January Edition 2010 - New York Nonprofit Press

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14 New York Nonprofi t Press www.nynp.biz January ‘10 Family Team Conferencing It Takes a Team to Make a…Good… Decision It’s not often that new casework requirements imposed by government funders prove to be popular with folks on the frontline. Family Team Conferences may be the exception. “They are excellent,” says Celina Ovando, Family Team Conference Coordinator for the Adoption and Foster Care Division at The Children’s Village. “Excellent” is a word she uses a lot in describing the impact that Family Team Conferences are having on services for children and families at CV. Family Team Conferences are designed to improve critical decision making in foster care and preventive cases by ensuring the active participation of parents and children themselves, as well as foster parents, agency case workers, Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) staff, other service providers, community members and others offering support for the family. Conferences are intended to promote open and honest dialogue among all participants and ultimately reach a case decision based on group consensus. Key to the FTC process is the participation of a Facilitator who promotes discussion, helps a group reach consensus and clarifies agreed upon next steps including who will be responsible and timeframes for NATHAN & BERNSTEIN, CPA’S P.C. Notice The Difference Large firm expertise with personalized service Experts in all facets of Not-For-Profit Including ERISA compliance with NEW (403)b Audit Requirement Over 30 Years experience in Not-For-Profit Auditing and Consulting Our partners and staff include: ❑ Large public accounting firm audit experience ❑ Large Not-For-Profit CFO experience We understand your needs We will bring this experience to you! 516-203-1444 PH 646-649-0220 FAX www.nathanandbernsteincpas.com PROGRAM PROFILE when the steps will be taken. Facilitators are specially trained and independent of the case, having no prior involvement with the family. Family Team Conferences follow a carefully choreographed series of steps: Introduction Issue Identification Assessment Development of Ideas Decision Making and Plan Development Recap/ Evaluation/Closing The facilitator guides the conference through the process and ensures that children and families are respected and heard throughout the meeting: It is this commitment to respect and really hear what families and children have to say that accounts for the power of the FTC model, say participants. “We are getting very good feedback from families,” says Catharine Rafael, Supervisor of Family Team Conferencing at Abbot House. “They are telling us that it is a very good process for them to express their needs and their concerns. They really feel that they have a stronger voice in the planning process.” During the assessment stage, the Family Team Conference formally identifies and records the strengths of families and children. “They often react very positively to this part of the session,” says Susan Kyle, Administrative Supervisor for Family Support Services and Mental Health at Good Shepherd Services. “Very often, they are not used to having their strengths recognized. When a child or a parent hears that they are good at this or that, it balances out the discussion about things that are of concern.” Equally valuable, say FTC participants, is the clear statement of next steps that must be taken by individuals involved in the case. “It holds everyone accountable,” says Celina Ovando. “Case planners know what they need to do. It holds family members accountable for what they need to accomplish. It holds the agency accountable for what needs to be done.” The requirement to use Family Team Conferences as the vehicle for making case decisions is a fundamental component in ACS’ Improved Outcomes for Children (IOC) service model. Nine foster care agencies and five preventive services providers began piloting the model in November of 2007. Last June, all child welfare agencies under contract with ACS made the transition to IOC and FTCs. Under IOC, there are several different types of Family Team Conferences. ACS itself facilitates critical decision conferences. These include: Placement Preservation when there is a potential disruption to a child’s current placement; Discharge/Reunification prior sending a child home or discharging him or her from care; and, Changes in Permanency Planning Goals The conferences are making a difference, according to ACS. “In the past, a foster parent who might be overwhelmed by a child’s behavior would call and ask that the child be removed,” says ACS Deputy Commissioner Lorraine Stephens. “The agency would come pick the child up and move them to a new foster boarding home. Now, we are saying that a child can not be removed until we have a Family Team Conference. A lot of times we find the foster parents want to discuss services or supports they need. We have been able to preserve that placement for 35-40% of those cases. That means those children did not have to move. We are definitely starting to see some successes.” Agency staff also believe – if only based on anecdotal evidence – that the conferences are having an impact. “I feel that kids are spending less time in care,” says Celina Ovando. “People are really understanding that there is a time limit for everything they have to do. It is definitely working pretty well.” Case conferences, of course, are not new. In theory, child welfare agencies have always gathered casework staff and families to discuss critical decisions in the lives of children. In fact, however, ACS believes that all too often family members and children themselves were left out of the decision making process. “We were concerned that agencies were moving forward with planning without the birth parent, foster family or young person at the table,” says Stephens. ACS guidelines now require the participation of birth parents (if the child has not been freed for adoption), foster families and children over the age of ten. Getting everyone to the conferences has not always been easy. ACS ultimately backed off its initial requirement for full attendance and now mandates that agencies make diligent efforts to schedule at least two conferences. If key participants do not show up the second time, the conference moves forward. Nevertheless, says Stephens, parents and children are now involved. “We are not discharging a child home without having a family member at the table,” she says. “We are not discharging an adolescent out of care without making sure he has everything he needs in place.” While ACS facilitates critical decision conferences, agencies themselves are required to hold and facilitate Permanency Planning Conferences. These serve as the Service Plan Reviews (SPR) required by the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) and are held three months and six months after a child’s removal into foster care and then every six months thereafter. Creating a new system for scheduling family team conferences – and hiring and training facilitators to lead them -- has been a major task in the transition to IOC. Catholic Guardian Society and Home Bureau, which piloted the system during Phase I of IOC, has had as many as ten full time staff assigned to the effort. Like many agencies, CGSHB created a unit of facilitators within its Quality Management Department. “We wanted them to be functioning independently, rather than part of the foster boarding home program,” says Diane Berg-Appel, Director of Quality Management. Facilitators are assigned to cover conferences at various CGSHB program locations. For conferences to be accessible to participants, each facilitator must include a certain number of nights and weekends in their schedule. The FTC Facilitator is a new role within the child welfare system – and apparently a popular one. ACS required its own 85 Facilitators to be Masters level social workers. “We gave agencies more flexibility,” says Stephens. “We asked that their Facilitators have two years of case practice or group work experience, including some supervisory experience. We did not want young social workers with no experience on case practice.” Many agencies, it seems, have tried to use MSWs. “I was concerned that MSWs might find it limiting and that they wouldn’t be doing enough clinical work,” says Berg- Appel. “But, they enjoy it. I think they feel like they are making an impact.” “I like the position,” says Celina Ovando. “Now I can work with a lot of families. It is a different type of social work. It is excellent.”
January ‘10 New York Nonprofi t Press www.nynp.biz 15 An overriding trend in today’s nonprofit marketplace is change. This change has been so significant that today’s nonprofit organization is very different than the nonprofit organization of a decade ago. Nonprofit managers who understand how the sector has changed and have been able to shift their thinking to effectively deal with new critical issues will be able to help their organizations flourish over the next few years. One of the most dramatic changes in the sector can be seen in the area of staffing. For many nonprofit executives, a reduced workforce has made it difficult to deliver programs and services to fulfill their organization’s mission. In addition, due to a tide of layoffs in managerial ranks, many believe organizations will face a shortage of qualified management candidates over the next five to ten years as well. Despite tight budgets, as the economy continues to improve, nonprofits will need to fill vacancies and add new positions in 2010. How well an organization flourishes over the next few years will depend on how well it rebuilds its workforce and how skillfully management can handle current tasks at hand as well as prepare for the future. We suggest the following to our clients: Resetting Priorities Facing the new reality requires a resetting of organizational priorities. Certainly this past year has taught us a different mind set and this may be a good time to evaluate organizational capabilities and staff talent. Reworking job descriptions, evaluating the effectiveness of performance reviews, making certain that salaries are competitive with similar organizations in the marketplace, reviewing processes and procedures are all critical issues that should be addressed now rather than later. Retaining Staff One of the most important objectives for every executive is to retain as many talented employees for as long as possible. Studies show that the vast majority of employees stay with an organization in which they feel comfortable and appreciated. Encouraging professional and career growth, paying a fair salary, and promoting from within are ways to ensure that you retain the best staff you can. Using Temps STRENGTHENING NONPROFITS Planning for the Future in a Downsized Organization Learning how to use temps is the first line of defense in managing workloads with a reduced workforce. Temps have been used by the for-profit sector for decades as a cost effective way to manage labor needs. Nonprofit executives who understand how to use temps to fill in staff deficiencies, end up saving time, effort, and money while accomplishing all that needs to get done. At a time when a reduced staff can slow down projects, hiring temps is a sensible management tool and a relief to the staff you have. Outsourcing Services Outsourcing is another cost effective way to respond to the need for greater expertise in specialized areas. Outsourcing administrative functions, like payroll, can be used to better leverage existing resources by focusing staff on core functions most vital to creating value for the organization. As a result, staff can be more focused on core activities while support services are efficiently provided by outside sources. Hiring Staff Develop a plan for the next few years on how to bring in the staff you need as your organization’s finances improve. Competing for top talent will be your organization’s top priority and most critical issue. Because of how important the employees you hire are to the success of your organization, we suggest the following to all our clients: Learn how to find and hire the “right” staff for your organization. To develop an organization of top performers, you must develop your skills as a talent scout. Be on the look out for talent all the time. When you meet anyone who impresses you, ask if you can get in touch when a job opening occurs at your organization. If they are not interested, ask them to recommend someone they feel is as good as they are. Never search for the best candidate to hire – always seek the right candidate for your organization. Numerous studies have shown that employees who stay at their jobs are those where the fit is right. Know the culture of your organization and what kind of employee will fit into your environment. Make certain that you can compete effectively in the talent marketplace by offering salaries that are in the same range as similar organizations. Losing a choice candidate (by usually saving a relatively small amount of money) and settling for someone with less experience may not be the most cost effective decision for your organization in the long run. The Strengthening Nonprofits column is made possible through the financial support of United Way of New York City (UWNYC). The views expressed in the column are those of the author, and are not necessarily those of UWNYC. UWNYC does not edit or control the content of this column. www.unitedwaynyc.org Do not hire based only on the skills listed in the job description. Seek candidates with the essential skills to do the work required and then look for attributes that make good employees – intelligent, hardworking, problem solving team players. Learn how to speak about your organization emphasizing your organization’s major points of appeal. Learn how to sell your organization. Because you are looking for the right person who will thrive in your organization, your organization is perfect for that person. Learn how to interview. A Harvard study notes that more than 75% of turnover can be traced to poor interviewing skills and processes. If you have an appropriate job description, learn how to interview and then seek the right candidate to fit your organization, you will be more assured of hiring a productive employee who stays. Listen to your instincts. It is said that an employer decides to hire someone within the first 30 seconds of an interview. Good instincts can be developed and honed by paying attention to detail. Learn to listen to your instincts. Speed up your organization’s operating velocity. When you find the candidate that you feel is right for your organization, hire quickly. More organizations lose the hire of their choice by taking too long to make an offer and the candidate is hired by another organization. Move as fast as you can. Learn how to use a search firm when you need one – preferably one that specializes in nonprofit staffing. If you are not finding the kind of staff your organization requires or when important staffing decisions are at stake, a good search firm will help focus your energy for the best results. While you only conduct a search when you have a need to hire, a search firm conducts searches every day so they have experience and connections to the best talent and can reach people who you may not be able to reach in the marketplace. In summary, how well an organization thrives over the next few years will be determined by the ability of its executives and managers to bring in the right talent and rebuild a strong and effective workforce in their organizations. Gayle A. Brandel is President/CEO of Professionals for NonProfits. www.nonprofitstaffing.com
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January Edition 2010 - New York Nonprofit Press

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