One mother in Stark County had been on Aid to Families with Dependent Children for 16 years while she took care of her child with severe cerebral palsy. In the past two years, she had gone to school and received training. She had offer of a full-time job with benefits. But she needed specialized child care for her teenager during the summer months while the child wasn't in school. AFDC could not pay for the child care because of an IRS ruling indicating the child care vouchers were reportable income. The mother called the Family Council fully expecting that she would have to pass up the job. The Family Council staff identified that the child was eligible for transition services through the LITT program. The LITT program doesn't typically do these things but they realized they could subsidize the child care as a transition opportunity. That program split the cost with the Family Council and the mother who pays $50 per week. Meanwhile the mother has set up a savings account so she can pay the whole cost next summer.

One of the remarkable things about the Stark County experience is the degree to which change has occurred within the infrastructure. In many respects after the initial vision and joining work has occurred the most important thing is to keep moving. Once Executive level participants can buy into the notion of change the rest is easy. The keys to building an ever-changing, adaptative infrastructure include:

1. Developing and communicating a vision statement which will allow all participants at every level to understand a set of guiding principles. These guiding principles are most important in informing executives, managers, supervisors, direct service practitioners, families and citizens about the set of assumptions which from the foundation of the work being done at all levels. What becomes less important is rigid protocols or rules which may be at odds with adaptability. When a group has come to consensus on guiding principles all players are able to make and evaluate decisions based on those guiding principles.

2. Establishing a clear value around the importance of flexibility and adaptive change. When the value of change is embraced, then management decisions begin to take on a sense of flexibility. The Board of Trustees in Stark County is able to adapt their structure because they value change. This occurs because they have developed an open system in which decision making only occurs in the context of community. The "noise" from the community impacts decision making through inclusion of families and stakeholders.

3. Avoiding such a high investment in any one structure that new information is ignored. The Stark County Family Council continues to grow and change because the input of new stakeholders is invited and considered. When new input is considered, new structures and decision making processes follow.

One example of identifying and using a pocket of flexibility is the development of Family Advocacy + Community Education = Support (FACES), a not-for-profit organization which grew out of the original Family Advisory Council of the Stark County Family Council. As a non-profit organization which is closely identified with the Council but still independent, FACES employs paid and volunteer parents who are skilled at connecting with other parents. As a consumer run organization it represents parent interests from across all systems and is designed to build coalitions across parent groups. FACES functions in a variety of ways in partnership with the Family Council. These include holding and managing consultation contracts, developing and delivering cross system training events and taking on evaluation activities designed to look at all systems.

In addition to building a base of flexibility within the community, Stark County also continually looks for opportunities for flexibility within systems which can benefit the entire community. This has included the member system which has a history of more flexible expenditure of funds than other agencies as well as those systems who are able to hire staff more easily. In many respects, the Family Council itself also offers a base of flexibility for member systems. Transferring the management of dollars or resources to the Family Council often represents an investment in flexibility. Political stakeholders within the community see the Council as representing broader interests than any one system. What is important is to recognize that the vision points you in a direction. Procedures and participation can be adapted as the environment changes.