Now Relatives are Engaged

One particularly interesting thing about involving more relatives that we used to is what we hear from them. Most relatives felt they had to jump through several hoops to be involved in the case of a family member. They felt intimidated, obstructed or both. Now we openly seek out relatives who can supervise visits, transport family members, provide respite or provide temporary care for children.

We’ve heard relatives say no one ever asked them in the past. Now it’s standard operation!

It’s the same with family friends. There was a standing misperception that if a family has an issue, all the friends of the family would be considered the same. I’ve heard Jody talk about a good friend of a mom that came to a family team meeting. She attended, but she sat in the corner and didn’t talk. Jody brought her in the conversation and in on the solution-focus by saying directly to her, “I’m counting on you to help her meet her requirements. Because you are so important to her, YOU can make it happen.”

We’re always paying attention during family visits to note visitors or people mentioned in conversation who may be a good addition to that informal support team. We sometimes literally use the line, “Wait a minute…who was that?” to discover additional team members.

In the end, all of this is important because it establishes trust, which makes success possible. We have to establish it with the families and with the people who touches the families. This is what we really try to model with our staff – we communicate with each other and build that trust, and we build that same trust with the families.

Getting the whole team involved

Working in a partnership model has been a great boost for employee morale. When we’re meeting as a team, supervisors for both public and private agencies have an opportunity to model for staff. When Heidi is in a meeting with staff from both agencies, she will provide great input and consultation. Her staff sees that and can feel comfortable speaking up and giving their input. They are inspired to take part in the conversation and the solutions. My staff sees that it is a partnership and that it takes information from everyone to make the best solution.

We are also in a position to help each other support our staff. We’re all working with the same family, and since we’re communicating, we experience the ups and downs of a case together. That enables staff to respond to issues on the case quicker, but also to support each other. The unique perspective we each bring to the case is important, which is why case management is structured the way it is.

Jody