APHSA Annual Report 2018

Organizational Effectiveness Member Stories STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE During the first half of 2018, APHSA played an instrumental role in supporting Public Consulting Group and The Alliance for Strong Families and Communities, in a system-wide assessment of the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Service’s child and youth-oriented programs and practices. APHSA’s role on this project was principally focused on ensuring the Value Curve lens was employed in the overall assessment approach, and that the voice of parents in New Hampshire was fully incorporated in the assessment. APHSA worked with the agency’s senior leadership team to internalize critical principles of the Value Curve: effective systems progress from program and functional integrity to improved user service across programs for complex family needs to problem-solving at the cause- level for individuals and families, as well as for population-level challenges like the opioid crisis. APHSA also presented and reinforced these ideas with the agency’s management team and with a broad set of community partners in education, the courts, law enforcement and with private providers. APHSA co-facilitated the assessment input from the agency’s parent advisory group, who provided highly insightful and practical suggestions. The resulting assessment and related findings from Public Consulting Group and the Alliance were shaped around a framework and set of desired state indicators for a system of care focused on whole-family support and upstream prevention. The report’s recommendations were shaped around the causes of related gaps identified between the desired state and current state. These

Igniting the Potential

This year kicked off our special initiative

focused on “Igniting the Potential” of the H/HS workforce. In our 2017 member survey, several concerns about the agency workforce topped the list of what keeps leaders up at night: the ability to recruit and retain staff with the right talents and capabilities; how best to develop and train the workforce in a fast-paced, ever-changing world; how to equip that workforce with the right tools; and how to ensure the on-going well-being of front-line staff and managers. Building on the field’s shared learning through the Value Curve and using APHSA’s strategic platforms, including our three Collaborative Centers, affinity groups, Organizational Effectiveness practice, educational events and communication vehicles— we used this year to further support the field in developing a modern workforce that is healthy and well. Here’s what we were focused on: • Designing the indicators of a healthy H/HS workforce with clinical and field experts; • Providing new tools/guidance

for agency leaders to support the professional development of the workforce/what the future workforce needs to look like;

• Infusing content focused on

supporting the H/HS Workforce in all APHSA-sponsored 2018

conferences and events and as part of our Policy & Practice magazine and blog; and • Leveraging peer communities who influence the H/HS workforce

including the National Staff Development and Training Association (NSDTA).

We will continue to shine a spotlight on the role of a healthy H/HS workforce in igniting and unlocking the potential of people and places in 2019!

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