Summary of Client’s Challenge
The Governor’s Office of Adoption and Child Protection (“the Office”) conducted a highly successful marketing campaign to make citizens in the state of Florida aware of children whose parents had lost their parental rights and who were available for adoption. The campaign was so effective that case worker phones continuously ringed at all times of the day with interested potential adopting parents. This overwhelming situation exposed many systemic challenges in the foster care and adoption system in Florida, all needing immediate resolution.
Change by Design was hired to address the problem system-wide so that the ultimate goal of children finding adoptive homes could be accomplished. We strongly believed that individuals representing an important part of the system – the Office, related state administrators from a variety of state agencies and departments, parents, adult children who had been raised in foster care, as well as adult children who had in foster care and later been adopted, among others – should have a say in identifying problems and helping craft a solution.
Our Proposed Path to Address All Issues
To achieve a successful project outcome, we launched a three-phase approach:
Phase 1
Conducted and analyze interviews with identified individuals to gather important information, context and insights.
Phase 2
Developed a follow-up needs assessment survey to gather greater information and context from around the state of Florida, followed by an analysis of the results. Our team then statistically analyzed all multiple-choice feedback, consolidated all written feedback, and qualitatively analyzed that free-form content. This enabled us to understand the problem in all its various aspects.
Phase 3
Worked with representatives of all relevant parties who attended a 3-day problem-solving event, where we used our proprietary training on needs assessment and analysis to solve the issues and develop action plans to address issues and move forward.
Research, Interviews and Survey
Putting the plan into action started with Change by Design conducting extensive research so that we could clearly understand how this set of systemic issues operated in the state of Florida. Change by Design then developed an interview questionnaire to gain the next level of information related to this set of issues, so that we could conduct one-on-one interviews with all experts identified by the Office. The questionnaire was disseminated to over 40 individuals representing different perspectives on the challenges face in the Florida foster care and adoption system. This extensive survey asked respondents to provide their perspectives in the following areas:
Information about FL Adoption Resources and Other Adoption Exchanges
Adoption-Related Agency Processes and Procedures
MAPP Training and/or Adoption Orientation
Guidance and Support Throughout the System
Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC)
Preparation for Adoption Placement
The Home Study Process
Support of Adoptive Families
Prioritization of Possible Repair Strategies
As the result of the survey, Change by Design identified a number of important systemic challenges, as well as gained a more granular version of issues, to include:
Problems within the foster care system
Problems with receiving a call-back from the case manager of the child in whom the family is interested in adopting
Paperwork delays
Limited other post-adoption services
Problems with ICPC and the time it takes
Child not prepared for the adoption process
Post-adoption mental health services
Court delays
Multiple background screening
Multiple home studies
Lack of money for home studies in other circuits
Lack of information about the adoption process
Problems with the call center providing useful and sufficient general information about the adoption process.
Problems with home studies from other circuits
Problem-Solving Workshop: Project Adoption Success
Newly armed with an incredibly thorough understanding of these issues related to adopting foster care children in Florida, Change by Design assembled critical documents to support workshop participants’ problem solving and decision making. The information was provided to nearly five dozen workshop attendees in a booklet that included:
Florida Adoption Information Call Center Statistics
Contract Projection Measures for Annual Community-Based Care Performance
The State of Florida Adoption Process, from the Child’s Viewpoint
The State of Florida Adoption Process, from the Parent’s Viewpoint
Important Terminology
Key Information for Potential Adoptive Parents
A List of the Gaps in the Adoptions Process in Florida Between Current Goals and Desired Goals
The workshop training booklets were coupled with activity sheets for use in facilitated group activities designed to determine causal factors and come up with a group of solutions to address these issues. at we worked through with participants to solve the problem,
At the culmination of the three days, the group was invigorated to see the problem fully scoped out and a six-part solution for the six different challenge areas. They even had action plans ready to fulfill lasting change. We concluded that the challenge areas, their causal factors, the essential solution criteria, and possible solutions tailored to address all criteria included:
Legal, Paperwork and Caseload Issues
Professional Knowledge, Skills, Legal, Paperwork and Caseload Issues, Abilities and Processes, Including Intervention, Training and Support Actions
Transitional and Post-Adoption Services
Call-Backs on Inquiries
Families Being Prepared to Adopt
Inter-Jurisdictional Issues
This permitted the state departments and agencies to move forward with prioritizing and implementing solutions for each of the six different issues.
Dr. Ebbers’ “Strategically Thinking Outside the Box” workshop was a catalyst to help us overcome the overwhelming task of defining a multi-faceted problem that permeated a whole system. Once properly defined, we were able to develop effective solutions from which to embark on a productive plan of action.
Chief Child Advocate Jim K.
Contact Change by Design today if you need assistance systematically addressing organizational scalability challenges because of customer demand, or other changing business dynamics.