Transcript Document

At a meeting of the 7 Pioneer agencies in
March, 2010, it became apparent that the
evaluation as designed would capture
outcomes, for children, staff and agency,
but would not capture the process of change.
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Thus a qualitative element was added, and
over 70 interviews were undertaken across
the 7 agencies along with some site
observations.
What can we learn from agencies
that have been engaged in
implementing CARE over a 2 to 3
year period?
What does the process of change
involve?
Characteristics of the CARE Approach
• The agency is the locus of learning. Rather than
seeking training outside of the agency, the agency
itself becomes the primary learning site.
• The agency is the unit of learning, rather than
the individual (or even the team). While
individuals are engaged and learn, the emphasis
is on transforming the organisation as a whole.
• The CARE consultants are engaged in a
co-learning and co-creation process alongside
the agency staff members; all participants are
learners.
• CARE recognizes and seeks to bring forth the
potential of adult learners to address the
experiences and needs of the children.
• Key to the success of CARE are processes
that keep the dialogue and critical thinking
moving forward through ongoing
conversations throughout the agency, both
within and across organizational levels.
• CARE recognizes the true complexity of child
care work.
But how does the implementation
of the CARE program model
actually work?
Interlocking “nested” elements in translating
the CARE program model into practice
Organisational
Climate & Culture
Staff Development
Integrating CARE Model
Change Facilitation
Beliefs, Attitudes and Assumptions
Six Core Principles
Best Interests of Children
The “holding” organisation, containing staff and children,
and especially their anxiety and pain
political change and expediency
media criticism and attacks
makes people
want to put
the lid on
society’s anxiety and
pain re: children
66 6 P
Best
Interests
6 Principles
Beliefs. Attitudes.Assump’ns
Change Facilitation
Integration of CARE
Staff Development
Org’l Culture & Climate
Every agency thinks it is acting in the best interests of children,
but in fact many are not, at least not in any consistent manner.
the
child’s
In the
best
interests
The Core of CARE
Not a single person in over 70 interviews
across 7 agencies disagreed with a single principle
Developmentally-focused
Ecologically-oriented
Family-involved
Trauma-informed
Relationship-based
Competence-centred
Six Foundation Principles
Children do well if they can...
From points and levels to therapeutic conversations
Pain-based behaviour, not misbehaviour
Zone of proximal development
From attention seeking to attachment seeking
Have expectations instead of rules
From reactive to responsive practice
Think before responding
From compliance to self-regulation
Getting on the same page
Do with, not to
Teaching, not controlling
Internal versus external motivation
Rules are for safety
Building relationships, not behaviour management
Meeting needs, not just imposing consequences
Discovering. not judging
Beliefs, Attitudes, and Assumptions
Creating the context for change
Providing information
Sharing illustrative stories
Self-disclosure
Validating
Questioning
Paraphrasing
Analyzing case examples
Challenging
Communicating empathy
Modeling
Observing
Affirming
Probing
Joining in the task of agency evolution and supporting changing mindsets
Elements of the Change Facilitation Process
Re-
Commitment to CARE by agency
Re-
Re-
Gaining confidence
Embracing 6 principles
ReReUnderstanding key concepts
(beliefs, attitudes, assumptions)
Experiencing CARE effectiveness
Re-
Working through applications
Integration of the CARE Philosophy/Approach
Gaining
confidence
Gaining
confidence
Embracing
CARE principles
Gaining
confidence
Experiencing
effectiveness
Experiencing
effectivenss
Leaders
Embracing
CARE principles
Experiencing
effectiveness
Embracing
principles
Child Care
Workers
Supervisors
Understanding
concepts
Working
Through CARE
Working
through CARE
Working
through CARE
Understanding
concepts
Understanding
concepts
•CARE involves much more than skills training or
knowledge transmission.
•Putting CARE into practice requires the ability to
move beyond technical thinking (“if x, then y”); it
requires adaptive thinking (“what is going on here,
and how can I be helpful?”)
•Ultimately, it is about mindset, and the need to
think and act in an integrated manner with an
appreciation of complexity.
Two of the most common statements from
agency staff about learning and implementing
CARE were “it’s about changing your mindset”
and “it’s thinking outside the box”.
And changing a mindset involves all aspects of
one’s being.
thinking
Cognitive/intellectual
feeling
relating
Social/affiliative
MINDSET
Affective/emotional
meaning
Moral/spiritual
Staff/Adult Development Domains
At the heart of implementing CARE is creating an
agency culture and climate that supports the
development of a new CARE mindset (not simply
a commitment or intention) amongst all staff
members.
It became apparent that the implementation of
CARE involved some form of adult development.
But how was this adult development process
actually working?
What was all the data from the many hours of
interviews telling me about the mindset struggles
people were experiencing and talking about?
And lo and behold, a fortuitous conversation with
a graduate student brought me the framework I
was struggling to create.
The slides that follow are based on the work of
Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey outlined in their
text Immunity to Change (2009). Their research:
•identifies the struggle that people in many
walks of life have in adapting to the increasing
complexity of the world in which they work, and
•offers an explanation for how and why some
agency staff members are able to embrace and
act in accordance with the CARE model while
others are not.
Adapted from R. Kegan & L.L. Lahey,
Immunity to Change (2009)
Self-transforming
Mindset
Self-authoring
Mindset
Socialized
Mindset
Increasing complexity
Socialized Mindset
•Prefers dealing with concrete realities rather
than abstract concepts
• Focusses on technical solutions (“if x, then y”)
• More at ease following rules than being selfdirected
• Holds beliefs, values and assumptions and is
not self-aware or self-critical about them
• Comfortable following external authority
Self-authoring Mindset
•Works from a framework of understanding
• Is comfortable working with basic concepts
•Seeks to create adaptive responses to new and
complex situations
• Is generally self-directed and comfortable taking
responsibility for own actions
• Is reflective and self-critical about own beliefs,
values and assumptions
• Is able to question external authority and draw on
inner resources (thoughts, feelings, understandings)
Self-transforming Mindset
•Understands relations between concepts and can
create new concepts as required
•Thinks systemically and is comfortable with
changing systems and creating new systems
• Is self-authoring and self-transformative (i.e. can
change own beliefs, values and assumptions)
• Is highly self-aware and able to self-criticize
• Is comfortable with ambiguity & uncertainty
• Is comfortable leading others with sensitivity to
their needs and realities
For work of a technical nature, a “socialized
mindset” is often perfectly adequate to the task.
However, the findings from this research suggest that
to be able to implement CARE, one needs to have
developed, or at least be willing and able to begin the
task of developing, a “self-authoring” mindset. It is
also preferable if supervisors are functioning to a
significant degree at this level in order to model and
support others to progress in this direction.
A number of agency leaders demonstrated
characteristics of a “self-transforming mindset”.
A congruent agency is needed to sustain the developmental processes
Openness to change/ lack of rigidity
Develop a common language
Working on the same page/lack of role conflict
Safe to make mistakes
Leaders model learning mode
Accountable to same goal or purpose
People valued as individuals
Work environment experienced as supportive
Integrates learning mode into operating mode
A Congruent Organisational Culture and Climate
Agency leaders become aware of the need to
review and revise their agency policies,
procedures, practices, and structures, in order to
be congruent with CARE.
Workers in CARE agencies often report that
things are more calm and peaceful in the
cottages, there is less fear, there are fewer
confrontations and power struggles, and fewer
restraints (in one case none). Many workers
report they are happier and feel more
satisfaction in their work.
If this sounds too good to be true...
yes, some workers are not able to adapt very well
to the CARE philosophy and approach, and
actively “resist” or “fight” the model. They need
assistance to understand their reaction and to
make an informed decision about their future.
Residential child care is demanding work,
however the CARE program model offers the
potential benefit of significant personal and
professional developmental growth for those
willing and able to commit to it.
When asked how long it took to feel
that they had become a CARE agency,
most respondents indicated “about 2
years”.
When asked how long it took to see
differences with the children, the
response was invariably, “right away”!
According to Pioneer agency respondents (as of
July/August, 2010), the estimated degree of
attainment of a consistent CARE approach,
after approximately 2 years, ranges from about
45-50% to 80-85%.
Summary
In the past, there has been a tendency in
the child welfare field to oversimplify the
needs of children in residential care,
thus oversimplifying the nature of
residential care work,
and therefore what it takes to do this work
well.
The CARE Program Model embodies an
appreciation of the complexity of residential
care, and offers a framework and process for
systematically improving residential care
practice at both the worker and agency levels.
At the same time, CARE is a work in progress,
and the research being undertaken is bringing
forth data and understandings that can help to
improve the model and how it is implemented.
Some Implications of this Study
• CARE is “big”, even profound in its
implications; it engages in challenging and
transforming our mindsets and, therefore,
our identities and our sense of self.
• Understanding the current mindsets of staff
can assist in the provision of individualized
training (support for development) and
supervision, and help with the selection of
staff for supervisory and leadership roles
and responsibilities.
• This analysis of the CARE implementation
process suggests that consideration be given
to developing further the adult learning
components of CARE in line with new theories
and understandings about how adults can
increase their mental complexity (i.e. change
their mindsets).
• In addition, each of the six principles has
extensive literature that can be drawn upon
ever more deeply as a useful resource for staff
and agency development.
Residential care
is not rocket
science;
it is far more
complex than
that!