PIÑON PERSPECTIVES NM CYFD PROTECTIVE SERVICES MARCH 2014
PART 1: WELCOME ONWARD, UPWARD Welcome to Piñon Perspectives. We will continue to share updates on our Piñon process that includes work life and culture, policies and programs, professional development, and innovation. In this issue we interview Chavon M. Williams with the Investigations Unit in Bernalillo East, share updates on Adaptive Leadership Training, provide an update on STEP (Striving Toward Excellence Program) our Data Scholars Initiative, and explore Courageous Conversations. We hope you enjoy this issue and look forward to your insights, comments, and an on-going dialogue.
YOUR PERSPECTIVES Piñon Perspectives e-magazine is designed by the Protective Services - Research, Assessment and Data Bureau. We encourage you to share your ideas for: Articles about your areas of interest Research on best practice Local experiments Interviews Courageous Conversations Professional Development Opportunities Continuous Quality Improvement Artwork Your insights, observations and questions are most welcome. Contact us at pinon.project@state.nm.us. The Art of Piñon The photographs in this issue are of New Mexico, City of Rocks State Park by Teresa Neptune. Teresa Neptune first picked up the camera as a teenager living in Paris which began her lifelong love of photography. In 2005 Neptune was awarded the Willard Van Dyke Grant by the NM Council on Photography. Her photographs are in the permanent collections of The National Museum of Women in The Arts, Washington DC; The Palace of The Governors Museum; The State of New Mexico - Art in Public Places Program; The Historic Santa Fe Foundation, and are included in the U.S. Department of State's Art in Embassies Program. She has a gallery/studio on Canyon Road in Santa Fe in the historic Irene Von Horvath House, which is available for small private events including weddings and workshops. Her website is www.teresaneptune.com 2
PART 2: INTERVIEW Q&A: CHAVON M. WILLIAMS Investigations - East Bernalillo What do you like most about your job? At this point in time, I enjoy the people that I work with. We have been through a lot of ups and downs but in the end, we laughed and support each other. I love working with the families that are in crisis and learning their story as to why they need help. (continued on next page)
What is a typical week like for you? In investigations, every day is different and unpredictable. The typical workday involves a lot of collaboration within the department, with the family, community providers, law enforcement, and school personnel. However, priorities quickly shift if a child is unsafe. What can you tell us about experiments your office has initiated? Why did you do the experiment, what did you hope to achieve and how will you measure success? I have been a part of a few projects within my office in East Bernalillo County. Over the last two years, I've had the opportunity to explore different suggestions and input as to how cases are assigned, how we can improve in engaging absent parents, and better collaboration with foster parents prior to the case being transferred to permanency. I have learned through these experiments that I need to step out of my comfort zone. PS is a very complex area where people specialize and those of us working in it often only experience a small part of the overall system. How have you learned about the PS big picture? I still have a lot to learn about the big picture. What innovation would you like to bring to PS in NM? It is difficult to fulfill all of the expectations in completing an investigation in a timely manner and entering all of the information in FACTS in a timely manner. I would like to be a part of an office that is fully staffed with supervisors as well as investigators. What is a success story? I am sure that there are many different perceptions on what success is like in the field. (For me) it is beneficial when families are open to having a conversation to help me better understand their situation. I have had families that are defensive and hesitate to be honest; however, in the end most of them trust that I am an individual just like them, tattoos and all. We are able to have a dialogue about the concerns and where we go from here. How can central office and county office staff work to create work environments that foster courageous conversations-----addressing work problems and conflict? We can create a work environment that fosters courageous conversations if we improve on assuming good will." There have been times when I get a case and I think to myself why was this decision made? I am sure others have thought the same when they received one of my cases. I feel that we need to move forward from questioning each other s work and decisions that were made in the past. The truth is that we do not know what was going on with the family during a previous time in their life. We need to support each other in the present and move forward. What type of professional development opportunities would you like to see offered? We should have a day or a week where we shadow other positions within the Department. I think that this would help us appreciate and better understand each other s role in "the big picture." Thank you for your time, Chavon. 4
NEWS+UPDATES ADAPTIVE LEADERSHIP TRAINING New sites are being trained in Adaptive Leadership on April 15 and 16, 2014. This is our last round of implementation counties. After this training, all counties in New Mexico will be trained and up and running with Office Hours. The new counties are Rio Arriba, Valencia, McKinley, Torrance, Otero/Lincoln and Eddy. The primary goal of the Adaptive Leadership training is to mobilize county office staff to continue to move Piñon forward with enthusiasm and energy. Second, to provide participants with Adaptive Leadership concepts, tools and skill building opportunities they can use in Piñon implementation efforts. Lastly, to share New Mexico experiences and learnings. The focus of the training is on how CQI (Continuous Quality Improvement), Adaptive Leadership and Situational Leadership fit together to support Piñon implementation efforts and acknowledge both the progress and struggles with Piñon implementation efforts to date. Ultimately, the goal is to bring promising practices to scale within the county office and across the organization as a whole. HEART GALLERY BRINGS TEENS AND POTENTIAL ADOPTIVE PARENTS TOGETHER On Saturday the 22 of February, 18 teens who are available for adoption headed from across New Mexico to Santa Fe to enjoy the Museum of International Folk Art and have an opportunity to meet people who have been licensed to become adoptive parents. The event was themed around the Museum's show on Japanese kite making so teens, foster parents, future adoptive parents, CYFD staff, and volunteers all enjoyed a day looking at exhibits, sharing stories, enjoying a Japanese lunch, and flying kites in the crisp early spring day. The event also provided an opportunity for professional photographers to take photos of the teens, which will be displayed on the Heart Gallery website and in Heart Gallery displays around the state. The Heart Gallery sponsors events throughout the year to bring children and prospective adoptive parents together. To learn more about the events, volunteer opportunities, and training on becoming a foster or adoptive parent, please contact the Heart Gallery's Nancy Woodka at nancy.woodka.nm.us and visit www.heartgallerynm.org. We promote the use of experiments to learn more, to test assumptions, to measure impact, and to solve problems. 5
PART 3: PINON S BIG PICTURE STRIVING TOWARD EXCELLENCE PROGRAM When data informs decision-making, outcomes for our children and families improve. The Striving Toward Excellence Program (STEP) focuses on achieving results using data. (continued. on next page)
STEP is a new initiative by New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department-Protective Services Research, Assessment and Data Bureau. STEP is designed for PS staff who seek to enhance their skills in using data to identify problems, research solutions, and collaborate with colleagues and partners to address challenges. How STEP works STEP is a nine-month blended learning experience focused on problem-solving and datadriven decision-making. STEP strengthens a local office s capacity to: 1. Identify challenges 2. Mine and analyze data to understand problems 3. Research, analyze and work toward solutions 4. Create measurable goals and evaluate progress STEP components include: 1. Interactive classroom experiences 2. Technical assistance 3. Coaching focused on local challenges 4. Web-based lessons and resources 5. Support for local experiments STEP topic areas: 1. Identifying Champions, Clients + Capacity 2. Assessing Work Flow + Challenges 3. Using Continuous Quality Improvement 5. Mining and Analyzing Data 6. Researching Practice, Protocols + Policies 7. Decision-Making Informed by Data 8. Communicating About Change 9. Supporting Results-Oriented Action Joining STEP STEP is scheduled to launch in Fall 2014. The application process will begin in June. STEP requires two days a month, approved by the candidate s supervisor and/or COM and/or Regional. STEP supports local work STEP is being created to support current and new local experiments throughout New Mexico in order to achieve Protective Services goals of safety, well-being and permanency for children and strengthening of families. Proposed STEP Outcomes STEP participants and each of their respective local offices are supported in their initiation and implementation of local experiments using data. Experiments, supported by STEP, will be designed to lead to the following positive outcomes: 1. Increased participant knowledge to make data informed decisions within the context of Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) 2. Increased local staff and leadership implementation of CQI and data-driven decision-making 3. Increased creation and implementation of new data-driven experiments on the local level 4. Creating Experiments + Collecting Evidence 7
4. Increased participant skill levels in data mining and analysis, researching solutions, and problem-solving 5. Strengthened communication and facilitation skills, and use of technology to enhance practice 6. Increased sharing of experiments, challenges and solutions between local offices and regions 7. Increased local office ability to meet federal standards and agency goals 8. Increased local office capacity to identify and solve problems 9. Increased participant job satisfaction and job performance 10. Improved outcomes for children and families Technology + Innovation STEP is facilitated by the RAD (Research, Assessment, and Data) bureau staff and guest faculty. It will also be supported by a web-based learning management system. The web system allows STEP participants to access: Lessons on nine topic areas Illustrated glossary of terms Links to data systems Infographics to illustrate key concepts Guide to data mining and analysis Guide to policy, protocol and program research Guide to experiment project management Comments and feedback features STEP is an important resource for Protective Services, as we face challenges every day that require a science-based response. Local Offices need a clear understanding of exactly what challenge exist, why they occur, and how to problem solve with data, research and creative thinking. DEFINITIONS: WHAT IS CQI? CQI (Continuous Quality Improvement) is an ongoing process that involves four steps: Assess, Plan, Act and Evaluate. Assess: Data is used to assess problems and areas of improvement. Assessment also reveals where resources exist. It can also be used to assess an office s or county s capacity to solve a problem. Plan: Creating a measurable plan. Planning involves a number of activities including identifying the problem, getting buy-in from management and staff to solve the problem, and research into science-informed solutions. Act: Implementing a plan with measurable outcomes. Acting may require prioritizing certain tasks over others, creating a schedule, managing a project, and advocating for support or resources. Data can be used every step of the way to inform decision-making. Evaluate: Data is used to measure progress toward a measurable goal. Data can reveal where challenges still occur and where successes exist. Evaluation should be shared with all stakeholders. CQI is a philosophy based on the belief that people truly care about the work that they do. 8
PART 4: DIALOGUE COURAGEOUS CONVERSATIONS Courageous conversations are those workplace talks we have that address problems such as workplace climate, workloads, or communication styles. The following questions can facilitate a courageous conversation and shed new perspectives on how dialogue leads to problem solving. How is the issue having an impact on you? When you ask this question, listen closely and put yourself in the other s place. Do your best to not be defensive. Instead, try to hear how the person may have been hurt and how a workplace situation contributed to unease at work. This enables you to see how serious the issue really is, its cause, and effect it is having on the workplace. Listening closely helps a person feel that they have been heard. When people feel that they are heard, they can begin to move on to resolving their issues. What s the future going to be like if nothing changes? This question helps both parties see the high cost of doing nothing. Discussing the consequences of living with a stress-filled status quo that is causing distress can motivate everyone to be committed to resolving the issue. What do you see as my responsibility? It can take a willingness to be humble as one discusses one s potential contribution to a problematic situation, as well as one s intention to work toward finding solutions. What do you see as your responsibility? This question may take some people by surprise, since they may have been looking at themselves as a victim instead of seeing that they may also have been a responsible person in the situation. This can be a turning point in the conversation by allowing a person to share the responsibility for resolving the issue. What s the best case scenario? It is very productive to focus on what could be and should be. You will find hope for a solution as you agree on a desired future and begin to share a vision that builds respect, restores enthusiasm and a sense of collaboration. Please send us your courageous conversation experience (in 150 words) and the impact it had on your work: pinon.project@state.nm.us. ix