P&P April Issue 2018

staff spotlight

Name: Christy M. Hines Title: Director of Policy & Local Strategy Time at APHSA: Two months

Priorities At APHSA: My priority at APHSA is to deliver on-point policy analysis and strategy to make sure members are informed of current policy proposals and the potential impact on their work. Another priority is ensuring our local members’ voices are represented in our policy work and strategies. In addition, I would like my work to support APHSA in realizing one of its strategic goals—addressing structural inequities in the human services space. Through my work, I intend to make APHSA and its members the “go-to” thought leaders in the field. Best WayTo Reach Me: By email at chines@aphsa.org . When Not Working: I spend time with my husband attending sporting events, going to church, and traveling across the country. I love fashion so I also spend a lot of time as a personal stylist to friends and family. MottoTo Live By: “Don’t be like the rest of them, darling.” –Coco Chanel

Life Before APHSA: I have significant experience working in the legal, public health, and policy fields. Prior to my role with APHSA, I served as the policy director for a women’s health and health disparities–focused advocacy organization in Washington, DC. Before that role, I held multiple policy positions on Capitol Hill, with the last being the Health Counsel for a congressional committee where I led multiple investigations involving federal programs or the use of federal dollars. What I Can Do For Our Members: I would like to serve as a resource on policy analysis and strategy as well as provide insight into the impact of social determinants of health on the public’s health in the human services space.

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relationships and facilitated a deeper shared understanding of challenges and possibilities for improvement within Minnesota’s child welfare system. NEXT STEPS Collaborative partnerships are the heart of large-scale, rapid child welfare reform initiatives, and provide the best foundation upon which new sustainable practice and service delivery models can be developed, implemented, and maintained. The Minnesota experience has provided the lesson that through strong and com- mitted partner relationships, we can best attend to our most valued asset, our child welfare workforce. It is through the development, sta- bility, and wellness of this workforce that we can best improve outcomes for children and families. Minnesota’s realistic job preview and wisdom

learned from the workforce study allow us to connect to those inquiring about working in Minnesota’s child welfare system and also to those who daily are attending to children and families touched by Minnesota’s system. The training academy redesign and the systemic culture change toward Collaborative Safety allow us to prepare and equip the workforce with necessary skills and support to ignite their potential to improve outcomes for children and families. As we continue child welfare work in Minnesota, the charge is to attend to the ongoing changes in the workforce, enhance partnerships, and push ourselves to share power and governance. It is only through these efforts that the best services can be delivered to children and families. Reference Note 1. https://cascw.umn.edu/portfolio-items/ minnesota-realistic-job-preview/

our child welfare system. This early phase of an implementation science approach was inclusive and took place not only at all levels of child protection agencies, but across the field and into the community as well. Stakeholders such as legislators, reporters, academic partners, private agency providers, tribal partners, and attorneys are all participating in various stages of the learning and implementation process. In our first year of work with Modell and Hengelbrok, more than 1,500 child welfare professionals and stakeholders have engaged in the Collaborative Safety Practice curriculum. In addition to substantially improving our critical incident review process, Minnesota has also made concrete practice shifts to move agencies and professionals toward a safety culture to improve staff morale, increase accountability, and improve child welfare workforce retention. Our work with Collaborative Safety has further developed partner

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