Transforming Together: Implementation Guide
Recap: Strategies for Using a Community Needs Assessment to Inform Shared Outcomes and Measures This section summarizes key strategies discussed throughout this chapter, offering a concise reference for how counties can translate community needs assessments into shared outcomes and measurable goals. Identifying needs authentically and transparently is not a “one and done” endeavor, but requires a “return and report” mindset for agency leaders committed to accountability and continuous improvement. Key actions for county leaders–as they work to establish a new ecosystem of care–include: 1 Establish a coordinated needs assessment process to inform cross-agency goals: • Identify existing agency-led needs assessments already being used across education, health, child welfare, juvenile justice, and social services. • Reduce redundancy by mapping overlapping efforts and integrating findings into a unified assessment process. i. Tool Spotlight: The Chart of Child & Family Serving Agencies (ESC Tool- kit) can help counties map which agen- cies already collect similar data, clarify- ing redundancies and enabling a more unified approach to needs assessments.
2 Commit to more authentic
community engagement and accountability in goal-setting:
• Ask and consult with historically underserved communities and individuals with lived experience to help determine county goals, service design, and delivery priorities, as well as which data should be prioritized. • Employ new approaches that authentically engage, listen to, and build trust with historically marginalized communities and that acknowledge and address any past systemic harms. • Systems aim to adapt engagement processes to honor community communication styles and decision-making approaches. Agency staff receive ongoing training on how to participate respectfully in community-led conversations and gatherings. 3 Identify specific goals and measurable outcomes to guide cross-agency priorities: • Adopt or build on visions and goals already established in the BHSA Integrated Plan framework, county’s AB 2083 MOU, or by the county’s Integrated Leadership Team. Note, many California county efforts have stated their goal for System of Care improvements is “keeping children and youth at home, in school, and out of youth justice involvement”; this aim might serve as an appropriate starting place for creating goals for a new ecosystem of care designed to serve all families and youth. • Leverage (as noted above) the findings from existing community-needs assessment processes to inform the development and refinement of new cross-agency goals.
60
Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator