Ideas Welcome Here!

Jamie:

I agree 100% with Connie’s impression of the statewide summit. It was such a great experience to have the free exchange of ideas, but especially under the auspices of collaboration. Going into the meeting with the mutual understanding of shared ownership of goals and outcomes is something new, and establishing that from the beginning opens the door to a whole new set of conversations.

When Connie first started talking about holding a regional mini-summit, I got pretty excited. I knew that bringing that approach to a local level could really bring private and public agencies, as well as other partners involved with families together, and that we could develop better solutions together.

Shared Goal of Helping Families Succeed

Connie:

I’d heard about the work the Child Welfare Partners Committee (CWPC) was doing, but I didn’t know what to expect when I attended the statewide summit. To experience the open exchange of ideas and discussion was truly enlightening.

Everyone brought their unique perspective and together we were able to generate real momentum, which we can translate into better outcomes for families.

When we held our first local mini-summit, that day was probably one of the most positive and productive days in my career. It was wonderful to sit at the table with such a diverse range of professionals – child protective staff, social work case managers, judges, supervisors, family team meeting facilitators… We asked the question, “What are our strengths?”

We talked about how we could apply those to the challenges we face. Then we talked about what wasn’t working, and which were the most important issues to problem-solve to achieve the outcomes we need. Essentially we focused on the fact that everyone at the mini-summit shared the same goal of helping families succeed. We may serve in different roles, but we’re unified in that goal.