Policy & Practice | Winter 2023

accessibility and an excellent model for designing a pilot informed by the community continuously engaging individuals with lived experience. The Colorado Department of Human Services’ Family Voice Council was created to advocate for more equitable and accessible human services for all Coloradans. The council is made up of people who have been involved with or are currently accessing com munity services or programs. Council members gather to learn, provide input, and affect positive systems change. Members share their honest experiences and provide feedback as a guide for the future. The Family Voice Council created a tool called the Family Voice Compass that provides valuable resources to guide other orga nizations in implementing a family voice structure. The Family Voice Council is recognized as a national model and has an extensive alumni network of families with lived experi ence navigating human services. The Washington State Division of Child Support collaborated with AnthroTech, MEF Associates, Child Trends, the Department of Corrections, and parents with lived experience in the child support system on the Right Sized Order project to increase both frequency and amount of support payments collected for families. Parents and stakeholders engage through surveys, a Design Thinking Workshop, and one-on-one conversations. Through a series of virtual process improve ment workshops, parents, stakeholders, and staff work together to brainstorm ideas and prototype and test solutions to create a more user-friendly process. Key success was measured using direct community input to improve the order modification process. THEMES FROM COMMUNITY AND LEADERS The focus group discussions brought greater insight to the experi ences that hinder trust or empower individuals and families. Three core themes emerged: n Authentic engagement with community n Strong relationships that generate trust n Equity at the center

ABOUT THIS PARTNERSHIP APHSA and Social Current, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, represent and connect the entire human services ecosystem, including individuals with lived experience. Acknowledging the need for a new operating paradigm for public-sector leaders that puts people and community at the center of our work, we are committed to co-creating a cross-sector leadership framework that helps leaders advance equity, health, and well-being. This article highlights community centered engagement as an essential component of leadership within human services. Over the past year, APHSA and Social Current have collaborated with community members and public sector leaders from more than 25 states. With this collective input, the next generation of leadership compe tencies for human services leaders has begun to emerge. We are seeing a shift from traditional organization-centric competencies to ones that support a community-centric focus. LEADING WITH COMMUNITY CENTERED ENGAGEMENT Equity continually arose as a common theme in our conversations with human services leaders and

community members. When equity is not a priority, people within the community quickly take notice and feel disengaged and disempowered. This erodes trust in human services organizations. Effective community engagement enhances individual self confidence and provides a sense of ownership for a stronger commitment to work collectively to achieve goals. Fostering trust with the community through openness and transparency creates a pathway to meaningful col laborations, where systems can be rebuilt and improved. Creating spaces for inclusivity and belonging enables leaders to make more informed decisions and provides opportunities to continue learning about community needs. Meaningful connections are made through active listening, which allows leaders to address the root of problems, rather than only the symptoms. Leading with people and community means balancing power to ensure commu nity members are seen as essential stakeholders throughout a program’s lifecycle—in the planning, implemen tation, and evaluation. COMMUNITY-CENTERED ENGAGEMENT SHARED BY STATES APHSA and Social Current probed nationwide for impactful examples of community-centered engagement. Many states highlighted partnerships with community, working together to bring the most beneficial changes for individuals and families. Among the many examples, our story gath ering captured impactful work centered in people and community happening in California, Colorado, and Washington State. Santa Clara County in California formed a collaborative cross-sector partnership with private-sector stakeholders, community partners, and the Lived Experience Advisory Board to develop and implement a Customer Portal Pilot Program aimed at expanding access to homelessness records. The program was designed to increase choice and personal agency in the individual’s journey to permanent housing. This initiative is a notable example of expanding customer

Trinka Landry Bourne , DPA, is an Organizational Effectiveness (OE) Consultant for Leadership Development at APHSA.

Lofaine Bradford is the Learning Coordinator for the OE team at APHSA.

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