P&P April Issue 2018

toward a new horizon. The committee defined the problem supported by citizen feedback and we arrived at a future state: “Partner with families and communities in Chippewa County to facilitate Hope, Healing, and Health to address root causes of challenges facing children, families, and commu- nities.” The guiding principles of the future state are: „ „ Creating holistic and family- driven social and health services systems that strengthen the family’s resources „ „ Building trusting relationships „ „ Eliminating institutional barriers „ „ Developing integrated service systems The committee is in the process of completing the plan and begin- ning implementation that will lead toward our desired future state. Earl Nightingale once quoted, “All you need is the plan, the road map, and the courage to press on to your destination.” Our purpose is a true partnership with families and com- munities in Chippewa County to facilitate hope, healing, and health to address root causes of challenges facing children, families, and com- munities. Everyone has been gifted with strengths, talents, and a heart. We intend to ensure system barriers do not impede any human being in our county from the opportunity to reach his or her full potential. To discuss or explore the ways in which the APHSA OE team can provide support to leaders or teams looking to advance opportunities in their own organizations or communities, contact Emily Campbell, OE Director, at ecampbell@aphsa.org. Reference Notes 1. Winter, L. & Senn, K. Hope, Healing & Health in Chippewa County WEAU 13 News Interview. January 17, 2018. http://bit.ly/2GqXU9y 2. United Way of Wisconsin, Wisconsin ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) Study of Financial hardship. Summer 2016. http://bit.ly/2uhYMIR

our current status, we’ve learned that our citizens don’t view the purpose of our human services system as truly in service of the community: “The system serves the system.” Although the “system” espouses that it serves individuals and families based on their hopes and dreams, little evidence supports this belief in practice from the citizen’s perspec- tive. The facilitation process thus far has helped us define our collective vision of Hope, Healing, and Health; understand where we currently are in reference to our vision; and identify a plan moving forward informed by the root causes that have been barriers to moving our community toward hope, healing, and health. Learning the framework of the HSVC is also new for the committee and gaining expertise through APHSA allows us to accel- erate our learning. Without coaching us toward the north star, we most likely would be shooting the arrow and missing our target due to gaps in our learning. The CYFC conducted an assessment by interviewing a randomized sample of individuals and families receiving services to gain their perspective on how they view the support of the “system.” The perception of service effectiveness from individuals and families is: „ „ Paperwork and lack of coordination among agencies—“you repeat the same thing over and over again, even for sub-divisions of DHS” „ „ Inconsistencies due to multiple staffs and turnovers „ „ Waiting period, two years before receiving services—“by the time we got the services, things were already out of control” „ „ Lack of centralized information systems „ „ Not having enough one-on-one time with staff „ „ Not being listened to, lack of personal relationship „ „ Needs for peer-to-peer interactions to exchange ideas/information „ „ Mostly good relationship with staff—sometimes mixed feelings These perceptions of individuals and families caused the committee to criti- cally face reality and begin a process

Curve (HSVC). For us, the HSVC is a lens to help us better understand our current efforts and work smarter rather than harder. If we can col- laborate with our community partners better and integrate the underlying needs of families in service design, the HSVC shows that we can expect better outcomes for our citizens with fewer resources expended. Crucial to this process of trying to collaborate and get at the barriers and enablers of health and well-being in Chippewa, is working alongside the community. The County Health and Human Service Board, in November 2014, approved the formation of the Children, Youth, and Families Committee (CYFC). The committee is a partnership compromised of government; education; business; law enforcement, United Way; faith-based, nonprofit, health care, public health, legal, education, and economic development organizations; and consumers of services. Our com- mittee is committed to incrementally moving our county partners toward collective action with a shift toward whole-person and family-centric service design. Historically the county partners collaborate on some policy, programs, and team-based case planning. However, through technical and financial support from the Peer- to-Peer Integration Institute through APHSA, with sponsorship from the Kresge Foundation, the committee has taken the initial steps toward real- izing this vision. How does the committee intend to incrementally move county partners to make this shift? We intend to make progress through truly listening and inviting feedback from our citizens and implementing a systematic change management process. Through the Peer-to-Peer Institute, we have engaged an APHSA Organizational Effectiveness (OE) facilitator and learned to utilize APHSA’s OE unit’s change management framework called DAPIM (Define, Assess, Plan, Implement, and Monitor). Through this process of defining the desired future state of our community with our community and then assessing

Larry Winter is the Director of the Chippewa County (WI) Department of Human Services.

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April 2018   Policy&Practice