The next collection of posts is a workgroup formed to address a specific issue. Evan represents the Iowa Dept. of Human Services and Doug represents a private agency.
First Things First
Another example of partnership in practice is the FSRP Safe & Timely Case Closure Workgroup.
Charged with a fast-track task, the team needed to perform an in-depth analysis of the current Family Safety Risk & Permanency (FSRP) contract configuration and recommend changes for the payment structure. The FSRP program is relatively new – it’s how we work with families that have documented abuse or neglect.
Key to our results was the decision to first take time to think through the best practices of keeping children safe. We realized we couldn’t talk about payments at all until we talked about how we work together so that we can jointly do the best job for Iowa’s kids and families.
Naturally, successful practice is first and foremost when we work in child welfare, but the public and private agencies had unique insight from their own perspectives. And that insight included what was going well…and what wasn’t.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Monday, January 4, 2010
Right – we had this great experience with finding out the best way to train staff and families on Family Interaction, and then it turned into other opportunities. We took the training and built it into DHS internal new worker training. Everyone was so excited about the success of the training, and the inclusive atmosphere, that we started thinking how this could translate into other areas.
We have these monthly meetings about contracts with providers (private agencies) and we try to problem solve. Well, after the Family Interaction trainings we thought, “A-ha!” and realized providers should be in on those meetings, too! Public and private agencies have the same goal: child safety, permanency and well-being. We have different experiences and different observations that can help us achieve that goal. Together.
It’s really spilled over into what we do every day. And that’s the whole purpose, right?
Wendy
We have these monthly meetings about contracts with providers (private agencies) and we try to problem solve. Well, after the Family Interaction trainings we thought, “A-ha!” and realized providers should be in on those meetings, too! Public and private agencies have the same goal: child safety, permanency and well-being. We have different experiences and different observations that can help us achieve that goal. Together.
It’s really spilled over into what we do every day. And that’s the whole purpose, right?
Wendy
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