Walk a mile in each other's shoes: Respect each person's and each system's reality.
    " If someone has a better way of doing my job I want their ideas. I'm proud of what I do but I am getting less prone to letting my ego get in the way of hearing those good ideas," says one Department of Human Services Administrator as he leans back in his chair. "In the old days, I felt that no one understood the work we did here at Child Protective Services. Mental Health dealt with their Diagnostics, Education dealt with only the classroom and MR/DD just didn't understand what we're dealing with. Through the retreats that changed. I began to see the other guys as people I wanted to get to know."

    This administrator relates that things really began to change when seven Mental Health staff were moved into a CPS Intake Unit. Those Mental Health workers began to see the immediacy of the decision making process as well as the complexity of it. The DHS Administrator goes on to relate, "And you know what? After they had been here for awhile, it was the darndest thing. We began to see what Mental Health was dealing with, too. I don't think we can ever go back to not realizing what the other guy is doing."

Developing trust at a personal level is important. Understanding each system's reality has also been a key ingredient in Stark County. After trust, a sense of movement and purpose began to expand on the Director's level, it was decided that the employees from the county's child serving systems needed to understand each other's systems better. A plan was initiated that staff from one system spending time in other systems in order to gain this understanding. Quickly staff replied that they were not willing to do this until the Executives had completed such an exercise. Realizing that staff had a good point, Executives dedicated time in each other's systems understanding the reality of operations in each of those systems. Taking the time to get to know each other's systems brought a greater collective understanding of how the county's system operated and how it might appear to be fragmented to families. It also set the stage for cross system sharing and co-locating of staff as Family Council efforts or initiatives.

In developing the capacity to get to know each other's systems, the Board of Trustees initiated a broad scale system effort in addition to spending time in each other's systems. This involved initially developing an opportunity at the Executive level for each system to talk about their current mandates, system values and current operating structures. After a time, it became clear to the Executives that they would need to review system operations on a more in-depth basis. In January, 1992 the Family Council initiated a cross system questionnaire which allowed the Council to mesh various system maps. This allowed the Council to analyze similarities and differences around values and procedures. This allowed the top level management structure to understand the limitations and clashes among systems which might come up in relation to individual families.

This initiative set the stage for implementation of cross system training efforts to assure that a common values base was present across all systems. These cross-system training activities began with a commitment to at least eight hours annually of in-service training for all system staff covering Family Council values and practices. Most recently, an activity to develop a universal training framework has been developed within the Early Intervention network. This universal training activity has involved consensus building by key stakeholders on core or universal training needs. After developing this consensus, staff of the Family Council have developed a training portfolio which is used by all providers and staff who are part of the Early Intervention network. (Appendix V) That portfolio can be tailored for individual employees and is portable in that staff take the portfolio with them when they change jobs. This cuts out unnecessary duplication of training efforts as a new employer is familiar with the portfolio and is able to craft an individualized and portable staff development plan with employees throughout the system regardless of who their current employer is.

This process has set the stage for co-location of staff. Currently in Stark County, in-home Mental Health staff are located with the Child Welfare Intake Unit in order to reduce the rates of out-of-home care associated with a family's first contact with Child Protective Services. This unit is called the First Unit. Having the previous system experience of mapping their existing structures and purpose allowed staff to enter into this partnership knowing where the system challenges and values clashes might be. The co-location of staff has paid off in terms of outcomes as evidenced by data gathered from the First Unit since the initiation of this effort. (Appendix W)

When a community embarks on an infrastructure effort the commitment and capacity to get to know each other's systems is important. Inherent in this is the trust necessary for system partners to believe each other when they talk about mandates. When cross system knowledge is built strategically, cross system compassion and appreciation for each other is apt to follow. (Appendix X)