1. Bringing Voices from the Margins to the Center: Community Engagement at DHS
In bell hooks’ center/margin theory for any defined group, esp. one with any power, influence, or control, there is a center and a margin, where the center has more power, influence, or control than the margin. In her book, hooks writes as she recalls her childhood in the south: living as we did – on the edge – we developed a particular way of seeing reality. We looked from both the outside in and inside out. We focused out attention on the center as well as the margin. We understood both. This mode of seeing reminded us of the existence of a whole universe, a main body made up of both margin and center. It is a disrupting view of not subjugating one’s view of only situating in a position of disadvantage. Our presentation reflects on the work of how to bring voices from the margins to the center, to the bureaucracy that is he Minnesota Dpt of Human Services.
Antonia Wilcoxon, Director of Community Relations
Sarah Myott, Coordinator of Surveys and Opinion Research
Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS)

2. Presentation Objectives
Community engagement efforts at DHS
Challenges
Successes
Next steps
The Cultural and Ethnic Communities Leadership Council provided a set of recommendations to the agency. This grant sought to take one of the recommendations from the council and sought financial support to implement it: the need to include the voices of those we serve in the early planning and development of policy ideas.

3. Community Engagement Efforts
DHS mission: “helps people meet their basic needs so they can live in dignity and achieve their highest potential”
Bush Foundation Community Innovation Grants: Identify Need, Increase Collective Understanding of Issue, Generate Ideas, Test and Implement Solutions, Achieve Community Innovation: breakthrough more effective, equitable and sustainable than existing approaches
The Bush Foundation Community Innovation Grants required similar criteria to the council’s recommendations.

4. Community Engagement Efforts
Cultural and Ethnic Communities Leadership Council (CECLC) recommendations, 2015:
When developing strategic initiatives and work plans, DHS managers and supervisors will ensure that communities experiencing inequities are engaged through the planning, program development, program evaluation and decision-making process. (Equity Policy, DHS, 2016)

5. Rationale for Grant Application:
Community voices and recommendations into action: Research shows that participatory, democratically led community engagement, whereby every voice is heard and consensus is achieved, results in better outcomes. This method will ensure that the agency is indeed considering diverse perspectives before policies and program decisions are made.

6. Purpose of Community Engagement Surveys
Gather baseline information about DHS’ preparedness to carry out community engagement.
Help inform work under Bush Community Innovation Grant as well as agencywide work.
Post-surveys will be conducted with each audience near the end of grant.

7. Survey Participants
DHS leadership: members of Senior Management Team, directors, nominated grant participants
Community leadership: community representatives on CECLC and former Disparities Reduction Advisory Council

8. Method Online surveys were sent out in September 2015.
Agency survey asked leaders to rate themselves and perceptions of their division.
Community survey asked leaders to rate their overall perception of DHS.

9. Response Rates 53 percent of agency leaders responded (58 out of 109).
50 percent of community leaders responded (61 out of 123).

10. Data Analysis
Descriptive statistics used for closed-ended questions to report on percentages.
Inductive thematic analysis, a qualitative approach, used to analyze the responses to open-ended questions to identify themes.
Reliability checks done across three coders.

11. Limitations
Agency survey findings only reflect leadership perspective, not agencywide perspectives.
Community survey findings don’t necessarily represent broader community perceptions of DHS.
Don’t know what may have been different between those who responded and those who didn’t.

12. Finding: Cultural and ethnic (C&E) communities do not trust DHS.

13. Level of Trust that C&E Communities Have with DHS.

14. Level of DHS Skill in Building Trust and Relationships with C&E Communities

15. Finding: Community and agency leaders perceive barriers to authentic community engagement differently.

16. Different Perception of Top Barriers
Agency leaders see top barriers as:
Lack of time, resources, skills and investment
Community leaders see top barriers as:
Inflexibility or lack of willingness of DHS to adjust and prioritize.
Lack of recognition of the power dynamics at play, including institutional racism and white privilege.
Lack of staff diversity and authentic inclusion in agency leadership and decision-making.

17. Extent to Which DHS is Willing to Adapt to Respond to the needs and Ideas of C&E Communities

18. Finding: Both community and agency leaders identified DHS’ limited skill in incorporating feedback into planning and decision-making.

19. Skill in Incorporating C&E Community Feedback into Planning and Decision-making

20. Survey Recommendations
Ensure commitment by DHS Senior Management.
Prioritize resources needed to carry out authentic community engagement.
Recognize power dynamics and address historical barriers, such as structural racism and white privilege.
Identify ways to be flexible to accommodate community needs.

21. Event Evaluations to Date
Event participants report very much so or completely:
The event engaged them in a meaningful way. (100 percent)
Likely to attend future events like this one held by DHS. (85 percent)
Event participants report at least moderately:
Organizers described how they will be kept informed of DHS decisions or actions. (89 percent)
Feel confident that event will lead to better outcomes for my community. (85 percent)
Level of trust in interacting with DHS has improved as a result of the event. (56 percent)

22. What (and how) are we Doing Now?
DHS administered survey to equity-focused community members and agencywide leaders.
Revealed contrast between internal and community perspective.
Building an agencywide equity policy that emphasizes engagement of people impacted by our actions.

23. Next Steps: Review and de-brief event with leadership.
Inquire about their commitment to more events.
Establish a community of practice.
Change culture: More such events become the norm.
Ensure populations impacted by inequities are well-known by agency leadership.

24. Contact: Antonia Wilcoxon Community Relations Director
Sarah Myott Coordinator of Surveys and Opinion Research