Collaborative Roundtable
Serving the Multi-Purpose Collaborating Bodies of Michigan

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Below is some information may be of interest. However, it has been on the web site for longer than a year.

FAMILY CENTERED SERVICES

In Family Centered Services, the family is at the center and service providers are collaborators. In order for success to occur, the basic and developmental needs of the family and community must be addressed across health and human service systems. Successful services match a family's language, culture, spiritual beliefs and affirm the family's values and styles of decision-making. Following are some of the points most important to providing family-centered services.

From the beginning of the relationship between the family and the service provider the tone should be one of partnership. It is important for the service provider to recognize and affirm diverse family values, customs and beliefs. Sometimes these issues present hidden barriers that must be overcome for the partnership to work.

Service providers need to interact with children and families in such a way that the family maintains or acquires a sense of control over family lives and choices. Family members are experts about their family and need to be given an opportunity to mobilize resources to meet mutually agreed upon family priorities.

The whole process of assessing the needs of the family should include an extensive review of the strengths and resources of the family. This strength assessment must include cultural and spiritual beliefs and demonstrate respect for the family's priorities. This strength assessment tailors services to each family situation and is designed to focus on the needs of the family and is not designed to meet the wants of a family.

The services to meet family needs should promote family independence and an interdependence with the family's community. To accomplish this service must be community-based and provided in ways that are convenient for the family.

Multi-Purpose Collaborating Bodies Council provide local oversight of services, to ensure those services become family-centered, is provided. Family-centered service is a major part of human service system reform in Michigan. Local responsibility will be an important key in helping families.

Adapted by Mike Riley, West Michigan Child and Family Leadership Council, from Family-Centered Services for Children and Families: Best Practice Standards and Essential Elements

E-mail comments to Mike Riley.

THE INDIVIDUALIZED CHILD AND FAMILY PLANNING PROCESS

The Individualized Child and Family Planning Process is becoming a central ingredient of the Michigan Human Service and Health Care System Reform effort. Often, programs are perceived by our citizens as complex and difficult to understand because they are complex and difficult to understand. As a part of the system reform effort, the Individualized Child and Family Planning Process tries to "Keep It Simple." Early in idea development the name "Wraparound Process" was used. The Individualized Child and Family Planning Process uses the basic procedures we all use to solve problems in our lives. The Individualized Child and Family Planning Process encourages human service professionals to work with families in same way the professional would like to be helped in a crisis.

When a crisis occurs in your family, what steps do you take to solve it? Do you call together those family members and friends you trust to provide you support? Do you assess the strengths with which you can work? Do you ask yourself what you really need to make the situation better? When the situation is difficult do you distinguish between what you need from what you want? Do you try to assure that your wants do not confuse you when you attempt to meet your needs? Do you feel that one basic need is to control the situation? And, if you can not be in control do you become frightened and confused? Do you have a basic belief that if you just stick with the plan you and your family developed and your family and friends stick with you, then, you will be able to survive the crisis?

When someone provides the help, but lets you be in charge of your own life, don't you do a better job of solving the crisis?

The Individualized Child and Family Planning Process serves the needs of families. Human service professionals help families find solutions to everyday problems by teaching families how to look for answers to the difficult situations they are facing. By tailoring services to each individual situation, professionals are providing an important service. The Individualized Child and Family Planning Processis not designed to meet the wants of families, but remains focused on the needs of families.

by Rich VandenHeuvel and Mike Riley West Michigan Child and Family Leadership Council

E-mail comments to Mike Riley.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT, RESPONSIBILITY AND STABILITY TO MEET HEALTH, EDUCATION, WORKFORCE AND BASIC HUMAN NEEDS

This is an attempt to pull together for local government ideas regarding the impact of the "downsizing" of federal and state governments on local health, education, workforce and basic human needs. In government, this downsizing is being called "devolution." It reduces the size of:

1. Programs to meet community needs; and

2. Levels of governmental departments (as downsizing in industry reduces middle management).

With these changes, there is a shifting of responsibility. As the federal government reduces size, responsibility is shifted to state governments. As the state government reduces size, responsibility is shifted to local governments.

Please understand that the descriptive phrase "local health, education, workforce and basic human needs" is used because all of these needs are inter-related and a decision that impacts one impacts all. Too often issues are considered only as categories of funding. If we are to be truly cost-effective and pay careful attention to funding oversight, we must understand the inter-related nature of these needs.

Paralleling these issues are other issues that make it most important for local government to understand this shift in responsibility.

• It appears that local governments will become the legislative body with the longest institutional memory. The federal government seems to focus on the next election and, in Michigan, term limits will soon have a completely unknown impact on the institutional memory of state legislature.
  
• While it has always been true that the best understanding of needs of citizens are at the local level, decisions about funding local health, education, workforce and basic human needs have been made at the federal or state level. This shift of responsibility brings an opportunity to accurately target local decisions on services to meet the needs of citizens. This process, even with less money, when properly structured and efficiently managed, could result in a "better deal" for local communities.
  
• As the levels of government are reduced, the responsibility for oversight of funds and appropriateness of service delivery is being redirected to the local level.

Chaos could easily result during this evolutionary process. The Multi-Purpose Collaborating Body is available to ensure stability. The Multi-Purpose Collaborating Body provides a system of responsible local decisions, using persons who understand both how to define the needs of citizens and the regulations that will continue, as determined by legislation, to fund services for these needs. Basic principles provided by the Multi-Purpose Collaborating Body are:

Collaborative interaction;

 

Cost-effective emphasis;

 

Local innovation;

 

Citizen involvement; and

 

Careful attention to oversight for the federal, state and local funds.

In the Multi-Purpose Collaborating Body, citizens, directors of local services and representatives of local government can collaborate to meet local health, education, workforce and basic human needs. These needs should be clearly identified with great consideration given to the difference between needs and wants. Government should help a citizen address the need the citizen can not meet and allow private business to address the wants of citizens.

To help visualize stability, financial planners use the concept of the three-legged stool. The financial planning stool uses the three legs of social security, pension funds and personal savings. For community stability in addressing local health, education, workforce and basic human needs, consider a three legged stool of:

1. A Federal and State partnership to provide a basic funding mechanism.

 

2. Local governments acting in partnership with federal and state government and sharing responsibility for these needs at the local level.

 

3. Local Multi-Purpose Collaborative Bodies to assist the above governmental partnerships in the technical tasks of assessing local needs and developing innovative solutions.

Adapted for this page by Mike Riley, West Michigan Child and Family Leadership Council

E-mail comments to Mike Riley.

ENHANCEMENT OF MULTI-PURPOSE COLLABORATING BODIES

This is a discussion tool describing possible enhancement of the Multi-Purpose Collaborating Bodies of Michigan to meet the impact of the "downsizing" of federal and state governments on local health, education, workforce and basic human needs. In government, this downsizing is being called "devolution." With these changes, there is a shifting of responsibility. As the federal government reduces size, responsibility is shifted to state governments. As the state government reduces size, responsibility is shifted to local governments.

Chaos could result during this evolutionary process. The Multi-Purpose Collaborating Body is available to ensure stability. The Multi-Purpose Collaborating Body provides a system of responsible local decisions, using persons who understand both how to define the needs of citizens and the regulations that will continue, as determined by legislation, to fund services for these needs. Basic principles provided by the Multi-Purpose Collaborating Body are:

* Collaborative interaction;

* Cost-effective emphasis;

* Local innovation;

* Directing government resources to the needs of citizens;

* Allowing the wants of citizens to be met by private industry;

* Citizen involvement; and

* Careful attention to oversight for the federal, state and local funds.

For community stability in addressing basic human needs, consider:

1. A Federal and State partnership to provide a basic funding mechanism.

2. Local governments acting in partnership with federal and state government and sharing responsibility for these needs at the local level.

3. Local Multi-Purpose Collaborative Bodies to assist the above governmental partnerships in the technical tasks of assessing local needs and developing innovative solutions.

An effort to facilitate the growth of local responsible decision making is in the best interest of the State of Michigan. Enhancing the abilities of Multi-Purpose Collaborating Bodies is method of promoting this growth.

Complex bureaucracies like governments and large businesses do not adapt well in situations requiring innovation, flexibility and a quick response to meet the needs of customers. (In this situation the customers are local governments.) The larger the organization, the more difficult quick and innovative change.

The way large businesses effectively handle this issue is to "spin-off' a subsidiary corporation with a mission dedicated to the innovative development. While, in this context, the word "corporation" is not appropriate, the concept of a focused effort not constrained by bureaucratic processes is important.

As in any "spin-off," the important factors that need to be addressed are:

* Clear Mission for the "spin-off."

* Mutual trust between parent organization and "spin-off."

* Clear communication between parent organization and "spin-off."

* A predefined method of resolving conflicts between parent organization and "spin-off."

* Clear statement of financial support from the parent organization coupled with a clear statement of rewards to the parent organization.

Some additional key ingredients that apply to the Multi-Purpose Collaborating Body effort:

* Quick response to a question from a Local Government or Multi-Purpose Collaborating Body (a week or less).

* Personalized consultations to Multi-Purpose Collaborating Bodies with a scheduled meeting with a Multi-Purpose Collaborating Body within two days and the consultation provided within two weeks.

* Focus on Strength Based Community planning to build community responsibility in the decision making process.

* Clearly state - "This is a process for optimizing existing funds."

* It is anticipated that Multi-Purpose Collaborating Bodies will define issues for which the consultants will need to "think fast" and a supportive structure to aid this approach will need to be established.

* The Multi-Purpose Collaborating Body is intended as an organization of community collaboration and philosophically should not be a separate corporate entity. Incorporating, by its legal nature, restricts ownership and ownership of community issues belongs to the whole "community" not to a select group.

* Bring high standards of quality to services funded by taxpayers.

Submitted by Mike Riley, West Michigan Child and Family Leadership Council

E-mail comments to Mike Riley.