakeholders, doubt about whether true collaboration will really result in better outcomes, suspicion about the motives of others, and personal conflicts that may have developed over years of working in the same system in non-collaborative ways.   

The purpose of this session is to lay a foundation for overcoming the barriers listed above. As the title suggests, this segment is designed to assist the participants in building/discovering a “Shared Vision.” The tool to accomplish this task is the Common Values Assessment that will demonstrate to the participants that, while there are some areas where beliefs and values of some stakeholders are divergent, for the most part there is broad agreement on the values of safety, permanency and well-being for children and due process for families.

It is important to note that this curriculum is designed to be presented to a broad group of stakeholders who are not necessarily working together on a day-to-day basis as a team but rather are representatives who are on local teams or who will be forming teams in judicial districts throughout the state. Because of this fact, the tools and methods used are not only to teach and/or inspire the individual learner to collaborate but also to inspire the learner to use these tools in their own jurisdictions in order to build or strengthen their local teams.

While this portion of the program relies on PowerPoint to present abstract material and to summarize reflective material from the survey, it also provides an opportunity to actively experiment with the concept of “systems

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COLLABORATIVE PROCESS FOR THE CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM ASSESSING OUR COMMON VALUES: BUILDING A SHARED VISION

thinking” and its application to a specific fact scenario. It is important for the trainer to engage the participants throughout this section by asking participants to explore the applicability of the survey results to specific challenges in their jurisdictions and more broadly to the concept of how their community works separately (and often at cross-purposes) or together to assure safety, permanency and well-being for Colorado’s children.

The following corresponds with the PowerPoint presentation slides set forth in Faculty Resource 2:

Slide 1: Title Slide: Collaborative Process for the Child Welfare System: Improving the system to achieve better outcomes for children and families- Assessing Our Common Values: Building a Shared Vision

Thank the participants for their thoughtful participation in the Common Values Assessment survey. The thoughts that they shared will lead to important discoveries about the lens through which they view their world and will hopefully lead to a deeper respect for the views of others and more effective work by their collaborative teams in their communities.

Slide 2: What was the purpose of completing the Common Values Survey? • Highlighting where we have common values that create a platform for

collective work • Understanding where there is dissonance in our views and the

challenges those differences present • Appreciating the reasons for areas of dissonance based on the role that

we play in the system, our background, level of experience, etc.

While it may be evident to many, it is important to engage the participants in a discussion of how the completion of the survey may assist them and other members of the class to understand each other so that they can work together more effectively. Lack of awareness of another stakeholder’s background and approach is likely to cause a breakdown in the capacity of our child welfare system to

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work effectively for the safety, permanency and well-being of children and the protection of the due process rights of both children and families. Hopefully, in the process of analyzing the results, participants will gain new insights into how their own sometimes narrow or myopic perceptions of what others think can get in the way of effective group action.

Slide 3: The Arm Exercise: A fun activity

Now that the participants have gotten to know each other a little through the introduction exercise, ask them to indulge you a little more by participating in the arm exercise game. Warn them that this exercise does involve touching but assure them that this will be a fun activity that will get their juices flowing.

Slide 4: The Arm Exercise: Rules • Pair up • NO TALKING • You get a point each time the back of your exercise partner’s hand

touches the table • Goal: To get as many points as you can for yourself

It is important that you not call this exercise “arm wrestling.” Describe the game as it is set forth above. When the rules are clear, ask the participants to grasp their partner’s hand and close their eyes. Tell them that you will give them about 20 seconds to achieve the goal as best they can. Tell them to start and give them about 20 seconds. There will be noises in the room. There will be sounds of exertion but there will also be the sound of the backs of hands rapidly hitting the table.

When the 20 seconds are up, ask the learners how many of them got 2 or less points (a few hands will go up). Next ask how many got between 3 and 7 points (a few more hands will go up). Next ask how many got 7 or more, 10 or more, etc. The participants with the most points will invariably be partners in the game. Ask the pair with the most points how it is possible in 20 seconds that they got that many points. Point out that

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the instructions did not envision a “competition” but rather an exercise. Instead, the instructions are very straightforward and do not assume a zero sum game.

There are many issues that are ripe for discussion in debriefing this exercise. Use the flipchart while leading the discussion to record salient points. Ask participants why they assumed that it was a competition. Ask the participants with the most points how they came to understand that there was a better way to get more points and achieve their goal. Ask the teams with the most points how they got “communicated” their intentions to their partner since there was no talking allowed. There are many analogies to working in complex systems that are ripe for discussion based upon the behavior of the participants in playing the game.

Take a moment to summarize what we learned in the behavior of individuals in the game. Important points:

1. We often misunderstand that we are working toward the same goal.

2. This misunderstanding creates frustration and doubt about the motives of others.

3. Collaboration requires sacrifice. 4. Although we all say that collaboration is important, it is hard to

get it going, either by making our own sacrifice or by accepting that another stakeholder’s overture is sincere.

5. Collaborating is hard work and without being nurtured it is subject to fits and starts.

6. When it works it is rewarding (we were only playing for pride today but when it results in achieving loftier goals it feels really special!

The entire “Arm Exercise” game and debriefing should take 10-15 minutes to complete.

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Slide 5: Analyzing the survey results: • Demographics • Values (Shared or dissonant) • Important Programs

Each of these areas is important. It is important to know from what frame of reference each person/agency in the collaborative mix comes. It is also important to understand what overarching values are held in common by most, if not all, members of the group. It is upon these common values that the group’s vision will be built. It is also important to understand and appreciate the areas where there is not broad agreement. These areas, while more challenging in many ways, are essential to understand since they often represent the “elephant in the room” that keeps perceived progress at bay. Addressing them openly allows discussion and inclusion of minority views in the ultimate plan of action. Finally, the manner in which we asked about the importance of programs to serve children and families was probably challenging for the survey respondents, but this is the way that many in positions to distribute resources try to make sense to make resource decisions.

Slide 6: Age (Insert chart as instructed on page 7)

Move fairly quickly through the demographic slides. They are easily understood and available in Handout 1b.

Slide 7: Experience in the System (Insert chart as instructed on page 7)

Ask participants to reflect on whether they think it makes a great deal of difference in their receptiveness to new ideas whether they are young or older, have more or less experience, etc.

Slide 8: Gender (Insert chart as instructed on page 7)

Does gender make a difference? Are there issues of power differentials that may come into play because of position, experience, gender, etc?

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COLLABORATIVE PROCESS FOR THE CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM ASSESSING OUR COMMON VALUES: BUILDING A SHARED VISION

Will these issues block effective collective action if not understood and addressed?

Slide 9: Race/Ethnicity (Insert chart as instructed on page 7)

How might race or ethnicity play into your collaborative efforts and how your stakeholders view the world? We did not ask about poverty or wealth, but do you think that might affect the way folks view the problems of abuse and neglect?

Slide 10: Stakeholder Role

Will it make a difference whether people in your collaborative primarily treat/ represent parents or treat/represent children? Does it make a difference if they have to manage a finite budget? Does it make a difference if they are the final arbiter?

Slide 11: The most important function of the D&N system is to provide

children with safe and stable homes. (Insert chart as instructed on page 7)

This question will likely show little dissonance. Because of this fact this is likely the overriding gel that holds your group together. If your group believes that you are being faithful to that goal in your collective actions you will have more success.

Slide 12: All families that are brought into the child welfare system should

have an opportunity to receive treatment so that children can remain in their family of origin. (Insert chart as instructed on page 7)

Again, this question will likely show a great deal of agreement. It is important to build on areas of agreement in building a vision of where you want your system to go.

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Slide 13: The problems of Native American children are significant in our community. (Insert chart as instructed on page 7)

There may be significant dissonance in viewing this as an issue. Does this mean that it can be ignored? Many of the appellate decisions relate to this issue. You may not have many ICWA cases but when one comes up you need to understand how to deal with the issue through an understanding of the Act’s philosophy and requirements.

Slide 14: The problem of overrepresentation and disparate treatment of

children and families of color is significant in our community. (Insert chart as instructed on page 7)

There may be answers across the board to this question. What does this mean for the collaborative process? This is a huge issue around the country and in many Colorado jurisdictions. Blacks and Native American families, in particular, are significantly overrepresented when compared to the general population. Statistical data is an important part of defining this issue.

Slide 15: There are things we can do as a community to effectively

eliminate or significantly reduce the overrepresentation or disparate treatment of children and families of color. (Insert chart as instructed on page 7)

Even if there is recognition of the problem, people often feel frustrated that they do not know what to do about it. You may decide to work on a different strategy such as assuring that there are culturally competent providers for children and parents of color in the service array. You may also seek to present educational programs in your district that help us understand how our brains work so that we have an understanding that we all have implicit biases.

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Slide 16: Dealing with familial problems related to alcohol and drugs, domestic violence, mental illness, and/or chronic neglect will create better outcomes for children involved in the child welfare system. (Insert chart as instructed on page 7)

This question is likely to elicit broad agreement and is another area where consensus can be built.

Slide 17: Each of the Problems listed in the question immediately above

may be important in creating better outcomes for children and families. Rank these problems and corresponding treatments in order of importance in creating community based solutions. (Insert chart as instructed on page 7)

Acknowledge that making these rankings was pretty hard. Acknowledge that when faculty had to rank them we felt bad about having to rank three of them in the bottom third.

Slide 18: Rate these same programs in terms of their individual importance

in creating a system that will improve outcomes for children and families. (Insert chart as instructed on page 7)

If funders and decision makers see only the ranking above it may indicate to them that some of these programs are unimportant. In contrast, grading their importance as set forth in this questions gives us all a chance to say, “My most important priority may not be the same as yours but I can still value other programs/initiatives. It does not have to be a zero sum game!”

Slide 19: Break time!

Explain that we are going to take a 15 minute break but that before the break it is important to begin a little exercise. At this point, ½ of the group receives a copy of Faculty Resource 1b (drawing of old woman) and ½ of the group receives a copy of Faculty Resource 1c (drawing of young woman. You need to instruct the participants to leave the drawings face down until you tell them to turn them over. Give them no more than 30 seconds to look at their drawing. Ask the participants not to visit over the break about the drawings.

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Slide 20: (Insert drawing into PowerPoint slide)

This drawing (Faculty Resource 1d) is a composite of Faculty Resource 1b and 1c. Depending on which drawing the participants viewed before the break, they will see either a drawing of an old woman or an attractive younger woman. Ask the participants a series of questions (If some see both the old and the young woman you may need to ask them to hold their comments until later).

1. What do you see? (Young woman/old woman; sophisticated dresser/raggedy clothes; professional/bag lady; etc).

2. Is this a woman you would like to date if you were not married? There is likely to be a debate on these questions. Try to see if the two sides of the room can come to some agreement on anything other than that the drawing is of a woman. After the sides have dug in their heels, ask if anyone can see both images in the drawings. Allow them to walk those who cannot see through the process until they can see. Ask why one side saw the woman so differently than the other. Point out that we have all been conditioned by our background, experience, gender, race/ethnicity, age, stakeholder role, etc. Allow the participants to discuss how we can in real life understand the view of others when we cannot see it ourselves. Use the flipchart to record the participants’ suggestions about what qualities are helpful in the collaborative process and which ones are harmful to the process.

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Slide 21: People who abuse or neglect their children should be held responsible for their actions. (Insert chart as instructed on page 7)

There will likely be a broad range of opinion on this question. Allow the participants to explain why they answered the way they did. Use the flipchart to record salient points throughout the discussion.

Slide 22: Our first choice should be that children are never removed from

their families of origin. (Insert chart as instructed on page 7)

Again, this slide will likely show some hedging. Allow participants to explain why they answered in the manner that they did.

Slide 23: Providing people who abuse or neglect their children with

treatment for their issues is the best way to help their children achieve safety and permanency. (Insert chart as instructed on page 7)

Again, it is likely that there will be fairly high concordance from these participants.

Slide 24: Extended family members provide important resources for

children and families in the child welfare system. (Insert chart as instructed on page 7)

There may be conflict in the answers to this question. Some may feel that “the nut doesn’t fall far from the tree.” Others may suggest that older children will likely go back to their families of origin regardless of what we do. Point out that there is room for agreement even though these concerns have been raised, i.e. full Family Finding efforts along with thorough investigation and appropriate caution. Further, there is probably broad agreement that efforts to identify extended family members should be front loaded.

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Slide 25: Parents who do not comply with their treatment plans should face contempt and possible jail time as a consequence. (Insert chart as instructed on page 7)

Again, there is likely to be significant disagreement about this topic. Point out, however, that this question is an excellent way to start off a discussion of what is appropriate in obtaining parental compliance.

Slide 26: If parents show that they have been using drugs contrary to court

order, they should be sanctioned through limitation of visitation with their children. (Insert chart as instructed on page 7)

Hopefully there will be wide agreement that this practice ignores consideration of the best interests of children. However, if there is significant disagreement, this question presents a learning opportunity for participants’ Best Practice Court teams.

Slide 27: The time frames for permanency for children under 6 (one year

from the date of removal) is unreasonable in light of the problems faced by parents. (Insert chart as instructed on page 7)

This slide should be viewed in conjunction with the following slide. There is likely to be wide disagreement in the answers of the participants.

Slide 28: It is appropriate that we treat cases with young children in a

more expedited fashion than we do for older children. (Insert chart as instructed on page 7)

Along with the previous question, this issue presents area for agreement. Even if we believe that parents should have more than a year to get it together, we can all agree that the system should be frontloaded and that it is intolerable to make parents wait long periods of time to get into treatment.

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Slide 29: Delivering services closer to the family will improve outcomes for children and families. (Insert chart as instructed on page 7)

This is a resource issue. There should be broad agreement on this question but that does not make it easier for small communities to have a full array of services in their own community. Discussion of this question opens up the ability to problem solve around the delivery of scarce resources.

Slide 30: In our community, the “system” should involve people from the community to plan and evaluate programs that serve families affected by child abuse/neglect. (Insert chart as instructed on page 7)

It is likely that this question will produce agreement. This and the following slide should be discussed together.

Slide 31: In our community courts do a good job of involving community

members in planning and evaluating programs that serve our families. (Insert chart as instructed on page 7)

These questions mark an opportunity for courts to enlist the assistance of other community members in making sure that all stakeholders are represented and that the Best Practice Court teams have the racial and cultural makeup that reflects the demographics of the community.

Slide 32: Judges as well as managers and supervisors at DHS have a

responsibility to lead collaborative community responses to the problems posed by abuse and neglect. (Insert chart as instructed on page 7)

The response to this question provides an opportunity to share responsibility for Best Practice Court team functioning beyond judicial officers. It also allows the various stakeholders to clearly identify the limits of the collaboration, i.e., judges must still run the court; judges have a responsibility to organize the community to assure that adequate resources are available to meet our mutual goals; DHS directors have

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their own defined authority and while judges make findings, DHS has authority over budgets and setting of priorities.

Slide 33: Government cannot provide the primary answer to the problems

posed by abuse and neglect. Instead, the family, community organizations, and community members must act in concert with courts, attorneys, and DHS. (Insert chart as instructed on page 7)

Broad agreement is expected in the answers to this question. This is a call to action for members of Best Practice Court teams to examine their membership to assure that these other entities are included in the search for solutions.

Slide 34: Significant barriers to interagency cooperation would be

removed if DHS, treatment providers, judicial officers and court system stakeholders were involved in training that stresses the values of collaboration. (Insert chart as instructed on page 7)

This provides an opportunity to call these leaders to action in a first step toward better interaction between the members of their teams in their communities and is a good segue to our next topic – “Systems Thinking” – which calls for learners to understand the interconnectedness of the various parts of this complex system. It is a recognition that none of our actions occurs in isolation but that each has both a cause and effect. Point out that this training program is designed not only to motivate each of the participants in the class about how to work toward consensus in their local organizations but also to provide tools that will help in that process. To that end, this survey instrument as well as other tools are available for their use and technical assistance is available to help them to form and sustain the most effective teams that will make a difference in the lives of children and families who are the consumers of our abuse and neglect systems.

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Slide 35: Agenda Assessing our Common Values: Building A Shared Vision

• Systems Thinking: The Inter-Connectedness of Systems • Networking Lunch • Afternoon Session

o Effective Assessments o Strategic Planning o Your leadership commitment o Conclusion and evaluation

Slide 36: Contact Information • Presenter’s Name • Title • Email • Address • Phone #

Include your professional information so that participants may contact you with questions and comments.

COLLABORATIVE PROCESS FOR THE CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM SYSTEMS THINKING: THE INTER-CONNECTEDNESS OF SYSTEMS

SYSTEMS THINKING: THE INTER-CONNECTEDNESS OF SYSTEMS (Back to Table of Contents) Time: 60 minutes (1.2 CLE) Description of Activity:

This segment will build upon the introductory Vision Building. During this segment, participants will be introduced to the concept of “systems thinking” as described by Peter Senge in his book The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of The Learning Organization. Inevitably, in the day-to-day press of activity in doing our jobs conflict will arise, feelings will be hurt, and doubt will arise about whether our values are similar. “Systems thinking” helps us understand that one can only understand the system by contemplating the whole, not by observing any individual part of the system’s pattern. It allows stakeholders in complex systems to understand that the perceived impact of our actions may be much different than the actual impact on the system and the individuals within the system.

During this segment participants will be asked to state their assumptions or assumptions that they have heard from others about the child welfare system and the people in that system. It will be important for Lead Faculty to reflect on a personal experience where he/she may have acted with good intentions but those good intentions backfired because he/she did not understand the inter-connectedness of his/her actions with other parts of the system. During this discussion Lead Faculty must openly state his/her assumptions about the actions/motives/qualities of others in the system that may have been wrong. It is then important for Lead Faculty to invite participants to relate their assumptions about others in the system and what they think others in the system believe about them. Participants will be asked to recall unilateral actions that they may have taken in the past and to reflect on whether those actions had consequences that they did not contemplate at the time. Participants will be asked to plan how they might approach the problem differently if they deliberately considered ancillary consequences before taking action.

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Slide 37:

There are two works that are critical to the study of collaborative process in the context of the child welfare court system. Those ore Peter Senge’s work The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization and The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges’ Building a Better Collaboration: Facilitating Change in the Court and Child Welfare System. These two works are must reads for leaders who want to take their systems to the next level. One of those books is in your materials (Building a Better Collaboration) These books, particularly Senge’s, are not easy reads. As an example, consider the next slide – a diagram by Peter Senge of the inter-relationships of the world’s oil markets.

Slide 38:

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Granted, world oil markets may seem to be a little complex. But consider how you might diagram something as simple as filling a glass of water. At this point faculty takes the class through a discussion of what the factors are that cause the glass to be filled. Important parts: The glass, the faucet, the actor’s hand, the water level, etc. Use the flip chart to diagram this action in a linear fashion. How might this look if we considered the influences that drive other parts of the equation and diagram using a systems approach?

Slide 39:

This diagram is relatively simple when compared to the oil supply diagram – but it is a lot more complex than you originally thought. Now consider the complexity of our system. There are a minimum of 4 distinct litigants with varying motivations, a judge, CASA, treatment providers, and community members involved in every single case we deal with. That’s not to mention mediators, Administrative Review Division, CDHS administrators, the state board, Boards of County Commissions, etc, who all have a stake in how the system is administered.

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Slide 40: Calvin’s Solution to Complex Systems

For some, it may be enough to have them say like Calvin, “Forget it. I’ll just keep working the way I have been. It’s just too complicated.” “I can’t afford to take the risk.” We have all felt like that at times. But remember that the most consistent message from the survey that we did was that children should have families and that we are not consistently delivering that to them now.

Slide 41: Systems Thinking: • What I do influences the actions of others in two ways:

o The expected, and o The unforeseen

Systems thinking reveals that when I “do this,” not only is the reaction what I expected, but there are significant “ancillary” reactions to what I did. For example, I think that returning a child to her original school will provide for her well-being so I decide to make that recommendation or I decide to order it, depending on my position. In linear thinking I make my decision based upon my belief and the public policy that children should be maintained in their school of residence and nothing more. In contrast, in systems thinking, I consider whether changing the placement means the child will lose an important connection to the other children in the first

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foster home; whether she may lose an important connection to an adult in the first foster home; whether she will have a better or a less adequate educational support system in the second foster home; will other important influences in the child’s life be sustained or withdrawn because of the move; whether the child’s peers at the two schools are a positive influence on her; whether the two foster homes have the same cultural advantages for the child; whether the current school is doing a better job of developing the intellectual and emotional potential of the child, etc. The bottom line – is the child better off by following the public policy? This illustrates that dualistic thinking, where things are either right or wrong, on or off, black or white, is too simplistic. Let’s take a more complex policy issue and dissect it from a systems viewpoint. (Lead Faculty should take an issue/decision from their own past as a demonstration of a time when he/she took a linear view, with good intentions, but did not consider the “ancillary” effects of the decision. The following is an example.) If Lead Faculty is a judicial officer it is especially important for the participants to understand the ethical factors and need for judicial independence that may color the judge’s decisions. However, that does not mean that the judge should not consider the systemic effects of his/her decisions. When I was a young judge I had a mother of two children before me who spoke some English but whose first language was Spanish. She always requested an interpreter in court. Her children spoke both English and Spanish. Over the months it became obvious that the mother was not making the progress that I hoped she would make. She was in danger of losing her children. On the witness stand, the caseworker said she only spoke a little Spanish but that she was sure that the mom understood her when they visited. I was very skeptical and somewhat offended by the caseworker’s answer. I ordered that the department assign a Spanish speaking worker to the case or I would find that they were not making reasonable efforts to support reunification. What do you think my

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assumptions were about the caseworker and the agency? (Lead Faculty should use the flip chart to list the assumptions whatever they may be with their story)

o The caseworker was not able to adequately communicate with the mother;

o The mother was not making progress because of the lack of communication;

o The mother was not gaming the system by requesting a court interpreter;

o The DHS was insensitive to the needs of Spanish speaking clients to have language and culturally sensitive support;

o The DHS had failed to assign a Spanish speaking caseworker even though they could easily do so;

o The DHS had not seriously attempted to recruit Spanish speaking caseworkers to their workforce;

o A Spanish interpreter at caseworker meetings was inadequate to achieve the level of communication necessary;

o The caseworker was not culturally competent; o A non-Spanish speaking but culturally competent caseworker

was not sufficient to meet the needs of these children; o That I cared more about the success of this mother than the

caseworker did.

Some of these assumptions may have been true but many were not. How do you think the caseworker, her supervisor, her manager, the director felt? Consider these “facts”:

o The caseworker grew up in a family where her parents spoke English in the home but her grandparents were mono-lingual Spanish speakers;

o The DHS Director was Latino and fluent in Spanish; o The Department had attempted to recruit Spanish speaking

caseworkers by offering signing bonuses and other incentives;

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o The Department had a policy of paying for the schooling of Spanish speaking case aides who agreed to work for the Department as Caseworkers upon their graduation;

o The Caseworker had developed a good relationship with the children;

o All of the Spanish speaking workers had full caseloads; o Some Spanish speaking caseworkers were not Latino and had

acquired Spanish language proficiency through school or travel.

Allow the participants to list how those affected by the change may have felt. Use the flip chart. How do you think the children would feel if they had a new caseworker? Ask participants whether there a better way for me to handle this situation from a ‘systems’ view.

Slide 42: What are your assumptions about the system?

We all have beliefs about the way the system works, the motives of others that are at the surface and available to our conscious mind. There are others that are hidden from our conscious view that interfere with our ability to understand the impact of our decisions. Ask, “What are the underlying and often unarticulated assumptions, beliefs, and attitudes about children, parenting, families, poverty, community, the workforce, etc, that explicitly or implicitly guide your agency’s or your system’s policy development, resource allocation, and practice?” List the various parts of the system on the flipchart (Judges; court personnel; caseworkers; county directors; CASA volunteers; attorneys for parent or child, county attorney, etc.) Have the participants list their view of these factors. Note that some, but not all, of these factors may unwittingly influence your actions and that if you consciously considered these factors you might take a different course.

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Ask, “How does the oversight role of the court not only impact the processing of cases in the court, but also practice and policy within the child welfare system?” Also ask, “How does the policy and practice of DHS impact or limit the choices available to the court?”

Slide 43: Who is your Community?

Who should be at the table? What parts of the community bring resources, expertise, community values, and services to child abuse and neglect cases? Again, the trainer should use the flipchart to list members of effective child welfare collaboratives. Once identified, ask participants how they get community members to the table. Who does the recruiting? How do you assure diversity?

Slide 44: Small Work Groups (20 minutes) • What are your assumptions about the problem? • Are the assumptions accurate? • Who are the people who must be at the table? • What are the possible solutions? • What intended and ancillary consequences are likely?

Divide the group by their assigned tables to work on common issues in serving the vision of assuring that all children have families. The groups will have 15 minutes to complete the exercise. Each group will have a different issue with which to deal. Each group should choose a discussion leader and reporter (It can be the same person). Each group should answer the questions above. 10 minutes should be allotted to debrief the exercise. The goal in the debrief is not to analyze the solutions but to assure that each group considered the issue from a systems perspective and considered how their solution might affect other parts of the system.

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Slide 45: Agenda Assessing our Common Values: Building A Shared Vision Systems Thinking: The Inter-Connectedness of Systems • Networking Lunch • Afternoon Session

o Assessment and Strategic Planning: Getting from Here to there o Conclusion and evaluation

Announce that the lunch break is an hour and ten minutes and that it is important to use this time to not just check your email and nourish your physical selves but also to meet your relational nourishment needs. In other words don’t just talk shop, visit with other participants about their families, their passions, etc.

COLLABORATIVE PROCESS FOR THE CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM STRATEGIC PLANNING: GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE

STRATEGIC PLANNING: GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE

Time: 120 minutes (Back to Table of Contents) Description of Activity:

This segment of the program focuses on the nuts and bolts of planning for change. In the previous segments, the focus has been on laying the groundwork for a committed and cooperative team approach to improving court and agency response to families who are the consumers of the child welfare system. This segment is focused on providing participants with tools that will allow them to get from that commitment and cooperation to focused action and results. There are two critical aspects to an understanding of how to take an idea from the conceptual stage to implementation. First, leaders of the collaborative must conduct an environmental scan (assessment) to evaluate the current state of affairs and to identify areas of strength, and weakness. Once the data is gathered, it is equally important to share the information with all stakeholders sufficiently in advance of the strategic planning meeting for them to reflect on what is working and what is not. Because of the FAMJIS program (Family Judicial Information System), Colorado teams are able to readily access court management data in dependency and neglect cases. Further, through the Department of Human Services’ Colorado Trails system, collaborative teams can access a variety of other aggregate data, including length of stay in care, number of moves, rates of placement in kinship care, etc. Colorado is a national leader in providing the information. Collaboratives in many other states are not as fortunate in having ready access to this important data. The second critical component in promoting systems change is a strategic planning process, that is, a step-by-step structure that makes it more likely that good ideas for systems change and organizational success will come to fruition instead of dying on the vine. There are many ways to conduct a strategic planning process but there are certain critical elements that are common to all successful strategic planning processes, i.e. visioning, identifying common values, developing the team’s mission, brainstorming ideas that are consistent with its values and which make the organization more able to meet its mission, narrowing of ideas to the team’s most important goals, creating action steps toward achieving those goals, and

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holding teams accountable and monitoring overall progress through regular meetings of the planning group. It is worth reiterating the overall objective of this curriculum. Its purpose is not to conduct a strategic planning process for these participants. Rather, the purpose is to provide an understanding and appreciation of and tools that may be used to strengthen the local teams from which the participants come. However, in order to embed the process, the participants will have the opportunity to experience the process themselves through hands-on experimentation with hypothetical statements of opportunity and challenge, development of hypothetical goal statements and action plans.

Slide 46: Strategic Planning: Getting From Here to There

Using this slide as an introduction, it is important to reiterate the purpose of this training curriculum, i.e. to provide participants with some tools and an experience that will enable them to work with their local stakeholders to strengthen their teams.

Slide 47: First Get the Right People on the Bus and the Wrong People Off

the Bus . . . and Seek Diversity

There are certain groups that must be a part of your collaborative team, including court and agency personnel, lawyers, and treatment providers. However, getting the right people to the table requires a strategic approach. For example, it is important to have folks on the team who have decision making authority and can direct their organization. However, sometimes the heads of agencies might not have the same commitment to the change process as someone closer to the trenches. Ask the participants how they might deal with that problem. What if the person who lacks the commitment is the judge or the DHS director? When recruiting GALs or counsel for parents, choose the ones that you think are most open to change. Someone who is just going through the motions will not add the dynamism necessary to have a successful the team.

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Always seek diversity! Strong people with diverse views who come at the issues from different perspectives enrich the conversation and help to avoid group think. Try to make your collaborative team look like the community. Leaving out important cultural and racial groups can discredit a team from the beginning.

Slide 48: Communicate! “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste . . .” Rahm Emanuel, Former White House Chief of Staff

Team members need to understand what is expected of them in the planning process. It is important to communicate the critical importance of the effort and the passion the leader feels for the process in order to overcome initial resistance to increased workload. Rahm Emanuel, President Obama’s former Chief of Staff famously said, “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste . . .” Unfortunately, we face serious crises in the child welfare system. Often these crises present opportunities to mobilize the community to address the crisis in a way that would not have happened otherwise. It is important to communicate the ground rules for how decisions will be made. Your local culture may be that judicial officers have traditionally issued edicts about how things will happen. It is important for stakeholders to understand that actions of the collaborative will occur because there is consensus in the process. This does not mean that the court gives up its independence or the agency its administrative function;, rather, it means that the rules are spelled out and each entity is encouraged to take a world view that is flexible yet true to their core mission. Point out that in the handouts is a letter from Judge Lowenbach to his team that was used to focus attention on a crisis in that jurisdiction. This letter also provides and example of how leaders can lays out ground rules and expectations (Handout 3c).

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Slide 49: Critical Components: • Environmental Scan (internal and external) • Strategic Planning

It is impossible to have an effective strategic planning session unless you examine the environment in which you are working. It is essential to have data that demonstrates areas where the organization is doing well and areas where it needs to be improved. It is not sufficient to rely on anecdotal evidence of areas where stakeholders believe they are doing well or where they are convinced that the organization is underperforming.

Slide 50: Tools for Conducting the Environmental Scan: • FAMJIS • Colorado Trails

Each of these resources will provide valuable aggregate data on how your judicial district and the counties within them are doing in measures of child well-being and due process for all.

Slide 51: FAMJIS Management Reports: • Timeliness • Placement • Permanency • Removals • Service of Process • Adoptions Resulting from TPR • Subsequent Petitions Filed

FAMJIS is a tremendous resource for court management and accountability. FAMJIS takes data from JBITS (Judicial IT) and from Colorado Trails and joins the information together into valuable management reports. Among the reports that are available are the reports listed on this slide that show aggregate data that is useful in analyzing the D&N court system’s performance.

o The Timeliness Report tells us whether we are meeting statutory requirements for progress in the court case that are grounded in what we know about how children develop and what children need.

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o The Placement Report provides information about the number of placement changes for children. Again, this is critical information for us to judge whether we are making our practice meet what we know kids need, i.e. stability.

o The Permanency Report provides a summary of when and if children achieved a favored permanency goal (Return home, permanent custody with a relative or other caretaker, adoption) or a disfavored goal (OPPLA – emancipation, ageing out of foster care, independent living).

o The Removals Report provides a summary of the number of children by age at the time of removal along with case specific information about the children.

o Service of process or the lack thereof is a significant problem in some jurisdictions. This report provides a summary of cases where all respondents were served and highlights those cases where that did not occur.

o Subsequent petition filed shows the number and percentage of cases where a new petition was filed after termination of a prior case on the same child.

Slide 52: Assessing the extent to which racial and ethnic equity is an issue

for your court: • American Humane Association Colorado Disparities Resource Center

Website http://www.colodrc.org/   For a long time it has been difficult to assess this issue in individual jurisdictions. Statewide and national aggregate data demonstrates very clearly that families of color have more relative filings of D&N cases and that children of color are removed at much greater rates than the general population. Of course there are many factors that drive these facts, but many courts have taken up this important issue as one of their primary goals. In order to have credibility it is important to have data on this issue that is specific to your jurisdiction. This website is a work in progress but provides a beginning to providing the data that we want and need.

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Slide 53: Using Your Team to Analyze the Environment • Strengths • Weaknesses • Opportunities • Threats

Now that you have internal information it is important to use your team to assess this data and discuss external factors that may promote or threaten the progress of the team. Note that a SWOT analysis worksheet is included in the handouts (Handout 3b).

Slide 54: Discovering Your Vision • “Vision is the best manifestation of creative imagination and the

primary motivation of human action. It’s the ability to see beyond our present reality, to create, to invent what does not yet exist, to become what we not yet are. It gives us the capacity to live out of our imagination instead of our memory.” - Stephen Covey

These words penned by Steven Covey bring to the surface why the creative process is central to the improvement of the human condition. The capacity to dream of a better world, a better country, a better child welfare and court system provides us with the opportunity to incrementally change our environment and to do the same with the environment of those around us. It is important to consider what the child welfare system was like 5 or 10 or 20 years ago. Unless you really think about it you may not realize that we have taken many, many baby steps along the way to our present system that in most ways serves children and families better and which is much more rewarding for those who work within the system.

Slide 55: “Strategic Plans are worthless unless there is first a strategic vision. The process of strategic planning is a process of learning.” Building a Better Collaboration - NCJFCJ

We have spent a great deal of time today talking about visioning and overcoming less important differences in order to realize the overarching commonality of our hopes and dreams for children. We cannot lose sight

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of that common purpose. Without it the strategic planning process will fail.

Slide 56: How do leaders reinforce the group’s shared vision? • Leaders should repeatedly share stories that reinforce the themes of the

shared vision; • Group members should be invited to share their own stories to begin

each meeting so that team members refocus on the reasons for their efforts, i.e. to help children and families.

Once the team has gone through the process of establishing a team goal it is essential to keep the fire alive. To do so requires a repeated process of refocus on the essential tenets of the team. At this point it is important for Lead Faculty to tell his/her own story about the child welfare system to model this practice. The story should generally be uplifting yet challenging. Many times stakeholders in our system do not celebrate their successes because they are knee deep in alligators. This leads to discouragement, negative thinking and burnout. It is important that stakeholders appreciate the good work that they are doing and that their efforts are making a difference. At the same time understand they must understand that incremental improvement of the system will lead to more success stories. Handout 3d is an example of such a story. This resource is provided for illustration only. It is essential that the leader be genuine and the story must be his/hers.

Slide 57: Creative Tension: The difference between what is and what we

imagine it could be

Faculty should use a large rubber band to demonstrate the concept of creative tension. The band should be around both hands with the top hand representing the group’s vision and the bottom hand representing what is. It is important to acknowledge that if your leader has done a good job of helping the group with its vision there will be a tension between what is and what the group wants it to be. This tension can be relieved in one of two ways: the current reality can change through strategic action or the group can lower its commitment to the vision of what the future could look like. This can happen because of any number

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of factors: neglect of the process, failure to hold the team and its members accountable, external factors, burnout, etc. It is important to note that the strategic planning process must be flexible enough to meet unexpected challenges and adjust its actions to meet the changing environment, and yet at the same time, remain faithful to its core values.

Slide 58: Central Principle: Thinking Forward – Working Backwards • The Vision (our world view) • SMART Goals to achieve the vision • Actions steps (activities) to achieve the goals In case participants had not noticed, a central principle of strategic planning and or the learning organization is that we start out from the global to the specific. This process provides the navigation that gets us to our ultimate vision and allows us to lessen the tension between the two axes. Acknowledge and credit the NCJFCJ Technical Assistance Bulletin Building a Better Collaboration again. The material in this section of today’s program relies heavily on the methods outlined in that work. Urge the participants to read and review that Bulletin for in depth discussion of the process.

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Slide 59: Harnessing the Team’s Creative Tension

As this picture illustrates, the next step in the process can be confusing and messy. This is a stage that would typically be called “brainstorming.” Brainstorming was conceived as a way to allow groups of people to come up with a myriad of ideas that would be later narrowed down to the most important/impactful. As described in Keith Sawyer’s book, Group Genius, the rules of brainstorming are as follows:

1. No criticism, don’t evaluate the worth of ideas until you are finished generating them;

2. “Freewheeling” is welcomed- the wilder the idea the better; 3. Quantity is the goal- the more ideas you come up with the more

likely you are to discover the best; and 4. Look for combinations of previous ideas, and for improvements on

those ideas. The problem is, although brainstorming is the most popular creativity technique of all time, it does not work as advertized. The research since the late 1950’s has demonstrated that this method of coming up with ideas generates far fewer ideas than having the same number of people work alone and later pool their ideas. Among the dangers of brainstorming are the following:

1. Group think; 2. Production blocking (having to listen to what others are saying

blocks my good ideas);

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3. Social Inhibition (fear of saying something that others – including the boss – may think is stupid); and,

4. Social loading (i.e. people do not feel as accountable when working in a group as when they work alone)

Slide 60: A better idea! • Design your idea generating process to allow group members to

alternate time between working with the group, in small groups and alone.

• Assure that the team members feel equal and that authority figures follow the same rules as other members.

• Assemble and group the ideas generated through this process and allow team members to vote for the two or three that they believe are most important.

While it is important that you use the power of the group to generate the ideas that will improve the system, it is essential that diverse views are heard, not just those with the loudest voices. Recognize that there are inherent pitfalls in generating the openness that will produce the best ideas. The most significant of these is that the judge is an essential part of the collaborative team. It is essential that the judge and other members who are viewed as the most powerful acknowledge this barrier and provide reassurance that while they have different responsibilities and will sometimes express different views, they are no smarter than the others at the table. An example of an appropriate statement from a judicial officer to allay the fears of other participants is as follows (Lead Faculty should not read this statement but should paraphrase):

Although the court system is hierarchical and based upon fairly strict rules, the development of the child welfare system and changes to that system should not be. As judicial officers, we sit on a bench that is elevated from the rest of you. This symbolic elevation does not mean that we are smarter than others or better able to come up with solutions to our problems. Although we have the final word in our courtrooms, our word does not control here. Although I have the privilege of opening the discussion about our visioning process, I wish to share that

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privilege with other stakeholders. Judicial officers stand on an even plane with other stakeholders here. Our group cannot achieve success unless all stakeholders are invested in the actions that are proposed. (See Handout 3e)

Using this process, ideas can be consolidated, and culled through a process that allows team members to vote on what they believe to be most important. To avoid “group think,” do not vote by a show of hands. Allow participants to vote my placing a mark or a dot on the three ideas that they believe are the most important. It is very important not to overload a team. The team should not be allowed to work on more than 3 ideas in a year.

Slide 61: Develop Provocative Goal Statements • Allow team members to self-select which action area they are

committed to promote. • Allow team members in their smaller teams to reflect on what the topic

area would look like at its best. o What does it look like? What is being done differently?

• List the key elements of the topic at its best and prioritize the list.

Now that you have narrowed your list of critical topic/action areas that the team wishes to pursue it is time to get down to work. Each action area requires a provocative descriptive statement that communicates to others on the collaborative and to the community at large just what it is that your team hopes to accomplish. Note that this material is from The Nonprofits’ Guide to The Power of Appreciate Inquiry by Carolyn Miller, et al. and from materials presented at a forum attended by the author on November 16, 2010.

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Slide 62: A Provocative Proposition is . . . • An expansive statement of how participating members plan to organize

themselves in pursuit of their dreams. • They are provocative in the sense that they stretch the status quo,

challenge common assumptions, and offer bold possibilities for change.

This statement is of critical importance. It must be a statement that all members of the group can endorse and one that excites others outside the group with a passion that is similar to the group members. Note to participants that typically a strategic planning session such as the one outlined here will conclude in no more than one day. It is important to keep on schedule and build in time in the schedule to allow flexibility.

Slide 63: An Example: Communication – City Government • Communication with our citizens is the cornerstone of a responsible

city government. We openly and honestly communicate with the residents of our city using equitable and participatory processes. We actively solicit input from citizens and guarantee a response. Systems within our organization are designed and redesigned with input from citizens.

Slide 64: Great Provocative Propositions • Are provocative – they stretch and challenge • Are desired (people want to create them) • Describe what is wanted in a positive way (rather than saying what is

not wanted) • Are written in the present tense, as if they are already happening • Remain grounded / linked to the stories of our past when we were at

our best

Remember, this statement will define and communicate to your group and to others outside your group your vision of where you want to go and in general terms how you hope to get there. Your small groups will look to this statement to keep them on course and to inspire them to keep moving ahead regardless of the obstacles.

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Slide 65: Action Planning • Break the work down into short and long term actions that will promote

the overall goal. • Be specific! Answer the questions, “What,” “How” and “Who.” • Plan to meet.

It is important to note that this is a critical stage. Leaving out any step in the process can mean not achieving your goals, but this step is of critical importance. It puts boots on the ground to continue to creative process and move your organization forward.

Slide 66: Small Work Groups (35 minutes) • Design a Provocative Statement using the hypothetical from this

morning. • Complete the Action Planning Worksheet to chart the path to achieve

your goal (Handout 3f).

This time is important to give the participants a chance to get their hands dirty in solving a real problem that many jurisdictions face. Acknowledge to the group that we have only engaged in a discussion about many of the steps in the strategic planning process, and we are asking them to perform like a team that has passion for the goal when we have given them little time to work together. But it is still important that they engage in this experience. Each table should have flipchart paper so the group can record their statement. In addition, each table should have sufficient copies of Handout 3f to allow individuals to work independently as well as collectively. Encourage team members to refer to their PowerPoint handouts to craft the most powerful statement possible.

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COLLABORATIVE PROCESS FOR THE CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM STRATEGIC PLANNING: GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE

Slide 67: Workgroup Activity – Co-Creating the Ideal • Each person say why you might have chosen this area (1 minute each). • Take a few minutes to imagine this topic area at its best and discuss this

with each other o What does it look like? What is being done differently? (10

minutes) • Collect a list of key elements of this topic at its best (3-5 minutes). • Prioritize the top 3-4 elements and draft the proposition (8 minutes). • Create Action Steps using the Action Planning Worksheet (10

minutes).

Advise the groups that in real life this would not be enough time but that for these purposes it is important that they should take no more than the allotted time to complete the exercise. Remind the participants of the hazards of “brainstorming” and “group think” that we talked about earlier. Suggest that they give team members an opportunity (however brief) to gather and record their thoughts before starting the open discussion in step 2. It is important for the facilitator to move the group along so they are able to complete the Statement and the Worksheet in the allotted time. Remind them when they should be shifting to a different activity.

Slide 68: Report Back (10 minutes)

Allow each group 2 minutes each to report back on their Statement and Action Planning Sheet and how it felt to complete the activity. The goal here is not the work that they have created (even though some of it will be good), but rather the process. Did the structure help them to get from here to there? Use the flip chart to record the impressions about the process.

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Slide 69: Next Steps • Write and communicate your plan to your team and to the world. • Establish a regular meeting schedule for communication and

accountability.

You have reached a high plateau through the strategic planning process and you do not want to waste the energy that has been created. Communication to your group is most important. They need to see a product from their work. Your well crafted written plan can help to sustain their energy. Communication to the larger community will help address both the opportunities and the threats that your group identified earlier in the process. For example, when the good work of your group is recognized and your plan promises to improve the community outside entities will be more likely to help remove barriers that are present in the community. Accountability is established through communication and reporting back at your regular and predictable Best Practice Court team meetings. The workgroups will be meeting regularly to make progress toward their individual goals. It is important that the leaders of these workgroups report their progress at the larger meetings in order to assure that progress is being made toward the goal and that the direction of the workgroup remains consistent with the overall mission of the group to improve the system. Remember, unlike some long term planning processes, strategic planning is flexible and is able to take advantage of external factors that might enable unforeseen growth or adjust for external factors that might otherwise limit growth.

COLLABORATIVE PROCESS FOR THE CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM CONCLUSION AND EVALUATION

CONCLUSION AND EVALUATION (Back to Table of Contents)

Time: 15 minutes Description of Activity: It is essential to wrap up this important training with an inspirational message about why the work that each of the participants do is of critical importance to the safety, permanency and well-being of children. Faculty must be comfortable with the material and his/her words must ring true. What follows is an example of what might be done to inspire the participants to follow up on the work done at this training with action in their own districts to develop collaborations that work to benefit children.

Slide 70: So why does it matter? (PowerPoint slide includes picture of Antoine Fisher from the movie by the same name)

Ask the participants how many saw the movie “Antoine Fisher.” Describe the movie. The movie is about young Antoine whose mother goes to prison and whose father is killed before his birth. As a result, Antoine grows up in foster care. In care, he is physically abused by his foster family and sexually abused by a female relative of the foster family. Antoine joins the Navy but has many problems that remain from his childhood. In the Navy he is forced to attend counseling with a Navy psychiatrist, Jerome Davenport (Denzel Washington). He is resistant and does not want to reveal his secrets but he begins to trust Jerome and is welcomed as a guest at that family’s Thanksgiving table. A very poignant moment in the movie occurs in the study after thanksgiving dinner when Antoine recites this poem for Jerome:

Who will cry for the little boy, lost and all alone; Who will cry for the little boy, abandoned without his own; Who will cry for the little boy, he cried himself to sleep; Who will cry for the little boy, who never had it for keeps; Who will cry for the little boy, who walked on burning sands; Who will cry for the little boy, the boy inside a man; Who will cry for the little boy, who knew well hurt and pain; Who will cry for the little boy, who died and died again;

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Who will cry for the little boy, a good boy he tried to be; Who will cry for the little boy, who cries inside of me?

Jerome responds to Antoine and asks: “Who will cry for the little boy, Antoine?” To which Antoine responds, “I will, I always do.” As a system we have taken many steps forward. Children and families are much better off if they enter our system today than they were 20 years ago. We hope and pray that growing up in Cleveland, as Antoine did, is much different than growing up in Denver, or Pueblo, or Craig, or Greeley if a child is so unfortunate that he or she enters our child welfare or court system. Yet we know that there are many in Colorado who may still be asking the question, “Who will cry for the little boy?” “Who will cry for the little girl?” As the people who have great power in running this system it is incumbent upon all of us to speak up for the little boys and girls and for their families to offer them a good chance in life.

Slide 71: Redemption for Antoine (the PowerPoint slide includes a picture of a large stack of pancakes)

For those who have seen the movie they know that there is redemption for Antoine. He finds his father’s family who loves him and embraces him as their lost child and in the last scene of the movie he returns to the family home to find a houseful of his relatives and a Thanksgiving spread, complete with a large stack of pancakes. Every child deserves what Antoine finally got – a family that loves him. The work we all do is important and our combined efforts to improve the lives of the children and families who we meet in our work is like planting

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a seed that when nurtured by our hands and hearts will grow into a great tree, little by little, gaining momentum and strength with each passing season. It is up to us to till the soil, plant the seeds, spread the nutrients and water the roots to do the best for our children. The children cannot wait. There is much work to do and it is only through your leadership to work and plan together as communities that it will happen.

Slide 72: The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is today.

Slide 73: Contact Information • Presenter’s Name • Title • Email • Address • Phone #

Include the contact information for the Lead Faculty