Gathering 2010 - Monday 1400 - Scott County

• Download PowerPoint presentation file: Gathering2010_Mon1400_Scott_County.ppt (1.8MB)

Presenters:
Suzanne Arntson-Scott County Children’s Services Supervisor, Minnesota
Karen Kandik-Scott County Children’s Services Supervisor, Minnesota

Abstract:
Scott County child protection supervisors will highlight the experience of several staff via video clips regarding our agency’s experience in implementing Signs of Safety. The video clips will provide the audience with the worker prospective on the implementation process, the strengths regarding the change process and how their learning could be used to help other agencies in their own change process. A video clip of Scott County’s lead judge will also provide participants with a judicial prospective on how the work looks different and how child safety has improved. Presenters will focus on creating a transparent change process and the critical role supervisors play in creating a parallel process.

Presentation Description
Scott County supervisors will speak to the internal process of change and implementation of the Signs of Safety framework. The presentation will highlight a video clip from our lead CHIPS (Child in Need of Protection Petition) judge with her thoughts on:

• How the work looks different
• How child safety has improved
• The difference it has made for families/the system

Video clips from several staff will also provide the audience with worker feedback on the process of organizational and practice change and what learning they have taken from the change process. The presenters will focus discussion on:

• The importance of transparency in a change process
• Use of mapping to assure all voices are heard
• Emphasis on the supervisors’ role in modeling a parallel process

We have come to learn the vital importance of creating an atmosphere of transparency between staff, supervisors and agency administration. Transparency must be modeled at the supervisor level as it models the culture that the agency intends for workers to use in their work with children and families. The idea is that “If we are thinking it, we will put it on the table”. A critical element in the implementation of Signs of Safety is the willingness and ability of supervisors to be vulnerable and to take the approach that we do not know or have all the answers. The process of finding answers is where the work really happens and how successful supervisor-staff and staff-family relationships are developed. We will speak to the benefits of supervisors modeling the willingness to take risks and expose their own learning journey to their staff.

We have found the use of mapping on an organizational/unit level to be instrumental in addressing worst fears and best hopes as well as a vehicle to create energy to do “the hard work”. The hard work involves the process of internal change as well as the hard work with families. Part of our presentation will focus on how staff participated in mapping to make decisions about the structure of their work and work with other units in the agency.