Redirecting Policy and Program
By Linda Gibbs, Deputy Commissioner, Division of Management and Planning
Newly created in 1996, the Administration for Children's Services was an agency in a state of crisis and our work had to start with the basics. Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta put into place the top layer of management and administrative functions, including our own budget, personnel, facilities, and MIS departments to manage a two billion dollar agency with over 7,000 staff. These allowed the agency to control its resources and better enable its staff to concentrate on its mission. In addition, existing as a stand-alone agency allowed ACS to set its own priorities and put in place a structure that would allow reforms to take hold. Commissioner Scoppetta restructured the agency by creating six divisions that covered the major program and administrative areas.The initial main areas of improvement were largely infrastructure based - improving the physical resources available and professionalizing the staff. This included upgrading facilities, installing a comprehensive computer and email system and installing voicemail. We created a new civil service title series, raised educational requirements, upgraded and expanded training, and developed an MSW scholarship program and merit pay increases to reward exceptional employees.
Once a basic management and structure for the agency existed, our next task was crucial -to develop a reform plan for the agency's operations. We looked in detail at the existing agency's functioning, including reviewing a myriad of prior reports, researching best practice and administering a staff survey to determine employee opinion on areas needing improvement. Through this plan, we were able to determine areas that needed improvement and to set priorities for agency change in organizational, operational and personnel areas.
The redirection of the agency's front-line practice was the great challenge of our reform. ACS charted this in a clear plan for action, put forth in a public document, that was built on shared core values for system reform. ACS embraced in our plan the fundamental principle of strengthening safety and permanency for children through a shift to neighborhood based services, respecting and engaging the client in service delivery, and providing thorough and timely assessments and responsive, culturally competent services.
These values were reiterated in greater detail in a set of principles developed among all our collaborating partners. These principles are now the standards of practice we seek to achieve through systems of continuous quality improvement. In this process, clients, front line staff and managers at ACS and the contract agencies are routinely involved in identifying the barriers and devising solutions.
Creating accountability and measuring progress has been indispensable in our efforts. Emphasizing the use of quantitative data in making policy and management decisions has been one of the most effective and important changes we have made at ACS. Previously, the system relied more on anecdotal evidence and isolated studies than on regular data man agement for performance indicators. We created an office within the agency, the Office of Management Development and Research, to perform routine data monitoring activities, develop statistical reports on agency performance and assist in the creation, interpretation and use of data as a way of measuring agency performance. A new emphasis was placed on ensuring that data entry was done in a correct and timely manner and that the databases available to ACS for statistical research were as current and accurate as possible.
These data and research efforts have led to a fuller picture of the agency and the nuances of who is served and their experiences. This has been invaluable for planning purposes. These efforts have also helped to promote a culture of accountability. We have used these improved data systems to produce a comprehensive evaluation system - EQUIP (Evaluation and Quality Improvement Protocol) for contract and direct services. This has enabled us to reward high quality providers and ensure more children and families receive their services. Creating a plan for reform, structuring and measuring it through data collection, and instituting continued monitoring, has held all staff responsible and accountable for ensuring that change is not just planned but that it occurs.
It's been five years since ACS was created and while a tremendous amount of successful restructuring and practice improvement has occurred, there is more work to be done. As a social service agency, we must constantly adjust our services to meet the changing needs of the communities we serve. In updating the Reform Plan, we engaged with our clients and partners in an effort to express the entire system's most urgent current priorities. The many initiatives group into four key themes: Neighborhood Based Services; Quality, Affordable Child Care; Permanency and Family Engagement; and Continuous Quality Improvement and Data Utilization. Moving forward, every person involved in the child welfare system must continue to hold themselves and their colleagues responsible for continued progress in meeting these goals. Our hope is that we have created the foundation upon which continued improvements can be built.