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Course – Lesson 2: VI. Next Steps and Assignments

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NEXT STEPS AND ASSIGNMENTS

LESSON 2:VI – ????????????

What are the lesson assignments and next steps?

Your steps may be different depending on your situation. Ideally, you are taking this course as part of a cohort — a group made up of local 100% New Mexico initiative participants. You may be the co-community organizer, action team leader or member. This is ideal, as you can discuss the course and all the information presented with people you’ll be collaborating with. However, you might be taking this course because you wish to start a 100% New Mexico initiative and today, you are a solo champion seeking to recruit stakeholders. Either way, the following steps enrich your learning experience and prepare you for Lesson 3: Plan.

Visit the Virtual Innovation Center. We provide you with links to innovations in all ten key family-serving sectors. These innovations include a menu of various projects, from across the state, nation and globe to consider implementing. The projects identified are designed to strengthen family health, safety and learning systems — and support your local 100% Community innovation.

Reviewing your course textbooks. Ideally, you have a good supply of sticky notes and sharpie pens to make comments and questions throughout Anna, Age Eight, 100% Community, and Adaptive Leadership. This makes group discussion more lively and focused as you get answers to questions and challenge assumptions.
Reading Assignment: Course participants should read “Chapter 29: Continuous Quality Improvement Guides Us with Data” in 100% Community before starting Lesson: 3. Plan.

Meet with an initiative member or work colleague to discuss the following questions.

  1. How would CQI help improve the services that our families need?
  2. Why is it important to not skip the assess and planning steps before moving to action?
  3. Why is assessing your capacity to solve a problem an important step?

Convene with fellow initiative participants to discuss this lesson and the assessment process. Ask the co-community organizers about the status of the Resilient Community Experience Survey. The data provided by the survey guide the assessment work.

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Lesson 2: V

CQI QUESTIONS

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Lesson 3: I

PLAN

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Course – Lesson 2: V. CQI Questions

CQI QUESTIONS
QUESTIONS FOR ASSESSING

LESSON 2:V – HOW DO CQI QUESTIONS GUIDE OUR PROJECT DEVELOPMENT?

UNSKIPPABLE CQI QUESTIONS

These are the questions you and your action team members will need to answer as you identify innovations and projects.

Question 1: What is the challenge you identified?

Question 2: What data did you use to identify the challenge?

Question 3: What do data tell you about the size of the challenge?

Question 4: What do data tell you about which populations are being impacted by the challenge?

Question 5: What do data tell you about the current capacity of your agency, community or county to address the challenge?

Question 6: Which data can confirm that your challenge is a priority?

Question 7: What data and/or research illustrates the root causes of the challenge?

 

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Lesson 2: VI

CAPACITY

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Lesson 2: VI

NEXT STEPS

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Course – Lesson 2: IV. Capacity

CAPACITY
WHAT CAN WE SOLVE?

LESSON 2:IV – Q+A WITH AUTHORS KATHERINE ORTEGA COURTNEY, PHD AND DOMINIC CAPPELLO

How does one assess the capacity of a community to provide basic services (health care, behavioral health care, food, shelter, transportation, job placement)?

How does one assess the capacity of a community to provide basic services (health care, behavioral health care, food, shelter, transportation, job placement)?

Dominic Cappello responds:

Dominic Cappello responds:

Our resilient community experience survey answers two vital questions: can 100% of community members access 10 vital services, and if not what are the barriers? This provides an important first step in assessing the community’s capacity to provide the 10 basic services to its residents.

One can also research the current level of services, noting how many accept Medicaid and have sliding fee scale (so no one is turned away for lack of funds). To assess the quality of the services one would need to survey community members on their experiences (satisfaction level) using the services.

How does one assess the overall capacity of a community to protect its children from ACEs, child maltreatment and trauma?

How does one assess the overall capacity of a community to protect its children from ACEs, child maltreatment and trauma?

Katherine Ortega Courtney, PhD responds:

Katherine Ortega Courtney, PhD responds:

A community’s capacity to protect its children extends far beyond a child welfare system. Residents need to understand that child protective services is set up to respond after trauma has occurred. It is neither funded nor staffed to strengthen systems of support to keep abuse and neglect from happening in the first place. As our hypothesis demonstrates, families need access to 10 vital surviving and thriving services.

Additionally a community should have support from law enforcement, the courts and family advocates. Second, research will reveal which agencies are responsible for each of these areas and clarify if they are funded to prevent challenges, treat challenges or both. Thirdly, this requires the ability to assess and use data for planning, identify agency staffing and funding levels, assess political will and readiness to address the issues and identify community norms.

Why is it important to ask parents about their access to services?

Why is it important to ask parents about their access to services?

Dominic Cappello responds:

Dominic Cappello responds:

It is quite common to hear from agency representatives and government officials that, in general, services do exist for parents, and gaps are already understood. While this may be true in some localities, we can’t assume it’s true everywhere. Our Resilient Community Experience Survey will provide valuable data directly from those who need to access the services.

While maps and gap analyses are useful on a population level, sometimes families may not be aware of services, or know how to access them. By asking the parents and youth directly whether they are able to access services, we can not only find out whether services exist, but whether or not families are able to access them in a timely manner.

How does existing data from government departments inform the 100% community assessment process?

How does existing data from government departments inform the 100% community assessment process?

Katherine Ortega Courtney, PhD responds:

Katherine Ortega Courtney, PhD responds:

In most localities governments do provide general information about health, safety and education. This information is useful to inform the work of 100% community. The assessment process is designed to paint a big and detailed picture of all the challenges and strengths of a community. Using existing data from government departments along with data collected through the Resilient Community Experience Survey and informational interviews can help paint this picture. 

In part two of 100% Community, the majority of the leaders represented, also represent possible sources of data.

How can the survey results lead to more questions?

How can the survey results lead to more questions?

Dominic Cappello responds:

Dominic Cappello responds:

The survey results are a catalyst for many questions from community leaders, stakeholders and the public. They provide a starting place and an opportunity to dig deeper.

For example, if parents are stating that there is no need for behavioral health care at schools, this may contradict other survey results which indicate that students are seeking such services. This is a good example of how we must always analyze data and different data sources very carefully in order to understand the context and complexities of results. Another example is that survey results may suggest that there are gaps in medical care, while agency staff representing health care point out that these services do exist. This may be pointing to a access or perception issue rather than a lack of services issue, however more digging will be necessary possibly in the form of informational interviews with both health care staff and clients in order to identify the root cause of the problem.

How will we know when we're done with the assessment phase?

How will we know when we're done with the assessment phase?

Katherine Ortega Courtney, PhD responds:

Katherine Ortega Courtney, PhD responds:

The reality is that the assessment phase never ends. In the 100% New Mexico initiative we are always gathering data on the capacity of families to access 10 vital services. At a certain point, action teams must move on to the planning phase in order to address gaps and services. Teams will know it is time to move to the planning phase when they have identified a specific challenge through data analysis, and have a clear idea about what the root cause of that challenge might be. The CQI model also provides specific questions related to assessment that must be answered before moving on to the next phase.

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Lesson 2: III

CHALLENGES

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Lesson 2: V

CQI QUESTIONS

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Course – Lesson 2: III. Challenges

CHALLENGES
DATA REVEAL OUR PROBLEMS

LESSON 2:III – Q+A WITH AUTHORS KATHERINE ORTEGA COURTNEY, PHD AND DOMINIC CAPPELLO

What is the term data and how are data used in agencies and organizations?

What is the term data and how are data used in agencies and organizations?

Katherine Ortega Courtney, PhD responds:

Katherine Ortega Courtney, PhD responds:

Data are pieces of information used together as a basis for reasoning or inference. Data are used in a wide variety of ways within child welfare, health and education. Data are a part of many things including raw data, analyzed data, data from focus groups, informational interview, surveys, charts and tables. Data can be a collection of information used to evaluate programs, policy/procedure and processes within government system and entities outside of government.

Data highlight challenges in the systems and can be a tool to measure the impact of a solution.

What are the sources of data that agencies and organizations use?

What are the sources of data that agencies and organizations use?

Dominic Cappello responds:

Dominic Cappello responds:

Data sources include Department of Vital Records, Department of Health, Health and Human Services, Child Welfare and Department of Education. Data from local, state and national sources are used to measure our progress toward meaningful outcomes

What do the terms qualitative data and quantitative data mean and what are their key differences?

What do the terms qualitative data and quantitative data mean and what are their key differences?

Katherine Ortega Courtney, PhD responds:

Katherine Ortega Courtney, PhD responds:

Quantitative data are information collected from numbers. For example, the number of people in a room, how many attend an event, or someone’s height. It’s the “how much” question. Qualitative data are information gained from phrases, sentences or words that paint a picture. Qualitative data focused on the “why.” An example would be the description of visit between a child and their parent. It could also be information gained through a focus group.

What is the term capacity and how does it describe a local office’s ability to function effectively?

What is the term capacity and how does it describe a local office’s ability to function effectively?

Dominic Cappello responds:

Dominic Cappello responds:

Capacity is the ability or power to do, experience, or understand something. In the local office this could refer to staffing levels, services in the community, or facility structure.

What is an important role of data in identifying a local agency’s capacity to achieve goals?

What is an important role of data in identifying a local agency’s capacity to achieve goals?

Katherine Ortega Courtney, PhD responds:

Katherine Ortega Courtney, PhD responds:

Data in the form of numbers can demonstrate the reality of what’s going on in a government office or in a community. For example, if the office is lacking staff, it is tough to get traction on new initiatives. If the office is fully staffed and stable, it is easier to implement new initiatives.

What is the role of data in identifying and describing local clients?

What is the role of data in identifying and describing local clients?

Dominic Cappello responds:

Dominic Cappello responds:

Data can give us a better understanding of the background families come from and the challenges they face. Data can reveal and document needs in community for services. It can also help identify possible collaborators in the community. Data have the ability to reveal the effectiveness of certain practices.

What data sources are readily available to describe family and client populations?

What data sources are readily available to describe family and client populations?

Katherine Ortega Courtney, PhD responds:

Katherine Ortega Courtney, PhD responds:

Possible sources are county profiles, census data, county economic data, national child welfare data, Department of Health data, court data and criminal data. There may be other sources in your county to explore, such as data being collected by nonprofit service providers.

What is the importance of time management during participation in the course?

What is the importance of time management during participation in the course?

Dominic Cappello responds:

Dominic Cappello responds:

It is important to practice time management , especially during the assessment process. One can literally spend days digging into data sources. We do want due diligence but also do not you to become overwhelmed. It is also important to manage your time as you continue to do your everyday work and participate in the overall development of your innovation that follows the process of assessment, planning, action and evaluation.

What’s the importance of local office presentations to share the course topics with colleagues?

What’s the importance of local office presentations to share the course topics with colleagues?

Katherine Ortega Courtney, PhD responds:

Katherine Ortega Courtney, PhD responds:

The office of community mobilizers and action team members represent vital environments for public awareness and professional development. Presentations on all CQI phases are helpful and it’s important to keep office colleagues in the loop and promote the 100% New Mexico initiative local innovations. It is an opportunity to share the wealth of tools from the Institute and bring others on board to practice data-driven practice. CQI works at its best when all members of a team/office have a shared understanding of the policy/procedures, practices and data.

What is the participant's role in the evaluation of the course?

What is the participant's role in the evaluation of the course?

Dominic Cappello responds:

Dominic Cappello responds:

We are in a constant state of assessing our initiative and course. Evaluation of the course is always welcome as we seek honest reflection about the process from the participant’s perspective. It is a place to gather ideas for the future versions of the course and overall initiative. It is the participant’s opportunity to let us know what’s missing from the initiative, course or resources.

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Lesson 2: II

CONCEPTS

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Lesson 2: IV

CAPACITY

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