Policy & Practice December 2018

The American Public Human Services Association (APHSA), the University of California at Davis (UC Davis) Human Services Programs, the Connecticut Department of Children and Families, and Beth A. Cohen, a clinical and organizational psy- chologist at the Organizational Mind Group, have joined forces to address H/HS growing needs by “Igniting the Potential.” Early in 2017 we began collaborating and examining our individual work, which includes (1) an organizational development unit of a public agency, (2) a national asso- ciation providing technical support for workforce improvements, (3) a university developing local agency leaders, and (4) a social scientist and workforce stress expert. Fast forward to October 26, 2018 when APHSA met with agency and community-based organizational leadership to consider if our per- ceived urgency to move forward was warranted. The response was a resounding “yes.” what it was 20 years ago. We have steadily moved from downstream rescue and recovery or assessing program-specific benefits eligibility. Today we broker partnerships at the community level with primary goals of solving root problems in an effort to stave off unnecessary trauma to the child, family, and community. ously expanding and shifting due to increased complexities and needs. We must retain the good talent we already have. We must attract new talent that is up to the new national challenges and work demands. n Nationally, we are seeing social worker responsibilities continu- n The work of our agencies and communities is different from

n Research demonstrates that by attending to the well-being of our staff and helping them develop and use their own resilience and strengths, they are far more likely to work more effectively and with greater impact on behalf of the people and communities they serve. n Moreover, it is vital for us to address the needs of our current dedicated and committed staff. We understand that these challenges are big ones. The stressors, physical and emotional symptoms, burnout, and secondary trauma that many H/HS employees face on the job is comparable to our first responders— police and fire personnel—under emergency conditions. Workforce well-being in H/HS is crucial! Those agencies that have already changed their workforce practices and policies are not only experiencing the benefits, but seeing the return on their invest- ment. It is a win-win situation. We’ve decided to begin at the beginning, using what may be a novel, but sensible, starting point: n What is workforce well-being in observable, operational terms? n How can we impact workforce well-being in practical and affordable ways? n How does workforce well-being “pay off” in terms of individual, organiza- tional, and community impacts? In order to study what we want to measure and impact, we’re developing a model of factors and indicators that define workforce well-being and impacts on workforce health. We introduced a draft version to our October leadership group, collecting feedback to include these factors and indicators:

Igniting the Potential has been a recurring theme in Policy & Practice this year. In each article, we highlighted various efforts underway in the H/HS workforce both from the public and private sectors. Our final article for the year lays out what’s still to come from us in this ongoing initiative to support and advance a healthy workforce that can ignite and unlock the potential of all people and places. Igniting the Potential

Phil Basso is the Vice President of Strategic Mobilization at APHSA.

Jennifer Kerr is an Organizational

Beth A. Cohen is the Co-founder and Administrator of the Organizational Mind Group.

Effectiveness Consultant at APHSA.

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Policy&Practice December 2018