Policy & Practice | February 2022

COLLABORATION continued from page 6

metrics and the creation of a support network for the nonprofit organizations. Our first round of investments focused on family stability, largely because families faced more challenges and isolation than ever before during the shutdown period of the pandemic, and a focus in this area would make an important impact. The agency had a goal of investing around $20 million and, after the competitive bid process, decided to fund 16 programs around the state that will receive approxi- mately $27 million over the next three years to expand their programming and reach within the communities they serve. This process has been a huge success, with many valuable lessons that we are applying as we gear up for the future rounds of investments. Building systems that impact com- munities in need requires both a clearly defined True North and a culture of innovation that does not accept barriers to transformation. The new TANF Investment Strategy is an example of what can be done when the conditions are built exclusively focused on collaborating with community partners to serve together. The agency is excited to see the impact of this approach for the organizations, and most important, the families we serve for years to come. Justin B. Brown is the Secretary of Human Services and Oklahoma Human Services Director.

of this situation. “We need to make sure that we understand that our employees in this field are suffering from secondary trauma and stress,” was met with full- throated agreement in that meeting. And as they described to me, many agencies have worked to put new retention and recruiting measures in place, even under the unique con- straints of the civil service code. Some examples are: n Referral bonuses for current staff important that our reach not be limited only to organizations that had previ- ously worked with state and federal governments. We recognized that there are many organizations throughout the state that are doing deep work in the communities with the populations we serve and we were thoughtful in designing an equitable process. We presented our strategy to foundations, UnitedWay leadership frommultiple communities, and The Center for Nonprofits, a nonprofit organization that equips and strengthens the nonprofit sector through training, consulting, and advocacy. We got feedback along the way and worked with them to get addi- tional nonprofit organization names and information so that we could have the broadest list possible that would receive the request for proposal link directly. A leading public-sector management consulting firm with TANF expertise helped us ensure that all aspects of the programs are allowed through TANF. They reviewed applications and assisted us in interviewing the organi- zations to get a deeper understanding of the program nuances, and then provided claim justifications for each program as they relate to the TANF goal we were addressing. Finally, a local third-party organi- zation that has nonprofit and TANF expertise assisted us with providing individualized technical assistance, capacity-building support, a platform for collecting individual and shared

defined TANF goals, as well as its True North goals: n Family Stability n Youth Supports and Early Education n Basic Needs n General Prevention

n Economic Independence n Pregnancy Prevention

More needs to be done to help safe- guard America’s families, particularly in tackling employee wellness. Efforts to Reduce Vicarious Trauma andTurnover Can Be Expanded With the increase in child welfare agency turnover rates, there are children and families left without suf- ficient help or oversight when needed most—and state agencies are well aware These categories were intentionally and flexibly designed to garner a wide range of responses for each funding cycle from rural and metropolitan organizations, and to allow the com- munity-based organizations to respond in innovative, community-responsive ways rather than only from the per- spective of a state agency. Creating topic areas was also important because opening up the application process for any TANF-allowable goal would be overwhelming and counter-productive. While there is the potential for a lot of diversity within each cycle, there is also a topic area that allows us to create a cohesive cohort. Focusing on partnerships and col- laboration as keys to our success, we engaged three different groups from the beginning: Private philanthropic partners helped the agency vet nonprofit organizations that were outcomes focused and to ensure a long-term sustainability plan. We sought out members from our two metropolitan areas and those with a rural focus that matched Oklahoma’s population distribution. It was TRAUMA continued from page 7

n Out-of-state recruitment bonuses n Better online pathways and degrees n Teaching labs for students who are interested in early childhood edu- cation (giving them credit while getting on-the-job experience) n Tuition reimbursement n Quarterly stipends for educational credits

Anecdotally, these tactics seem to be working to attract and retain

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