Shift Happenings with George Suess

Style

2009-10-16T15:23:00.001-04:00

There are schools of management, theories of management, leadership institutes and good old best practices which often come from the school of hard knocks. But we have recently been discussing leadership styles and more specifically what are the styles we most appreciate.

We are a learning organization and one of the things we want to learn about is how to bring newer recruits up to speed as quickly as possible and, correspondingly, how to we help them avoid the mistakes we all made along the way.

One way we have decided upon is to probe deeply into this thing we call style. Style can be like opinions where everyone thinks theirs is the right one. But that’s not where we want to go. We’re going in two directions.

First, we are asking ourselves 2 questions:
1 Who are the leaders we learn from?
2 What are their styles? And we are trying to be very specific, concrete here.

We are not inexperienced nor are we unaccomplished. But we all know there is more to do and more to learn. So from what leaders do we not only get direction but education or learning? How do they teach us? Some of this is their willingness to share information; some the way they do it. For some it’s the perspective they bring; for others the respect they show.

Secondly, we are approaching those people we each admire (and they may very well be different for each of us) to ask them to describe their style. What do they think makes them so effective? What is it they think makes others effectively learn from them?

So, what do you think? Please respond to this entry with the specific characteristics of the styles from which you best learn. Think about your personal guru and what is it about her/him that works for you …. And let us know.

We don’t expect this will be a fast exercise. It will take time, concentration and discussion. We will report back from time on our progress. So stay tuned.

What a squad!

2009-09-30T17:05:00.000-04:00

I’m like a lot of other folks. I don’t watch golf on TV unless Tiger’s playing. The last couple of times I’ve watched it struck me how the officials insist on absolute quiet when golfers are hitting their shots. Yet, if you turn the channel and watch a basketball championship game you see something quite different.

With one second to go all eyes are on the person taking the last free throw attempt. If he/she makes it, the game is tied and if they make the second shot, they’re the champions. If not they lose. And while on the other channel there is absolute silence, during the whole time the round ball player is getting ready and shooting the fans are screaming, waving anything they can get their hands on and doing their absolute best to distract the shooter.

Just as much riding on either sport; yet, one insists on silence while at the other disruption and commotion rule. Big money and huge prestige riding on both.

These are the kinds of things that capture my attention and make me think about our work. Some times it’s nice and quiet. Moments later it’s distraction and diversion. Yet it doesn’t prevent the Delarc Team from scoring one victory after another for the children and adults we serve and support.

What a squad!

Uncluttered Minds

2009-09-25T12:27:00.006-04:00

Yesterday afternoon the Leadership Team met to review the first draft of our proposal to introduce the Shift Happens proactive philosophy and positive approach into the NYS OMRDD system (see last post).

What an incredible group of people! After a brief introduction I distributed the draft, broke them into small groups and asked them to do their thing. And what a thing they did. Their observations, comments, criticisms, inputs, changes and questions were all on the money. At the end of the meeting we had a whole new, and needless to say, better document.

Almost 20 years ago, the late Fred McDonald, a consultant, was hired by our Board of Directors to lead a strategic planning process. He worked with us 3 to 5 days a month for over a year and in the process came to know our staff very well. At one point he commented to me about the awe he felt when working with them. He said that no matter how busy they were or what the topic, when he spoke to them individually or as a group he marvelled at their "uncluttered minds".

Quite a few of the members have changed since then; some have remained but to this day when you get these folks together their minds remain uncluttered. This does not mean they are not busy. Nor does it mean they don't live full and abundant lives. Quite the contrary. The abundance of their lives and the importance and busy ness of their jobs is what makes their ability to put everything else aside, listen to the question or examine the issue and focus clearly, thoughtfully and thoroughly on the matter at hand continues to excite and inspire me.

They never fail to impress me and they never, ever fail to accomplish the job. And, in this case, the proposal we are developing has benefited greatly.

What an talented, amazing and fun group of people. How lucky The Arc of Delaware County is to have so many fine people.

2009-09-25T12:27:00.001-04:00

Shifting New York

2009-09-21T14:13:00.001-04:00

Over the spring and summer the Executive Directors Association of NYSARC (EDA) sponsored three regional training sessions for Executive Teams. The results were strong and a conference call is scheduled for later this week to discuss possible next steps. While timing may not be right for some and others may have other priorities, it seems very likely several organizations will be interested in more training or consultations.

At the third session, three high level officials from the NYS Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD) attended. They felt the material offered serious implications for their organization and today our CFO, Teresa Skinner and I met with them and several other officials along with the EDA Chair. The meeting couldn’t have gone better. All agree the Shift Happens model is worth bringing forward to District offices for further review. A Nov. 4 date was set to introduce them to the model.

At the same time we will be developing a state wide plan/proposal. One of the foundation pieces will be to develop a pilot the model within the Broome District.

While all this is going on we continue to work with Orange County AHRC.

New York may not be Shifting yet, but it looks like it is about to.

Outcomes for People

2009-07-13T11:35:00.002-04:00

I recentlly asked our Leadership Team what they thought Delarc's major accomplishments over the last year have been. In no priority order, here is what they said:

--- Delarc's Person Centered Planning process has significantly evolved and is producing amazing results for people. The additions this year have made it easier for people to understand, particpate and take the lead in the process. More people are running their meetings, asserting themselves and setting ambitious goals.

--- This then has lead to a dramtic increase in meaningful community inclusive activity / participation.

--- The number of adult education classes offered to our folks by community members has increased. The variety of such classes has been very well received and has motivated all involved.

--- The openness of the community and its willingness to include our folks in their activities, businesses and events has increased in numbers and in spirit. The community is beginning to see our folks in a whole new light.

--- The progress we are making in working with local schools and BOCES to improve the transition process has been exciting and offers much promise for the future.

--- More individuals who have never earned any income are now doing so for the first time in their lives.

--- The number and diversity of organizations interested in our proactive philosophy and positive approach has exploded ... all by word of mouth.

I'm sure if I gave them more time this list would be a lot longer. None the less, it is still something of which our entire organization is proud. The cool thing about this group is that this success motivates them to continue learning, try harder and do more for the people they support.

Very exciting!

Communications from Staff

2009-06-30T13:21:00.002-04:00

Following are copies of emails I received this week from two of our team members. They show the impact we are having on people; the people we support, our families and the rehab community.

Received June 23, 2009

Hi George,

I just wanted to take a moment to tell you about a revelation I had recently. When I started working for the agency and learned about Shift Happens I thought it was wonderful. It made such good sense and seemed so easy. Over the years I've seen how it has worked so well with those we serve. I guess I never thought how it would carry over into my personal life until I became a mom. Now that Natalie is two I often find myself using the techniques that I was taught as part of the shift happens approach, whether it is with potty training, teaching her how to get dressed, dealing with her tantrums, or preparing her to be a big sister.

Then last night she started reinforcing me when I was folding laundry. It made me stop and smile and think maybe she's a future Delarc employee?

Amy Anderson
Medicaid Service Coordinator
The Arc of Delaware County

Received June 25, 2009

I was at an ISP meeting today in another county at a different agency, and was shocked to hear how unhappy people were with their jobs, administration etc at their respective agency. I felt bad for them that they are not as happy in their jobs as I am, and without making it sound like I am bragging to them, I said well we do this and we do that at the Delarc and how many of these folks were wowed and wished they could have that and things were run like the Delarc.

Along the same lines, I attend many trainings for Start up Brokerage and MSC training and I seem to get more attention than the trainer because I say at the Delarc we already do..... whatever the topic may be. I have had other trainees come to me for more about what we do and completely bypass the person facilitating the training!

I just am sending this email I guess to say that I am so glad to be where I am and that from what I see out there we are head and shoulders above the rest!

Aza Hoyt

I want to thank Amy and Aza for giving me permission to share their thoughts with you. Most of all, though, I want to thank them for being part of the Delarc Team.

Unanticpated Benefits

2009-06-18T14:04:00.001-04:00

Hi there. In our books and when speaking to groups about our proactive philosophy and positive approach we always emphasize that, while our primary concern is and always will be with the children and adults we support, the Shift Happens model also offers many important benefits to us in our private lives.

Today I received the following from one our organizations brightest stars. With her permission I have placed it on the blog as a prime example of that point.

Thanks Arlene.

Good Morning George,

I felt I had to share this with you to show you how my life has changed since working with the Arc.

My daughter called yesterday in tears that her Grandfather had passed away. She told me how terrible she felt that she had not visited him for quite a while and now it was too late. Prior to working for the Arc, I would have gone to her, consoled her and probably enabled her feelings of guilt. A light bulb seemed to come on over my head and since learning of our philosophy and principles I thought to myself, "what a teachable moment"!! I, of course, extended my condolences over her loss and then told her how very important it is to "stop and smell the roses" and that all of us should take the time out of our busy lives to visit or call our loved ones, our friends, the elderly and the sick as we never know what the next day will bring. It is a hard lesson for my daughter to learn, but it certainly is a life lesson that we all should learn that when we have caring relationships, we need to keep them flourishing not only for those we care about but for ourselves.

I truly live the Arc way, not only at work but in my personal life and I am truly grateful that I have found this agency. I wanted to share this with you as little moments such as these should be shared!! Thank you for allowing me to be part of an organization that truly makes a difference in people's lives, no matter how small the difference--it matters!!
Arlene J Goedel
Administrative Assistant
RFI
190 Prospect Avenue
Walton, NY

THOSE WE SERVE COME FIRST
COMMIT TO EXCELLENCE
BE DEDICATED
EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION
COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY
BE INNOVATIVE

News update.

2009-06-14T15:29:00.003-04:00

Update:

1 Delarc celebrated its annual meeting / dinner / award ceremony on Friday June 12. It was a huge success. Over 225 people in attendance, an all time high, and, to over whelming delight, all of them lit a figurative “fire cracker” at the conclusion of the meeting.

2 On June 30 we will conduct our last conference call with the Action Tems in Georgia. Our contract expires that day. It has been an extraordinary success. All six participating agencies report making significant improvements in their culture and performance. They all are very grateful to the Georgia Department of Human Resources (DHR) for providing this service. All wish to continue making the Shift and for the contract to be renewed in the next fiscal year.
DHR has informed us their budget is very uncertain. Based on the results they have expressed high interest in developing a year 3 contract. The very poor fiscal climate is a significant obstacle. The reorganization which the State legislature very recently approved presents a different issue. How long will it take to create the new structure; for the new Director to set his vision; and to determine if this project fits within the any possible new priorities are all important questions.

3 In mid August the EDA (Executive Directors, Association) will sponsor its third 2 day Shift Happens Executive Team conference. The purpose will be to present a detailed overview of the Shift Happens Model. So far 12 different teams have participated in sessions conducted in NYC and Geneva.
The EDA has taken a bold step with this training and is in a position to take a national leadership role in reducing and eliminating the use of physical intervention and restraint with people with developmental disabilities.

4 The rate of growth the children and adults Delarc supports has always been high but it seems to me the rate has significantly increased over the last two years.
Why?
I think there are a few answers:
- Our leadership team is more focused on learning and growth than it has ever been. It has worked diligently to standardize operations and to make those standards extraordinary.
- Our recruitment, orientation and training practices are continually fine tuned.
- A large number of new curricula have been created. Methods are also improving.
- Respectful, empowering, supportive monitoring at all levels assures accountability.
- The fire for continual improvement shines bright in both our newest and most veteran team members. People in this organization, like no other, embrace change.
Lots of people would add many other things to this list, but these are the things that grab me, at the moment.

5 We have learned President Obama has created a Social Innovation Fund the purpose of which, as we understand it, is to find pockets of excellence in the not for profit sector and to study and bring their success to scale.
This is new and information is sketchy. However we are tracking it and have had a preliminary conversation with one of NYS Sen. Gillenbrand’s representatives. We asked for the Senators assistance and advocacy in accessing this fund. We firmly believe the Shift Happens Model is exactly the type of success they are looking for.
Wish us luck.

Off to Georgia ... one more time.

2009-03-28T19:43:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow morning Hope, Heidi and I head off to Georgia for a week. Our first stop will be in Bremen where we will work again with an organization we first worked with last year. This will be our fourth visit there and our last this year. This time we will be doing a variety of things from working hand in hand with many of their front line staff, to providing training on how to use the Stages of Development process to measure performance to helping them develop their corporate values to meeting with a group of families. It will be a busy two days.

Bremen is west of Atlanta, about ten miles from the Alabama line. When we finish Tuesday we will drive to Covington, 40 or 50 miles east of Atlanta. Wednesday and Thursday will be devoted to training two new organizations about our People Power leadership model. We’ll explore what it means to be a values based organization and how to build corporate values into one’s recruitment, orientation, training, supervision, performance review and time management processes thereby building and strengthening the corporate culture.

We will come back Friday, exhausted but exhilarated.

Geat teamwork. It must be luck!

2009-03-28T19:36:00.001-04:00

The Delarc Team is amazing. I have never taken it for granted and always expect the best; yet it continues to surprise and delight. It doesn’t matter what the task or situation, they always respond with excellence and they do so with a smile.

Recently they provided a unique experience for a group of local sixth graders, rallied round an individual we support who was going through an extremely stressful home situation and prepared for a Medicaid audit; all while providing top notch service to children and adults in Delaware County and mentoring several other agencies in New York and Georgia. Simply amazing!

The audit will be happening over the new few weeks, so we’ll have to wait to see how that makes out. But the sixth graders were thrilled and the fellow who was having such difficulty is doing fine, the children and adults we support are thriving and the organizations with whom we are working are thrilled.

What makes for such excellence? Sometimes I think we are the luckiest organization ever. And while I’m just superstitious enough not to deny its random power, I have always believed you make your luck.

Inc. magazine, in this month’s issue (April ’09) features an interview with Jim Collins, author of Good to Great and Built to Last. In the interview he says, “I see nothing to contradict the principle that who comes first and what comes second, for a very simple reason: If you cannot predict the what, you have to be able to do a good job with the who, because the what is going to be constantly shifting.”

When he was asked what he meant by doing a good job with the who, he asked the following question. “Do you have a culture of people who A. share a set of values, B. have very clear responsibilities, and C. perform.”

Mr. Collins’ formula has been the one the Delarc Team has been committed to for over 30 years. It was one of the first organizations in the U.S. to put it’s core values, which it calls its Unifying Principles, in writing back in the 80’s. Since then it has methodically built those values into every practice and process and has gone to extravagant lengths to assure all new hires share them.

It transformed all it job descriptions to be outcome not duty oriented. Expectations are further clarified daily through well trained coaches and weekly through individual sit down meetings with their immediate supervisor. Performance is measure through a unique tool it developed called the Stages of Employee Development within the first week of employment, at 30 and 90 days and at least annually thereafter.

Find recruits who share your values, clarify your expectations, provide world class coaching and measure performance objectively and consistently and I guess luck will follow.

Shout It From The Rooftops!

2009-03-18T13:39:00.004-04:00

The Arc of Delaware County is totally committed to a positive, proactive approach in our care and treatment of people with disabilties. Unfortunately there are many agencies across the country that don't share our beliefs; please take a moment to check out the link below and you will see just one more example of such. We frequently hear of physical abuses and even deaths of people with disabilites because of the care and treatment they receive by the people whose care they are entrusted to.

Though the information in the link is very troubling to hear, it's important for us to keep this in front of people - it's time for America to get their heads out of the sand and really know what is happening in this country to people with disabilities. Our agency spends a great deal of time and engergy trying to spread the word that there is a better way; our CEO does trainings for any agency in the country who is willing to listen. We need your help though - together we can raise awareness and help people know there really is a better way. I encourage you to help us spread the word - share this information with everyone you know.

I'll leave you with one thought: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." ~ Margaret Mead

Link: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101937985

Thank you.
Catherine Tweedie,
Delarc Community Relations Director

Positive Behavioral Supports

2009-02-25T17:54:00.001-05:00

Two Delarc heroes.

During the week of February 15 to 20, Chief Operating Officer, Barbara Rothenberg and Life Coach 10, Sharon Klinger achieved remarkable results in Delarc’s efforts to find practical ways to assist others committed to supporting people with developmental disabilities.

During our visit to two different agencies, one on Monday and Tuesday the other on Wednesday and Thursday, Barb and Sharon spent their first day shadowing an individual chosen by each agency due to the significant challenge each was presenting. We asked them to pick their toughest case.

In one case this included starting at 6:45 A.M. in the person’s home. At the end of the day and into the evening they then devised the approach they would demonstrate the next day. Lesson plans were written as were behavior plans which included reinforcement types and schedules.

The next morning was spent delivering instruction to the particular individual and teaching layers of staff to do the same. Sharon took the lead with instruction as Barb coached staff.

One of the things that distinguishes Delarc is our belief that Directors, in addition to being good administrators, must be excellent teachers. With this in mind, after they observed Sharon and with Barb’s support, the respective directors then took over for Sharon. They followed the lesson plan and learned how to use lavish reinforcement for and planned ignoring. Next came the next supervisor and the next. Finally, direct support staff took their turn.

By noon the individual’s team was prepared to continue the lesson the next day. During the afternoon debrief questions were answered, further detail provided so what they learned could be generalized to other individuals.

At our next stop Wednesday and Thursday, we followed the same process with a different individual. In both cases the results were remarkable. Behaviors were nearly eliminated and the people actively participated in the lessons Barb and Sharon devised.
Simply amazing.

As part of our project we conduct conference calls with the Action Teams of all the organizations every 6 weeks or so. Yesterday we had one and parties from both of those organizations participated and reported to the rest of the group what had occurred and the results they saw. At one point I asked if we showed up today and asked for their toughest cases, if they would choose these two people and in both cases they answered a resounding NO!

Simply amazing. No wonder Barb and Sharon are my heroes!!

Good Teaching and Engagement.

2009-01-21T10:00:00.001-05:00

Rafe Esquith is a 5th grade public school teacher in Los Angeles and the only teacher ever to receive the National Medal of the Arts award. His latest book is: Teach Like Your Hair is on Fire. We are ordering it for our library. Sign up now to read it.

At one point in the interview he said something that rang a loud bell for me. He said part of his philosophy is “put more food on the table and everyone will find something they like to eat.”

At Delarc we call it person-centered engagement. A rose by any other name, stills smells as sweet.

I believe this demonstrates, one more time, our philosophy and approach is state of the art. You are doing what the best of the best in the world are doing. The people you support are receiving the benefits and that is something of which we should all be proud.

I am looking for a volunteer or two to read the book and advise us of what they discover.Let me know if you are interested. Thanks

Training again

2009-01-14T19:36:00.000-05:00

We’re off and running again in Georgia!

On Tuesday January 13, we kicked off our new contract with the State of Georgia. This is the second contract with them. This year we will be continuing our work with 4 agencies and adding 3 new one to the mix. On Tuesday we conducted an overview session for Georgia providers to help them decide if they want to apply to be one of the three new agencies. There were approximately 75 people present. And id sounded like several agencies plan to submit an application.

Today, was day one of a two day visit to one of last year’s agencies. There is a team of three of us here and two of our staff spent the day observing the program in action and in particular focused on one individual who presents a particular challenge. It is now 7:30 pm and they are meeting to compare their notes and to develop their recommendations for improvement which we will present tomorrow. At the end of the day we also provided Time Management training to a number of their staff which we will continue and conclude tomorrow afternoon.

Exhausting but excellent.

Board Relations and the Shift Happens Model

2009-01-09T11:21:00.002-05:00

Earlier this week I meet with the President of our Board of Directors regarding our upcoming Board meeting and a few other Board matters. As the meeting was starting he said that there was something he had been reading he wanted to read me. It comes from the book, Shadow of the Hegemon by Orson Scott Card. He read the following to me:

Soldiers who did good work did not have special privileges and were given no special authority, so they were not resented by the others. The praise was not effusive, so it never embarrassed them. Instead, they were admired by the others, and emulated. And the focus of the soldiers became the earning of Bean’s recognition.

That was true power. Frederick the Great’s dictum that soldiers had to fear their officers more than they feared the enemy was stupid. Soldiers needed to believe they had the respect of their officers, and to value that respect more than they valued life itself. Moreover, they had to know that their officers’ respect was justified--that they really were the good soldiers their officers believed them to be.

When he was done he said that as he was reading this passage “It dawned on me that this is what Delarc is about and I wanted to share it with you.” A very interesting observation and one I wanted to share with you.

This is great on a number of levels and I would like you to think about it. Do you agree? Disagree? Do you see this applying to the people we support? To our subordinate staff?

How great is it that someone from our Board would see something in print, think of us and then take the time to point it out.

Great stuff!

Measurement … a dilemma

2008-12-15T17:12:00.001-05:00

We often are asked about the effectiveness of our training. How do we know it works? What data can we provide to convince them our training will be right for them? This is expected and is a thoroughly legitimate and respected question. Our usual response is that we have not figured out how to measure it. We explain that we are practitioners not researchers and that while we totally support the accountability that is measurement, we just haven’t figured out what we should be measuring or how to do it.

The people who ask the question are those who have not experienced it. And that is reasonable. However, it is interesting no one who has ever experienced the training has worried about it. Instead they leave, thoroughly excited and motivated to use the tools we give them to make the changes they determine are necessary in their organizations. And they report positive results. It is also very interesting that no paying customer has ever asked us to honor our long standing 100% money back guarantee. Quite the contrary; they usually either ask us for more or recommend us to others.

That’s all well and good but the question remains and we are committed to answering it. In 2008, we approached several relevant parties to assist us in the effort and all fell through for different reasons.

Some research has led us to ask the following: should we be measuring the effectiveness of our training in terms of the competencies or skills those leaving the training attain or should we be measuring what they do with those skills when they get back on job? Is our job to give them a process, tools and supports and theirs to make a measurable difference?

We don’t have an answer but we are committed to finding one. If you can help, let us know. If you just want to add your two cents, that’s OK too.

We will keep you posted.

The spread of our positive behavioral and proactive management philosophy and approach.

2008-11-22T16:37:00.005-05:00

1 Interest in our highly effective proactive philosophy and positive approach continues to grow. On Thursday the 20th we hosted four visitors from the Saratoga County ARC. The visitors included their Executive Director and three members of her executive team. All experienced professional and all very impressed with what they experienced.

When such visitors come to Delarc we don't do the typical tour. Rather they are expected to be here by 8:30 a.m. and to spend their day in our Vantage Point (VP) program. We invented VP in 1992 and since then every new employee spends their first dau of employment as a consumer of services. During the course of the day they are involved in a series of role play experiences that place them in the shoes (or wheelchair) of a person with disabilities and which teach them things new employees want to learn; like the names of their new co-workers.

By 3:00 they have had the experience of a lifetime. Something they will long remember and we hope they never forget. The folks from Saratoga left with a lot to talk about on the drive home and even more to think about as they, like the rest of us, strive to improve the quality of their services and supports.

2 Just before I met with the folks from Saratoga at 3:15 I picked up a phone message asking me to check my email. It was from the state of Georgia and contained a contract to deliver a second year of consulting and training to providers there. During ’08 we have mentored six different agencies for people with disabilities in Atlanta, Breeman, Athens, Augusta, Waycross and Lithonia.

The ’09 contract is to continue that work while adding three more agencies.

3 On December 3 we will have two folks visiting from the Yates County ARC. Their Executive Director and Chief Psychologist visited a couple of months ago and as they build momentum for change they want more of their employees to experience, first hand, our unique philosophy and approach.

4 We are currently developing plans to conduct several Executive 2 day introductory sessions across New York State. They will be sponsored by the NYSARC Executive Directors Association and should be launched in January or February. These Execs and their teams will learn about our Shift Happens and People power Models of Excellence.
I’m quite certain at least several of them will want additional help moving forward.

Stay tuned for further updates.

Recruitment and Training

2008-11-19T11:59:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I conducted the last of four training sessions with Delarc supervisors. There were two groups and each group participated in two four hour sessions. It had been a few years since this training was offered so the groups contained both fairly new and some well experienced supervisors.

Both groups impressed me in many ways including:

1 All the bright eyes. I didn’t notice one “dud” in the lot. Every single person, 35 in total, actively participated. At one time or another, every single person asked questions, offered opinions and contributed important insights. People were alert and stayed alert.

2 Eager learners. The purpose of the training was to impress upon them the critical importance of their jobs and to increase their mindfulness of key issues. Issues which I need to count on them to continually address in order for our organization to maximize employee productivity and retention; which in turn will lead to the satisfaction of the people we serve and their families and in the longer run accomplish our mission.

At the conclusion of the sessions I was convinced that each person left the room having learned important information, gained important insights and increased the mindfulness we were looking for. They came in with the right mind set and left better equipped and motivated to provide world class levels of coaching and support to our world class staff.

3 The benefit of proper recruitment. This lesson continues to shine through in so many ways. There were several times during the sessions when I couldn’t help think of prior training sessions we have conducted with many different audiences across the country. While there were always bright and motivated people in attendance and while, with humility, I can say there were other, more borderline performers we were able to captivate and bring around, all too frequently there were people in the audience who quite clearly didn’t belong there. In too many cases, they outnumbered those that did belong.

Our emphasis on proper recruitment and selection pays off in so many ways. The caliber of those 35 supervisors proves it once again.

4 The children and adults we support come first. This principle is so simple; yet, so profound. Easy to say; extremely difficult to actualize. It is the bottom line of this organization. The key to that actualization is the partnership between our staff and the people who coach and support them.

I slept well last night (at least until 3:00 when I started thinking about the day ahead) knowing that partnership will be even stronger.

Geraldo Rivera Takes on the Waiting List Crisis!

2008-11-10T12:54:00.001-05:00

January 6, 2009 hour-long news special to focus on the emerging crisis for people with intellectual disabilities and their families.

Visibly moved by comments from self-advocates, family members and chapter leaders at the Opening Plenary Session of The Arc's 2008 National Convention, renowned television journalist, Geraldo Rivera, electrified the audience, pledging that on January 6, 2009 - the anniversary of his expose about Willowbrook - he will present a one-hour news special to shine light on the current crisis facing people with disabilities and their families - the Waiting List.

While in Delaware County our waiting list is short, most parts of the country are experiencing long severe waits. It is not at all uncommon for parents in their eighties to still be caring for their adult child in their homes. These parents have been heard to say they can’t die since there will be no one to care for their child.

The Arc US has long advocated for a national response to the waiting list crisis. With Geraldo’s help perhaps the message will get through and states will be moved to act to end these terribly long waits that all too many families are enduring. Look for the special on January 6.

GOVERNANCE

2008-11-10T12:42:00.000-05:00

At The Arc US annual convention on November 6, I attended a session on nonprofit governance which reinforced and supported the work of our Board of Directors.

Entitled “Tools for Excellence” which was conducted by The Arc US Executive Director, Peter Berns and Steve Morgan, Executive Director of The Arc of Baltimore, the session explored important issues and trends facing organizations like ours.

It introduced a tool developed by the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations called Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector. The tool promotes the highest standards of ethics and accountability in nonprofit governance, management and operations.

The thing that attracted me to the session was that some time ago we became aware of the standards and our Board had already determined to use them as it reviews our Board policies. This was the first training session available on their use and I came away very pleased and confident our Board meets most of the standards and especially, the most critical ones.

For more information on the Standards for Excellence, please go to www.standardsforexcellenceinstitute.org or give me a call if that is preferred.

The Shift is Happening in New York!

2008-11-07T14:55:00.002-05:00

At its meeting of October 14th, 2008, the Executive Directors' Association (EDA), a partnership of executive directors of NYSARC Chapters, voted unanimously to have The Arc of Delaware County conduct a series of two day Shift Happens training sessions introducing an alternative to the use of restraints and physical interventions. These trainings will be conducted in various regions throughout New York State, enabling all NYSARC Chapters to participate and hear more about this best practice.

For those unfamiliar with EDA, it is a professional leadership organization that promotes excellence and professional leadership in support of the NYSARC mission, encourages growth and development of quality services for people with disabilities, influences public policy, develops innovations in service delivery, and provides professional participation to the governing structure of NYSARC, Inc. The EDA commits itself to the promotion and maintenance of the highest ethical standards, and Delarc is excited to be part of helping NYSARC chapters make the shift to a non-aversive, proactive approach.

Check back soon for details on how the shift is happening in New York!

Training

2008-10-01T09:35:00.001-04:00

The Challenge of the Challenge

Our first publication, welcome to the Challenge of the Delaware County ARC was written in 1992 and has been a big hit within our organization and with many folks across the country. It has sold out and been reprinted several times. Earlier this year as we were preparing for another reprint we decided we needed to do more than simply reprint it.

Since 1992 many changes have occurred in our field and in our organization and these needed to be included in The Challenge. Since then we have written one other book, Shift Happens…Making The Arc of Delaware County Shift to Proactive Behavior Management and a monograph, Vantage Point, a Dynamic approach to Employee Orientation. These needed to be referred to in The new Challenge because it is the first book our employees read.

In terms of changes in the field like the term Intellectual Disability vs. Mental Retardation, and the concept of person centeredness were not around in 1992. They too needed to be included in the new publication.

Using The Challenge

It took several months to complete the rewrite and printing. When it was delivered our first instinct was to give every staff member a copy. Our fear though was two fold. First we did not want to hand it out and have it sit on shelves. It is an important read. Secondly we wanted to make sure our leaders were well aware of the changes so they could refer to it, be able to answer questions about it and determine how best to introduce it to their existing staff who have all read the original.

So we have held off on distributing to staff while our leaders read it, let me know what they think of it, ask any questions they may have and finally determine how they will use it in their departments. That is currently underway. Once I hear form them and they are prepared, books will be distributed to all existing employees. In terms of new employees, we will keep our practice of having them read The Challenge within their first week of employment.

Obtaining copies

The Challenge of Caring Without Restraint is now available for purchase through our web sites: www.delarc.org or www.shifthappens.tv . Get your copy today.

Happy reading!

The Arc of Delaware County featured in a revolutionary new book.

2008-09-10T15:24:00.002-04:00

TITLE: “For Our Own Safety, Examining the Safety of High-Risk Interventions for Children and Young People” Edited by Michael A. Nunno, David M. Day and Lloyd B. Bullard.

DATE OF RELEASE: July 2008.

BACKGROUND: During June 1-4, 2005, George Suess, CEO, represented The Arc of Delaware County (Delarc), at the first international symposium of its kind, entitled “Examining the Safety of High-Risk Interventions for Children and Young People. The symposium took place at Cornell University. It was cosponsored by Cornell’s Family Life Development Center, Stirling University, Stirling, Scotland and the Child welfare League of America.

For Our Own Safety is devoted entirely to the subject of, and risks associated with, restraint and seclusion of children. This book is a collection of the diverse viewpoints presented at the international symposium, Examining the Safety of High-Risk Interventions for Children and Young People. It presents frank examination of the legal, ethical, and historical uses of physical restraints and seclusion. Also addressed in this collection are issues of safety, the psychological and emotional impacts of restraint, guidelines for development and use, as well as clinical and organizational strategies likely to reduce use. SUMMARY: Intended for use by professionals who want to address the impact of aggression and violence, this volume contributes to the discussion of the appropriate use of high-risk interventions and the ways to improve the general quality services and supports through safe and harm-free environments.

Subsequently, the book described below was born from the papers and presentations from the symposium. Delarc was urged to develop a chapter on the use of restraints as a leadership and cultural matter, which it did.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I: YOUNG PEOPLE AND PHYSICAL RESTRAINTS
Chapter 1: Young People's Experiences of Physical Restraint in Residential Care: Subtlety and Complexity in Policy and Practice

PART II: THEORETICAL AND HISTORICAL ISSUES
Chapter 2: Literature on the Therapeutic Effectiveness of Physical Restraints with Children and Youth
Chapter 3: Modernizing Seclusion and Restraint

PART III: ENSURING SAFETY AND MANAGING RISK
Chapter 4: Physical Restraints: Are They Ever Safe and How Safe Is Safe Enough?
Chapter 5: Risk and Prone Restraint: Reviewing the Evidence
Chapter 6: Learning from the Research

PART IV: REDUCING RESTRAINTS THROUGH ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE
Chapter 7: Adopting a Public Health Model to Reduce Violence and Restraints in Children's Residential Care Facilities
Chapter 8: Leadership's and Program’s Role in Organizational and Cultural Change to Reduce Seclusions and Restraints
Chapter 9: A Case Study Organizational Intervention to Reduce Physical Interventions: Creating Effective, Harm-Free EnvironmentsChapter
10: Beyond a Crisis Management Program: How We Reduced Our Restraints by Half in One Year
Chapter 11: Reducing the Use of Seclusion and Restraint in a Day School Program
Chapter 12: Lessons Learned from 30 Plus Years of No Physical Intervention

PART V: LEGAL ISSUES
Chapter 13: Using Restraint: The Legal Context of High-Risk Interventions
Chapter 14: The Reach of Liability for Restraints: A Question of Professional Judgment

PART VI: CONCLUSION
Chapter 15: Moving Forward

ORDERING AND INFORMATION: For information, including purchasing information please go to the Child welfare League of America web www.cwla.org

2008-08-14T18:11:00.002-04:00

Four Shappennings in One!

Shappenning #1

Yesterday afternoon three of our supervisors and I spent an hour conducting our annual "Summer Workers Pizza and Wings Forum". Once a year we gather our summer workers to accomplish a few important things.

Our summer workers can be high school or college students or anyone looking for work in the summer. Sometimes, like this year, we hire school teachers who are looking for something good to do while they make some extra money. This year we had two high school grads about to go off for their first year of college and a special education teacher from a local district.

The primary purpose of the forum is to encourage these, usually young, folks to make a life time commitment to people with disabilities. This can be done through employment (with us we hope), volunteerism, or by just being an enlightened and good citizen / neighbor. A secondary purpose is to thank them for their hard work. And a third is to clarify our proactive philosophy and positive approach.

Shappenning #2

Usually during the forum we serve pizza and wings. This year their Program Director, Molly Little, added a new twist; Shappenning #2. Rather than serving the pizza during the forum, at its conclusion Molly arranged for us to join the rest of her staff in the dining room so that her entire team could recognize them, cementing relationships and acknowledging their good work over a pre-dinner snack.

Shappenning #3

The highlight, for me any way, was the activity Molly cooked up. Between bites, she asked her staff to think of their best advice, a few words of wisdom or an encouraging message they would like each of the summer workers to have. She then asked them to copy the message three times on strips of colored paper.

As they handed each of the summer workers one of their notes Molly asked them to use the tape, she also arranged for, to link the strips into a Caring Chain each could use to decorate their dorm rooms, classroom or homes. Molly’s idea was that they could reflect back on these messages over the upcoming weeks and months.

What a thoughtful shappening kind of idea!

Shappenning #4

This morning I learned that on the way home that night as one of our newest staff was driving home, she spotted one of these very same summer workers walking home with his chain wrapped around his neck. She stopped her car, backing up traffic, jumped out and took a photo of him.

I laughed and laughed. You know, some times (actually quite frequently) I can't believe I get paid to be part of these shappennings.

It’s amazing how positivity breads more positivity and its amazing how one good thing can quickly turn into four. Keep that in mind the next time you have an opportunity to create a shappening.