Resilience Leaders

Program Description

The epidemic rates of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and childhood trauma requires the nation’s first data-driven, cross-sector systemic prevention strategy called Resilience Leaders. Data-driven: We have excellent data that provide all the information we need to start solving ACEs today. Cross-sector: We’ve identified ten vital services in ten distinct social sectors that make up the resilient family-friendly community required to prevent ACEs. We work across sectors to assess challenges, plan, implement action and measure progress. Systemic: The complexity of the ACEs challenge requires that we work in a systemic manner, taking into consideration all the interrelationships and interdependencies, whether it be our own organization or the community we focus on. Resilience Leaders is a data leadership and continuous quality improvement (CQI) program based on the groundbreaking work with the Data Leaders for Child Welfare program implemented in NYC, CT and NM. The program we propose trains leaders in behavioral health, public health, child welfare, youth development, and education. Resilience Leaders participants are introduced to the four phases of CQI: assessment, planning, action and evaluation, focused on developing innovations to prevent ACEs. We seek to pilot the program with a behavioral health care agency in Albuquerque NM.

Creativity

Resilience Leaders is program of Safety+Success Communities, based on an original model currently used to prevent child maltreatment, the Data Leaders for Child Welfare program, funded by Casey Family Program. ACEs prevention requires resourcefulness and a comprehensive approach that would give local stakeholders the opportunity to explore innovation. Our course is project-based as participants are empowered to use both evidence-based strategies and thinking outside the box with technology. The course is a think tank supported by personalized instruction, group synergy, coaching and online support. The components of the program include: Classroom Instruction promotes transfer of learning, nurture ingenuity, creativity and strengthens critical thinking. Coaching provides focused attention on identifying local problems. Web-Based instruction provides participants with lessons, links to data, access to research, and all the tools needed to support a local data-driven, results-oriented process. Innovations developed by participants with on-going support from the instructors.

Leadership

Resilience Leaders is sponsored by leadership from within all sectors that serve children and families. We empower leaders to disrupt the status quo with creative innovations benefiting the lives of families in measurable and meaningful ways. The course is designed for those in leadership roles to disseminate information to their staff using data, research, evidence-based practice and technology. We seek self-directed participants — who are motivated to learn, share, challenge assumptions and support positive change. As a change agent, creating and having support for new innovations is vital—and challenging. Our program implementation provides direction to leaders through our learning management system. The course has all the tools needed to set up a local training, recruit participants, facilitate continuous quality improvement and nurture participants local innovations. The course allows organizations to share information, emulate and collaborate on innovative projects, and can be customized to meet the needs of different localities.

Sustainability

Resilience Leaders program is modeled after the Data Leaders for Child Welfare program and designed for sustainability. We are committed to providing all communities with the resources to launch and sustain a local Resilience Leaders program. Agencies that adopt Resiliency Leaders will have all the tools needed to grow the program. All tools are housed in a learning management system that will be updated yearly. Because our work in cross-sector, we can support each local Resilience Leaders program seek support from new and existing partner organizations across sectors at all levels of government—state, tribal, county and city. Our consultants provide on-going guidance on both program development and sustainable continuation of the program. Our faculty have decades of experience in capacity-building and organizational development. We are committed to supporting the sustainability and success of each local Resilience Leaders program.

Replicability

The Resilience Leaders program is designed within a learning management system that makes replicability cost-effective and efficient. The program can be accessed from anywhere and customized with technical support from the project development team at Safety+Success Communities. All materials housed on the course site, including the training curriculum, guide to program set up, and more than 40 tutorial booklets on key concepts, can be downloaded and shared. We have achieved success replicating the Data Leaders for Child Welfare program in New York City and Connecticut after a successful two-year pilot in New Mexico evaluated by the Butler Institute for Families at the University of Denver. Technology makes replication of the Resiliency Leaders program easy to manage from Safety and Success Communities. Technical assistance is available to strengthen every aspect of the program, from training to evaluation of ongoing community innovations.

Results/Outcomes

Resilience Leaders is the first of its kind in many ways. One aspect of the program is its cross-sector approach to empowering families by strengthening community resources in key sectors. Course participants decide on the type, scale and scope of a program project. Project outcomes may include increasing awareness of ACEs, building the capacity of a local project to have a bigger reach or increasing school-based trauma-informed care. The long-term goal is strengthening ten sectors: behavioral health, health care, housing, shelter, transportation, early learning programs, education, job training, parent support and youth mentors. All outcomes are guided by the CQI frame work and tracked to ensure that progress is meaningful to residents, especially those most vulnerable. We will monitor all local projects and report back to all program participants on the progress, challenges and successes being made toward preventing ACEs. Resilient children live in resilient communities.