Date post: | 16-Dec-2015 |
Category: |
Documents |
Upload: | cornelius-leslie |
View: | 217 times |
Download: | 2 times |
Making an Impact:
Representing the Family Voice on Committees and
Advisory Councils
What is the goal of strong family voices?
• Shared leadershipShared leadership• Families driving the Families driving the
system, not just system, not just commenting on itcommenting on it
• Family experiences Family experiences shaping the system shaping the system from the ground up, from the ground up, not at the edgesnot at the edges
• Other reasons?Other reasons?
The Parents’ Voice!
• Advisory Committees• Task Forces• Councils
Value of partnership• Think of a time when you
had a successful partnership to accomplish your goals…• What did you bring to
the partnership?– What did your partner
bring?– How did you know it
was working?– What were/are the
benefits of working with someone as opposed to working on your own?
Why have committees/councils?
• Provide specialized expertise that may be missing from staff
• Serve as ambassadors, building bridges into the community
• Survey the need for enhancing existing activities
• Bring in resources• Conduct evaluation
and oversight activities
Functions of Councils
• Help maintain accountability or meet demands of external constituents
• Bring in outside support and expertise, linking the program to everything from grassroots community concerns to celebrities and potential funders
Ground Rules for Participation
• Focus on learning with and from each other
• Be open in sharing with peers without fear of judgment
• Stay curious; then move towards solutions
• Identify yourself each time before speaking
• Wait for speaker to finish before you speak
Token vs. Meaningful Participation
• No preparation or information given prior to participation
• No meaningful role in meeting or forum
• Often one time only participation
• Professionals talk “around you” using acronyms and terminology unfamiliar to you
• Adequate notice of the meeting and material supports are provided to assist with your attendance
• Materials and/or an orientation is provided prior to the meeting
• Your input is valued and individuals work with you to clarify terminology, systems and policies that you may be unfamiliar with
• Follow-up is provided
Common Pitfalls
• Lack of clarity of purpose, role or scope
• Lack of awareness of overall mission
• Unclear expectations of individual members
• Lack of leadership, support from key staff
• Improper or inappropriate composition
Common Pitfalls
• Haphazard recruitment process
• Lack of clarity, interaction with the governing or appointing authority
• Underutilizing of individual members
• Advisory Council overstepping its role
• Absence of orientation, continuing education
• Others?
Roles
• Program creation & planning
• Development of program policy
• Planning & implementing public relations
• Funding leadership
• Subcommittees
Other Roles
• Helping to write & review materials
• Helping develop a strategic plan
• Assessing organizational performance
• Organizing special activities
• Identifying needs & needed services
• Cultural guides/brokers
Am I ready to serve?
• Am I able to set aside the needs of my own child and look at the “big picture”?
• Would my feelings (such as anger or anxiety or sadness) make me less effective than I’d want to be?
• Can I set aside my own
emotional issues?
Am I ready to serve?
• Is it a good use of my skills and time?
• What talents or strengths could I bring to this group?
• Can I commit the necessary time?
• Could my participation make a difference for children
and families?
Becoming an effective participant
• Ask yourself if you feel welcome there. If not, what can you do to improve the situation?
• Be willing to listen at first. Learn about the people, the
issues, programs, and background information before offering advice or opinions.
Becoming an effective participant
Be willing to say, “I don’t know yet” or “I need more information to comment on that issue.”
• Ask questions about anything you don’t understand. If acronyms are used, ask if there is a list of acronyms and
definitions. • Ask where you can find
information covered at a previous meeting.
Becoming an effective participant
• Learn all you can about your agency/institution’s structure, policy, and administration.
• Do your homework. Read materials provided to
participants.• Come prepared to
contribute.• Develop an
understanding of the “big picture” issues
facing the agency/ institution, beyond those of your own child and
family.
Opportunities to Learn
• Helps keep Advisory Board/Committee members active & motivated
• Improves the quality of their contributions
• Gives them additional skills that can benefit them in other areas of their lives
“Rules for Governance”
• How will the Advisory board/committee govern itself?
• Will there be officers? Committee chairs?• How will decisions be reached? Consensus?
Vote?• What to do if there are conflicts of interest?• How active must one be to remain on the
Advisory Board/committee?
“Rules for Governance”
• Application form?• Who sets the agenda? How do new items get
added?• When & how are meeting notices & minutes
sent out?• What is the impact of an Advisory Board/
committee decision?
Common Ground Rules
• Encourage the group to look at its mission statement (if one exists) and answer these questions: – Does it provide
direction for the group?
– Is it clear? – Is there a need to
write or rewrite a mission statement?
Common Ground Rules
• Help clarify expectations. Do members expect only to give advice, or do some also expect the advice to be followed? How do members feel about this? Do expectations need to be examined or made clearer?
• Be sure members treat each other respectfully. Do parents listen to each other’s unique perception and experience?
Common Ground Rules
• Be sure that meetings are run in a timely, organized way.
• Making and following an agenda is effective.
• Support productive decision making. Are conclusions reached by consensus, or do discussions continue with no resolution or closure?
Common Ground Rules
• One person at a time
• Listen to others• No mocking or
attacking• Be on time• Respect each
other
Shared leadership is important because:
• Multiple perspectives & diverse strengths and talents are combined to achieve goals
• Families know how systems really work “on the ground”
We learn leadership in many ways
• Learn from others who serve as role models
• Learn from formal training
• “Just do it”
Practices of Exemplary Leadership
I. Challenging the processII. Inspiring a shared visionIII. Enabling others to actIV. Modeling the WayV. Encouraging the heart
How have you demonstrated exemplary leadership?
Your Leadership Roles
What committees, advisory groups, or boards do you participate on?
How have you already been working to improve systems for children and families?
Telling the real deal
• Based on your personal experience with child & family-serving systems (education, health, mental health, child welfare)• What’s working?• What’s not working?• How do the systems
intersect well?• How do they break
down?• What one thing
could make it better?
What can you do?• Individual family capacity-building– Promoting community education– Educating providers– Fostering coalitions & networks– Changing organizational practices– Influencing policy & legislation
You as a leader in family strengthening
• What are your strengths? What is the one thing you can most contribute as a leader in family strengthening?
– Think about your communication skills, your ability to develop team spirit, to bring people together, your ability to problem solve, to see new solutions, your capacity to inspire others.
• What will you do next week?
THANK YOU!