P&P February 2016

“The only way to change the lives of families and systems is to be inside them. You have to be in there day in and day out, have to be up to the challenge to do it.”

ongoing transformation. This involves mentoring for supervisors, improved compensation, career path develop- ment, and other initiatives. The agency is conducting staff surveys and road shows for leadership to connect with front-line staff.

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—VIRGINIA PRYOR, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF CHILD WELFARE AT THE GEORGIA DIVISION OF FAMILY AND CHILDREN SERVICES

See the silver lining in unexpected places Adaptive leaders need to be optimists to seize on the poten-

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Developing this model required sig- nificant structural changes—recreating relationships among multiple agencies, vendors, legislators, and the private sector. As Parks explains, a shared, data-backed view helped to build rela- tionships around facts, not assumptions. Experiment, experiment, experiment Leaders in situations without a roadmap must be bolder, embracing experimentation. This is 5

Strengthen partnerships with data The human service commu- nity has long recognized the need to support cross-agency

tial of a good idea. Maria Cancian, deputy assistant secretary for Policy at the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), encourages leaders to find ways through barriers. She works with program directors to integrate across programs, and has faced some resistance. Her initial reaction was to be frustrated by territo- rialism. However, once she considered the intention behind such “tribal” mindsets, everything changed. This shift from pushing back to working through barriers helps adaptive leaders move past pitfalls to progress.

and cross-sector partnerships to improve service delivery. Joseph Parks, director of Missouri HealthNet, offers a fresh perspective. This insight reflects Parks’ experience helping to create the groundbreaking Missouri Health Homes initiative, a unique service delivery program designed to improve care for a targeted population with mental illness or substance abuse and at least one chronic condition.

See Outcomes on page 25

NATIONAL HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES 2016 SUMMIT

INSPIRE.

MAY 22-25 KEY BRIDGE MARRIOTT ARLINGTON, VA

IMPACT.

www.APHSA.org @APHSA1

INNOVATE.

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February 2016   Policy&Practice