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Strengthening Child Welfare Supervision as a Key Practice Change Strategy

Unit I: Helping Child Welfare Leaders Re-

conceptualize Supervision

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The Current State of Supervision

• First step is an analysis of the present reality

• What are some of the common roles supervisors currently play in your agency?

• Think of a role as a typical function for which supervisors are responsible or typical behaviors they engage in

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The Current State of Supervision

Examples• Recruit and hire staff• Manage staff workload• Set and communicate expectations• Teach/coach/train/mentor• Provide direction and clinical case consultation• Monitor and evaluate individual and unit

performance• Motivate staff• Authorize decisions and actions

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The Current State of Supervision

• Managers are usually focused on maintaining the current systems– Planning and budgeting – Organizing and staffing – Controlling and problem solving

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A New Role for Supervisors: Practice Change Agent

• Think of supervisors as practice change agents who provide clinical supervision that proactively directs the achievement of the outcomes

• Change: deliberate, planned, ongoing, practice modifications that result in improved outcomes defined by leadership

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A New Role for Supervisors: Practice Change Agent

• Instead of merely managing change, supervisors must lead change by – Defining what future practice should look like– Aligning staff with that vision– Inspiring them to make it happen

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A New Role for Supervisors: Practice Change Agent

• Why supervisors are well positioned to be effective in this role as a change agent– Critical link between administrators and

frontline workers– Highly visible role models for workers– Give clinical direction that guides what

workers do with children and families

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A New Role for Supervisors: Practice Change Agent

Agency Leaders and StakeholdersDefine the mission, vision, values, and desired outcomes for the agency

SupervisorsLead the change in practice to achieve those outcomes

Frontline WorkersImplement practice changes in a team with supervisor and coworkers

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The Current State of Supervision

• Which category do each of these current roles best fit under?– Compliance monitor (CM) – Practice change agent (PCA)

• It is important to strike a balance between these two roles– Implementing successful practice changes requires

both good leadership and good management

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A New Role for Supervisors: Practice Change Agent

Using Data

• Using data to understand where the agency stands with respect to outcomes, both at the agency level and at the unit and worker level – Children and Family Services Reviews and

Program Improvement Plan development– Quality Assurance or Continuous Quality

Improvement process

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A New Role for Supervisors: Practice Change Agent

Using Data• CFSR and PIP

1. Participate in CFSR Statewide Assessment– Assess agency performance

» 7 outcome areas » 7 systemic factors

– Present changes in practice and performance that resulted from PIP

– Assess agency’s strengths and challenges– Identify issues and geographic locations for further

examination during Onsite Review

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A New Role for Supervisors: Practice Change Agent

Using Data• CFSR and PIP

2. Participate in CFSR Onsite Review– Gather information through case file reviews and case-

related interviews with children, parents, foster parents, caseworkers, and other professionals involved with the child

– Answer key questions about each case– Provide ratings to indicate strengths, areas needing

improvement, and levels of outcome achievement

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A New Role for Supervisors: Practice Change Agent

Using Data• CFSR and PIP

3. Participate in PIP Development– As liaisons between the field and central office, help

interpret the CFSR results by region or by office and identify practice or systems issues that contribute to the problems

– Provide input into the creation of strategies and action plans

– Help top management “reality-test” reasons for the results and viable strategies for improvement

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A New Role for Supervisors: Practice Change Agent

Using Data• QA/CQI Process

1. Serve as a reviewer

2. Interpret results of reviews

3. Review cases during supervision

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A New Role for Supervisors: Practice Change Agent

Using Data• QA/CQI Process

4. Receive regular performance feedback• Prepare, access, or receive routine SACWIS reports for

region, unit, office, or individual workers• Regularly communicate with QA/CQI staff to learn

about issues or trends that have surfaced in case reviews

5. Recommend changes to practice

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A New Role for Supervisors: Practice Change Agent

Providing Clinical Supervision• As key practice consultants, supervisors should

provide systematic, frequent case review and direction aimed at the achievement of safety, permanency, and well-being

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A New Role for Supervisors: Practice Change Agent

Clinical Supervision Expectations• Who will participate in the case consultation or

review? • At what level will data be reviewed?• How will data be gathered for review?• What type of data will be reviewed?• What decisions and plans will be made?

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A New Role for Supervisors: Practice Change Agent

Clinical Supervision Expectations• What should be documented during or after

the review and consultation, where should it be documented, and by whom?

• When will consultation occur? • How will consultation take place?

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A New Role for Supervisors: Practice Change Agent

Changing Practice: Data and Supervision • Data

– Timeliness of initiating investigations on reports of child maltreatment

• Supervision– Allow workers to volunteer based on caseloads– Communicate clear expectations about timeframes– Instruct workers to make multiple attempts to contact– Instruct workers to use all resources to find family– Help workers identify and overcome barriers

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A New Role for Supervisors: Practice Change Agent

Successful Practice Change Agents• Learn what data and performance indicators

are important to monitor and why• Learn where to find these data and how to

interpret them• Follow established expectations for frequent,

systematic case consultation• Provide case direction aimed at the

achievement of safety, permanency, and well-being

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A New Role for Supervisors: Practice Change Agent

A New Vision for Supervision

• Practice Change Agent Roles– Create and communicate agency and unit

vision– Inspire and energize staff commitment to

vision and outcomes– Participate in case file reviews (federal or

agency)

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A New Role for Supervisors: Practice Change Agent

A New Vision for Supervision• Practice Change Agent Roles

– Interpret case review results (federal or agency)

– Monitor and interpret SACWIS performance data

– Prepare plans to improve outcome achievement

– Provide systematic, frequent, clinical case consultation

• Current Roles

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Supporting Supervisors as Practice Change Agents

Leader Support• It is imperative that leaders support supervisors

in becoming and being practice change agents• Leaders can be supportive by

– Valuing supervisors and conveying their importance– Communicating leader commitment to supervisors– Inspiring and energizing commitment among

supervisors– Removing barriers or obstacles to effective

supervision– Implementing facilitators for effective supervision

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Supporting Supervisors as Practice Change Agents

Leader Support• What specific supports do supervisors already

receive from management?• What additional supports might supervisors need

from management?– Time– More or fewer staff– Money– Information– Training/education

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Supporting Supervisors as Practice Change Agents

Agency Changes• What would need to change in the agency for

supervisors to take on this new role as a practice change agent?– Which changes are essential? – Which are possibilities? – Which are out of the question?

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Developing a Planning Structure for Changing the Role of Supervisors

• To reduce the gap between the current and future state of supervision, a person or group must take responsibility for making it happen

• Top management can – Do it themselves– Personally oversee or manage it– Delegate it to an individual or group

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Developing a Planning Structure for Changing the Role of Supervisors

• As leaders, you have already done most of the essential steps that must be done by the leaders– Describing the current state of supervision – Envisioning a desired state– Identifying what supports and changes might

be necessary

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Developing a Planning Structure for Changing the Role of Supervisors

• Who will be responsible for developing the strategies for enlisting supervisors as practice change agents?

• Questions to consider

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Developing a Planning Structure for Changing the Role of Supervisors

• Which method will work best for your agency?

– Do it yourselves (individual or group)– Directly oversee or manage (an individual or

group)– Delegate (to an individual or group)

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Developing a Planning Structure for Changing the Role of Supervisors

• Who should you consider?– Director, administrator, or member of leadership team– Members of middle management– Supervisors– Frontline staff– QA or CQI staff– CFSR coordinator– Training manager and staff– Data/report manager (IT)– Community stakeholders– Court personnel– Clinical specialists/consultants

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Developing a Planning Structure for Changing the Role of Supervisors

Preliminary Planning1. What is the role of the person or group?

2. What is the duration of the project (or the work group’s existence)?

3. What is the plan for communication between the person or work group and the agency leadership?

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Developing a Planning Structure for Changing the Role of Supervisors

Preliminary Planning4. What charge will the person or group be

given?

5. What are the value, roles, and responsibilities of supervisors in achieving the agency’s mission?

6. What supports and resources will leadership provide the person or work group?

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Expectations and Follow-up Activities

1. Summarizing and distributing today’s discussion

2. Deciding names of individuals

3. Informing identified individuals

4. Planning Unit 2

5. Conducting Unit 2