1 NIATx Coach Call October 31, 2012 Sustaining Change 1.NIATx case study: Betta Owens 2.Sustainability theory and new NIATx research: Jay Ford 3.Discussion, questions, comments What are the implications for future coaching?

2 Overview Sustaining Change: Re-entry in Leslie Co. KY Betta Owens NIATx Coach Call, 10/31/2012

3 Re-entry % of children re-entering foster care after family reunification  Federal target 10%  KY State average is 15%  Leslie County KY consistently higher  Baseline established 2007 thru 2009 = 25%  Children re-entering increasing by 1% per year

4 Project Timeframe Active change project: –8/2010 thru 7/2011 Sustain period: –8/2011 thru present

5 Sponsors KY Dept. of Child Welfare’s DCBS Susan Howard, Regional Administrator for Eastern Mountain Service Region’s Dept. of Community Based Services KY River Community Care Michael Kadish, Director of Kentucky River Community Care’s Families in Safe Homes Network (FISHN)

6 Key players State Dept. of Child Welfare –Dept. of Community Based Services County Team Supervisor, Div. of Protection & Permanency workers, nurse (DPP) Family Court –Judge, Co. Attorney Community Resources –KRCC –Family Preservation Project –Schools –UK-TAP –LKLP

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8 Changes made: (from Sept thru June 2011) 1.A.M. meeting of DPP worker & Co. Attorney prior to Family Court 2.Toolkit and checklist used by DCBS at time of referral 3.Convene pre-adjudication trial conference 4.Family Preservation Program involvement/presence at court 5.Service Team meetings

9 Re-entry rates during active change (8/2010 thru 7/2011) 32 children were in or entered foster care during this period 22 of those returned home during that period 0 children re-entered

10 Re-entry rates since sustaining (8/2011 thru present) 28 children were in or entered foster care during this period 10 of those returned home during that period 0 Re-entered

11 Elements of the Sustain Plan (Based on Part 3 of the NIATx Change Project Form) What was the financial impact of this change project? At end of project (8/2011) $76,000 had been saved Who is the Sustain Leader? Rita Jeffers, Leslie Co. Supervisor, Division of Protection and Permanency

12 Sustain Plan cont’d. What changes do you want to sustain? 1.Weekly meeting of DPP worker & Co. Attorney prior to Family Court 2.Toolkit and checklist used by DCBS at time of referral 3.Pre-adjudication trial conference 4.Family Preservation Program involvement/presence at court 5.Service Team meetings

13 Sustain Plan cont’d. What steps are being taken to ensure changes will stay in place? Procedures and definitions are documented for each of the 5 changes. Barriers identified and formally addressed in documentation (e.g. family presence foremost at service team meeting; what happens if FPP worker cannot be present at Family Court… )

14 Sustain Plan cont’d. What is the target sustain measure---the point at which the Change Team would intervene to get the project back on track? Re-entry of 10% or greater

15 Sustain Plan cont’d. What system is in place to effectively monitor the sustain measure? The Change Leader, Kristie Combs, tracks and reviews monthly data on families. Rita Jeffers oversees sustain procedures at the County level. Rita and Kristie meet monthly to discuss observations.