Getting Started with the Guidance

It is the expectation that each public child welfare agency will systematically use the guidance by first conducting a thorough assessment of the agency in each critical area; determine findings and the root cause of issues that inhibit performance; develop a plan for how to close the gaps between what it currently does well and what it needs to do to improve performance; implement the plan; and monitor progress and evaluate for success.

While the assessment process is a linear one, agencies can decide to address any critical area it chooses and in any order it deems appropriate based on organizational need or relevance to its operation. It is suggested, however, that if an agency does not have a clear strategic plan to follow it should start with Strategy.

In order to help agencies fully implement a change process related to any of the critical areas, the Change Management Guidance has been specifically designed and developed for this purpose and is strongly recommended for use.

An agency should use the following steps to get started in using the guidance:

Define the Critical Area

An agency must first define the critical area from the analytical framework that must be improved by specifying where it wants to be in relation to where the guidance says the agency should be. In determining which area to focus on, an agency should examine the context in which the work of public child welfare is done and consider the following:

Authority of the federal government over programs, financing and policies that may inhibit innovation,
Demographics of the workforce,
Politicization of the leadership of the agency,
Transparency that contributes to accountability and engenders trust,
Crises and lawsuits that drive change as opposed to data driven decision-making,
Persistent areas needing improvement and/or have high buy-in from staff or external stakeholders,
Client needs and how the agency is structured and organized in order to meet them,
Capacity of the agency in regard to training, resources and available data on performance.

Assess

The agency will need to assess their current status related to performance, capacity and resources needed in each critical area. As agencies begin to assess, reviewing the Overview of each section will be helpful as it lays out questions that the guidance has been designed to answer.

Plan

Planning for change begins after the assessment is complete. There are essentially three types of continuous improvement planning – quick wins, which can start being identified and implemented as gaps are being identified, mid-term improvement planning and long-term improvement planning.

When the leadership of the agency is beginning to plan improvements, (e.g. quick wins, mid-term or longer-range), thinking through the role of leadership in communicating and managing the effort is essential to support a positive outcome. Prior to implementing improvements, leadership must develop a clearly defined vision for the improvement effort and articulate it throughout the agency. The vision must explain why the improvement is occurring; how staff will be supported in developing the skills they need to implement the change; what incentives the staff has to support implementation of the improvements; how resources will be provided to staff to implement the improvements; and a clearly defined action plan of who will do what by when throughout the improvement process.

When planning quick wins and mid-term improvements, either within 0-30 days (quick wins) or within 30-90 days (mid-term improvements), agencies can make immediate impact and buy the agency time, build credibility and begin to build staff capacity for longer-term planning and continuous improvement. Agencies should pursue quick wins and midterm improvements in critical areas that enhance key initiatives already underway or address needs that are obvious, big and essential to client service delivery and relationship stability. Other considerations for quick or mid-term improvements may focus on ways to close identified gaps or to stretch current resources to an untried level

Longer-range improvements identified by the agency take place over time, generally six months to two years. Long range changes often need additional levels of support, buy-in and resources in order to be effective and require a detailed written improvement planning document.

Implement

After solid, written improvement plans have been developed, the implementation phase begins. To prepare for each of the major initiatives in the continuous improvement plan, the agency should do the following:

Assign individuals or charter teams to complete the work. Chartering is the process by which expectations of a work team are clarified and translated into a specific scope of work;
Make public commitments about the improvements and what outcomes they will support;
Develop work capacity plans;
Develop finance and resource plans;
Develop communication plans that clearly explain the initiatives and how the initiatives will impact outcomes for clients;
Share detailed, written continuous improvement plans internally and externally as appropriate; and,
Develop and implement on-going evaluation and monitoring tools and techniques for accountability.

Once the scope of the work is defined in a charter, the team assigned to the work will create an action plan, detailing the specific tasks and timelines for completion of the charter goals and additional resources needed from the continuous improvement team and sponsor group.

Monitor

When implementing continuous improvement plans a focus on accountability is essential. Monitoring, is all about accountability and continuous adaptation based on emerging lessons learned. The continuous improvement team should decide how it will monitor progress and communicate the method to staff.

Utilizing all components mentioned above and detailed in the Change Management guidance will provide a clear picture and direction for an agency who expects to demonstrate top performance in achieving outcomes for children, youth and families.