PIÑON PERSPECTIVESNM CYFD PROTECTIVE SERVICES MAY 2014

Welcome to Piñon Perspectives. We will continue to share updates on our Piñon “process” that in-cludes work life and culture, policies and pro-grams, professional development, and innovation. In this issue we interview Maya McNight with Youth Services Bureau, share updates on Adap-tive Leadership Training, and provide an update on STEP (Striving Toward Excellence Program) our Data Scholars Initiative. We hope you enjoy this issue and look forward to your insights, com-ments, and an on-going dialogue.

PART 1: WELCOME

ONWARD, UPWARD

YOUR PERSPECTIVESPiñon Perspectives e-magazine is designed by the Protective Services - Research, Assessment and Data Bureau. We encourage you to share your ideas for:

Articles about your areas of interest Research on best practice Local experiments Interviews Courageous Conversations Professional Development Opportunities Continuous Quality Improvement Artwork

Your insights, observations and questions are most welcome. Contact us at pinon.project@state.nm.us.

The Art of PiñonThe paintings in this issue are by Lawrence Fodor.  Fodor’s paintings are nature-based abstractions and are informed by a sense of place from his extensive world travels. He graduated from Otis Art Institute and has received favorable reviews in Art News, Art in America and numerous regional publications.  His paintings have been included in the publication and exhibition, Speak for the Trees, (2010) and have been the subject of two catalogues to accompany exhibi-tions at the Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA (Holding Light, 2012) and the Lannan Foundation, Santa Fe, NM (Kôan Boxes, 2009).  Fodor’s work is in-cluded in numerous private, corporate and public col-lections, most notably the Lannan Foundation Collec-tion and has been exhibited in solo and group exhibi-tions at the Laguna Art Museum, the New Mexico Mu-seum of Art and the Lannan Foundation. His website is: www.lawrencefodor.com

2

Youth Services Deputy Bureau Chief- Protective Services-housed in Santa Fe County Field Office

What do you like most about your job?

The best part of my job is working with Leaders Uniting Voices Youth Advocates of New Mexico (LUVYANM). LUVYANM is a statewide youth advo-cacy and advisory board composed of current and former foster care youth.

continued on next page

PART 2: INTERVIEW

Q&A: MAYA MCNIGHT

The board seeks to improve the foster care sys-tem. I enjoy seeing them grow into strong, resil-ient, young leaders who make systemic changes for the children and youth who are in foster care. Their voice truly makes a difference. Watching the outcome of their advocacy efforts is reward-ing.

What is a typical week like for you?

I manage our bureau’s contracts. I approve fund-ing for youth aging out of the foster care system, either through Start Up funds or Education and Training Voucher (ETV) funds and manage both of these funding areas. I also work directly with youth in certain regions of the state in applying for both Start Up and ETV funds. I manage out of state and New Mexico tribal youth referrals for youth who aged out of foster care. I manage the annual Independent Living Youth conference, co-manage LUVYANM, and help support the Bu-reau Chief and the Youth Transition Specialists whenever needed.

PS is a very complex area where people spe-cialize–and those of us working in it often only experience a small part of the overall sys-tem. How have you learned about the PS “big picture”?

When I first started with the Department I was a stipend student intern working in treatment and placement. At this point in my career I have worked as a Treatment worker, Family Preserva-tion Services worker, Treatment senior worker, Treatment supervisor, and now a manager in the Youth Services Bureau. I was also assigned in-vestigations and worked in the Licensing and Certification unit. All of these various positions provided me with the big picture of how Protec-tive Services operates. Working together is es-

sential in order to improve outcomes for the fos-ter children and foster youth in New Mexico.

What innovation would you like to bring to PS in NM?

I would like to bring the Texas Reach model to Protective Services in New Mexico. It is a model that strives to eliminate post-secondary educa-tional barriers for youth emancipating from foster care. Many of our young people struggle with either getting into college or completing their de-grees once in college. Within the model universi-ties, the Higher Education Department and other community partners take the lead in creating pro-grams that would assist former foster youth in successfully completing college. If we applied the same collaborative approach here in New Mexico I believe we would see more positive out-comes for our youth.

What is a success story?

When we see our youth succeed because of de-cisions that they made or when we see them reach their goals despite the adversity they face, they are successful. Success is individual to each youth. For example, if one youth used to be a cutter, but stopped cutting and became a positive role model for other young people- that is a success. If another, is the first generation in their family to obtain a high school diploma and be accepted into college-that is a success.

How can central office and county office staff work to create work environments that foster courageous conversations-----addressing work problems and conflict?

As managers it is important that we walk our talk, no matter how difficult that may feel. I think if we are willing to have those courageous conversa-tions ourselves, listen and address problems and

4

conflict openly, this will make a big difference with our staff. It is also important that whether we are managers or staff that we each take responsi-bility for the work environment we wish to create every day. If I want to work in a positive work en-vironment, then I have to be positive. I think if we all started from that premise, then a positive and productive work environment would be sustain-able.

What type of professional development oppor-tunities would you like to see offered?

CYFD offers a variety of professional develop-ment opportunities. At the same time, I would like to see CYFD offer professional development opportunities through the Santa Fe Mountain cen-ter or through a similar program that offers experi-ential team building activities. When I worked in the field in 1999, our office worked with the Santa Fe Mountain center and it was quite effective in fostering a productive work environment.

How does Youth Services support our youth and for how long?

The Youth Services Bureau primarily supports youth aging out of the foster care system or those who were adopted at age 16 years of age or older. We offer Transition Support Services to eligible youth between the ages of 18-21. We can work with some youth up to the age of 23 & 26 depending on the service they are receiving. A Youth Transition Specialist (YTS) is assigned to these youth and they work with each youth on an individual basis to support the youth’s self-sufficiency and success in adulthood. Eligible youth may receive Medicaid and funding, such as, a monthly Independent Living maintenance check, Start Up funds or Education & Training Vouchers. We also have housing and life skill de-

velopment contractors in Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Hobbs and Las Cruces. These programs offer eligible youth, 17-21 years old, housing, life skills, and transition support services.

What are the challenges our youth face as they age out of the system?

When our youth turn 18 years old, they usually do not have a healthy support system or the nec-essary life skills to live successful adult lives. They are in need of housing, transportation, em-ployment, education, and supportive adults and peers as they age out of the foster care system. Frequently, our youth do not trust others and do not have adequate communication skills. They may lack self-confidence. This can hinder their ability in reaching their goals, such as having a successful career, a healthy relationship or main-taining safe and affordable housing. It is essen-tial that we focus on our youths’ strengths and al-low them to make decisions while in foster care. We need to teach them how to make a good deci-sion vs. a poor one. This will help prepare them for when they turn 18.

What is a success story you can share about a youth?

Here is a success story of one young man who aged out of the foster care system: When I met this young man at one of our Independent Living Youth conferences he was 18 years old. He wore all black, dark sunglasses, and had a lot of pierc-ings. He was angry, would not talk to anyone but his roommate, and was unable to trust others, es-pecially adults. He would not allow anyone to touch him. He had a substance abuse problem and was unemployed.

5

He became a member of Adelante, the statewide youth advocacy and advisory board in New Mex-ico.

Over a three year period, I saw him become friends with other members of the group, hug oth-ers, take more responsibility for his actions, dress in suits, speak at conferences, attend col-lege, reach out for help and learn to trust. He no longer wore dark glasses or piercings.

When he fell down, he got back up, looked at his mistakes and kept trying. He struggled a bit when I last saw him-right before he turned 22 years old.

He called me six months ago at 24 years old. He asked me for a reference for employment. He told me he had a job, but got fired. He knew it was because of his anger. He shared that he was really working on his anger and was now clean and sober. He has a good relationship with his brother and wants to be employed so he can contribute to household expenses.

He still wants to volunteer to help others. His life is not perfect but I consider him to be a success. He has come a long way. He wants to be a math teacher someday. I hope he becomes one.

Thank you for your time, Maya.

NEWS+UPDATESADAPTIVE LEADERSHIPThe last phase of Pinon Counties were trained in Adaptive Leadership on April 15 and 16 in Rio Rancho. All counties have now been trained in Adaptive Leadership and Pinon Implementation has rolled out to all counties. The new counties trained were: Rio Arriba, Valencia, McKinley, Tor-rance, Otero/Lincoln, and Eddy.

This is a very exciting time for Pinon Implementa-tion as PS begins to transition into the next phase of Pinon in which we move from implemen-tation to sustainability. We are working to provide participants with Adaptive Leadership concepts, tools and skill building opportunities they can use in Piñon implementation efforts–and to share New Mexico experiences and learnings.

The focus of the training was on how CQI (Con-tinuous Quality Improvement), Adaptive Leader-ship and Situational Leadership fit together to support Piñon implementation efforts and ac-knowledge both the progress and struggles with Piñon implementation efforts to date. Ultimately, the goal is to bring promising practices to scale within the county office and across the organiza-tion as a whole.

Peter Watson, training facilitator and Director of the National Resource Center for Organizational Improvement said, “Our Adaptive Leadership workshop showed yet again that CYFD staff are willing to take on the hard work, and the work-shop set the stage for all county offices to en-gage in adaptive change efforts and build on the progress and momentum generated through Pi-non implementation across the state."

6

HEART GALLERY’S SUCCESS STORIES

The Heart Gallery’s adoption matching events are well underway across New Mexico. These events allow licensed families to interact and hopefully bond with children who are available for adoption.

“Lobo Fever!” took place at UNM’s Johnson Cen-ter Arena on April 12th. About 100 young people received tips on playing basketball from mem-bers of the 2014 Mountain West Division Winning Men’s Lobo Team. Adoption available young peo-ple ages 4-17, their foster siblings, and children accompanying the licensed adults waved pom-poms as team members ran into the arena to in-teract with them. All children received Lobo T-shirts, basketballs, and other gifts to take home.

On court action was enriched by beautiful music from the 11-piece Polyphony Marimba Band of Santa Fe. The Lady Lobos, Louie Lobo, and Cheer/Dance Squad also came to play with our eager kids. Dion’s delivered magnificent pizzas. It was a wonderful time. Before the event ended, licensed adults inquired about many of the chil-dren in attendance. Our consultants are now in the process of determining if we have good matches.

The next adoption matching event, May 3rd, will be specifically for teens and licensed adults who have indicated a preference for adopting teens. It will be the “Make a Film in a Day” event where young people learn skills needed for future ca-reers in the entertainment industry while interact-ing with the licensed adults.

The event is being sponsored by the Future Voices of New Mexico project which seeks to in-volve people who may be under-represented in mainstream media. The State’s largest costume and prop house called “The Prop House” is also donating the rental of costumes to be used that day by all participants.

If you know any teens legally free for adoption, or any licensed adults interested in teens, please contact Nancy Woodka for an application: nancy.woodka@state.nm.us. It will be a marvel-ous event.

QUOTABLE QUOTES

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead, anthropologist and author

7

Child and Family Service Plan: UpdateEvery five years Protective Services develops a five-year Child and Family Service Plan (CFSP) that we provide to our federal partners and utilize internally as a strategic plan. Each year an up-date is provided through a document called an Annual Progress and Services Report. Our cur-rent CFSP is ending June 30, 2014.

Our new CFSP is being developed with internal and external partners. The goal is to have two to four goals and to integrate the CFSP plan with the Child and Family Services Review (CFSR) statewide assessment. In April and May we are holding weekly stakeholder meetings to obtain feedback on the seven outcomes and seven sys-temic factors. We are utilizing Continuous Quality Improvement method to obtain the feedback. In each meeting we provide data and obtain feed-back on strengths and weaknesses and solutions/ideas. The areas we are discussing are:

• Safety Outcome 1: Children are, First and Fore-most, Protected From Abuse and Neglect.

• Safety Outcome 2: Children are Safely Main-tained in Their Homes Whenever Possible and Appropriate

• Permanency Outcome 1: Children Have Perma-nency and Stability in Their Living Situations

• Permanency Outcome 2: The Continuity of Fam-ily Relationships and Connections is Preserved for Children

• Well-Being Outcome 1: Families Have En-hanced Capacity To Provide For Their Children's Needs.

• Well-Being Outcome 2: Children Receive Ap-propriate Services To Meet Their Educational Needs.

• Systemic Factors

Our next meetings are scheduled for:

• May 6th from 1:30-3:30 pm (Systemic factors: Legal Case Review and Staff Training)

o Located at 1031 Lamberton Pl. NE, Albuquer-que, NM 87107 Sangre de Cristo Conference room or by phone at 1-888-450-5996 passcode 8134910899

• May 14th from 10-12 pm (Systemic factors: Service Array and Agency Responsiveness)

o Located at 1031 Lamberton Pl. NE, Albuquer-que, NM 87107 Kiva Conference room or by phone at 1-888-450-5996 passcode 8134910899

As we are holding these meetings other internal individuals are also having meetings with differ-ent external stakeholders (i.e. IV-B contractors, Youth, Foster Care and Adoption).

If you would like a copy of the current CFSP, or if you have questions about the Child and Family Services Plan or the meetings we are holding contact Brenda Manus at Brenda.manus@state.nm.us or 505-681-2472 –cell.

8

When data informs decision-making, outcomes for our children and families improve.

STEP, our new Data Scholars Initiative, continues to evolve, with the RAD (Research, Assessment and Data) Bureau busy developing the web-based course and content.

continued on next page

PART 3: PINON’S BIG PICTURE

STRIVING TOWARD EXCELLENCE PROGRAM (STEP)

RAD staff have been presenting the goals and components of STEP to Regional and County Managers, soliciting feedback and hearing from the workforce how the program can be struc-tured to meet the unique needs of Protective Services staff. RAD is committed to creating a blended learning experience with monthly moti-vating classroom experiences and strategic coaching sessions, as well as an easy-to-use and engaging website filled with relevant con-tent.

THE DESIGN OF STEP

STEP is a nine-month blended learning experi-ence focused on problem-solving and data-driven decision-making. STEP strengthens a lo-cal office’s capacity to:

1. Identify challenges

2. Mine and analyze data to understand prob-lems

3. Research, analyze and work toward solutions

4. Create measurable goals and evaluate pro-gress

STEP TOPIC AREAS

1. Identifying Champions, Clients + Capacity

2. Assessing Work Flow, Strengths + Challenges

3. Mining and Analysis Data

4. Implementing CQI (Continuous Quality Im-provement)

6. Exploring Evidence-Informed Practice

7. Experimenting and Collecting Evidence

7. Informing Decision-making with Data

8. Communicating About Change

9. Getting to Results

Joining STEP

STEP is scheduled to launch in Fall 2014 and will take place at NMSU in Albuquerque, using their state of the art computer labs and learning envi-ronments. The application process will begin in this summer. STEP requires two days a month, approved by the candidate’s supervisor and/or COM and/or Regional.

STEP supports local work

STEP is being created to support current and new local experiments throughout New Mexico in order to achieve Protective Services goals of safety, well-being and permanency for children and strengthening of families. For information about STEP please contact Writu Tandon with the RAD Bureau writu.tandon@state.nm.us

10