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.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Friday, November 7, 2008
The Shift is Happening in New York!
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!
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!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Training
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!
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!
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
The Arc of Delaware County featured in a revolutionary new book.
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
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
Thursday, August 14, 2008
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.
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.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Where you been?
New Edition of The Challenge
I’ve been spending a lot of time lately writing, just not on this blog. Typically, a project I originally thought would take two or three weeks took three months. The first book the Arc of Delaware County published, in 1992, has been reprinted several times. Before the last reprint we realized it needed modernizing. Many developments have occurred in the field and in our organization since 1992 and the need for a rewrite became clear. Welcome to the Challenge of the Delaware County ARC was written to help introduce new employees to our unique culture. Since then hundreds of new employees have launched their careers with us by reading it during their first week of employment. During that time as well, hundreds of people outside the organization also read and appreciated it.
The biggest development over the years has been the wide spread and rapidly expanding interest in our proactive philosophy and positive approach which has enabled us to support even the most challenging individuals without the use of physical intervention. In light of the growing national controversy over the use and abuse of such techniques interest in positive alternatives has grown and grown. So much so that while many changes occurred in the content of the new edition of The Challenge, it was also decided a change in the title was very much in order. The new edition, entitled Welcome to the Challenge of Caring without Restraint, is currently at the printer and should be available in a few weeks.
The Second Most Frequently Asked Question.
When organizations examine our philosophy and approach they usually have many questions. The first is some variation of, how do we make such a change in our organization? It is amazing the second question that almost always follows is, how do we convince our existing staff to buy in?
They don’t worry about the amount of training they will need to provide. They don’t worry about their Board of Directors’ position, they don’t worry about the impact on the people they support (in large part because they see the immediate benefits). They don’t worry about dollar costs. They don’t worry about new employees. The overwhelming concern is how to convince existing staff to get on board. While I have become use to the question, it still amazes me.
It amazes me for several reasons:
- Don’t their staff want the very best for the people they support? They often say the do.
- What are their values? Are they about excellence or convenience?
- Why the resistance to change? Whenever someone shows me a better way, I can’t wait to get started.
- When they ask that question, do supervisors and executives know how lame they sound? I ask, “Who’s the boss? Who signs the paycheck? Who works for whom?”
Ultimately, once the shock or the humor (depending on my mood) wears off I respond that it usually boils down to get on board or get out!
I’m quick to add that we can’t be arbitrary. That we need to provide inspiration, training, support and opportunity for coached practice but ultimately our responsibility is to the people we are hired to support. So they need to show us they are trying and not just trying but making progress or they need to make room for those who can do what needs to be done.
It’s funny, most of them respond, “You’re right.” But what I struggle to understand is why they need me to say it in the first place. On the other hand, I’m glad they do. I know they appreciate it and I also know it doesn’t take most of the too long to get it. And for that I’m grateful.
New Edition of The Challenge
I’ve been spending a lot of time lately writing, just not on this blog. Typically, a project I originally thought would take two or three weeks took three months. The first book the Arc of Delaware County published, in 1992, has been reprinted several times. Before the last reprint we realized it needed modernizing. Many developments have occurred in the field and in our organization since 1992 and the need for a rewrite became clear. Welcome to the Challenge of the Delaware County ARC was written to help introduce new employees to our unique culture. Since then hundreds of new employees have launched their careers with us by reading it during their first week of employment. During that time as well, hundreds of people outside the organization also read and appreciated it.
The biggest development over the years has been the wide spread and rapidly expanding interest in our proactive philosophy and positive approach which has enabled us to support even the most challenging individuals without the use of physical intervention. In light of the growing national controversy over the use and abuse of such techniques interest in positive alternatives has grown and grown. So much so that while many changes occurred in the content of the new edition of The Challenge, it was also decided a change in the title was very much in order. The new edition, entitled Welcome to the Challenge of Caring without Restraint, is currently at the printer and should be available in a few weeks.
The Second Most Frequently Asked Question.
When organizations examine our philosophy and approach they usually have many questions. The first is some variation of, how do we make such a change in our organization? It is amazing the second question that almost always follows is, how do we convince our existing staff to buy in?
They don’t worry about the amount of training they will need to provide. They don’t worry about their Board of Directors’ position, they don’t worry about the impact on the people they support (in large part because they see the immediate benefits). They don’t worry about dollar costs. They don’t worry about new employees. The overwhelming concern is how to convince existing staff to get on board. While I have become use to the question, it still amazes me.
It amazes me for several reasons:
- Don’t their staff want the very best for the people they support? They often say the do.
- What are their values? Are they about excellence or convenience?
- Why the resistance to change? Whenever someone shows me a better way, I can’t wait to get started.
- When they ask that question, do supervisors and executives know how lame they sound? I ask, “Who’s the boss? Who signs the paycheck? Who works for whom?”
Ultimately, once the shock or the humor (depending on my mood) wears off I respond that it usually boils down to get on board or get out!
I’m quick to add that we can’t be arbitrary. That we need to provide inspiration, training, support and opportunity for coached practice but ultimately our responsibility is to the people we are hired to support. So they need to show us they are trying and not just trying but making progress or they need to make room for those who can do what needs to be done.
It’s funny, most of them respond, “You’re right.” But what I struggle to understand is why they need me to say it in the first place. On the other hand, I’m glad they do. I know they appreciate it and I also know it doesn’t take most of the too long to get it. And for that I’m grateful.
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