Plans for Phase III of Transition Age Youth Initiative

A review of Phase II

Purpose of Phase II: Building Foundational Knowledge Spotlight on transition age youth as a population Learn more about resiliency Build on understanding of positive youth development Emphasis on youth engagement Starting conversations between adult mental health staff and children’s mental health staff

Phase II Framework: Resiliency

Phase II: Key Resiliency Concepts Explored Validation and Valuing – How organizations can support youth voice Sanctuary – How organizations can increase the youth friendliness of their spaces and staff Justice – How staff can help youth advocate for themselves, and hear them when they advocate Self-Wisdom and Self-Acceptance – How organizations can create opportunities for youth to learn from adverse experiences Courage and Confidence in your Abilities – How organizations can empower youth to find and utilize their inner strength

Phase II: Key Resiliency Concepts Explored Supportive Connections – How organizations can create a community of support for youth beyond their organization Contribution and Participation – How organizations can create opportunities for youth to have a meaningful role in their care and in their communities Hope and Optimism – How organizations can foster hope and a futures orientation in the youth that they work with Sense of Meaning and Joy – How organizations can move beyond symptom management and into wellness practice

Phase II: Monthly Activities Participate in online training Complete online self-assessment Experiment with practice tool Explore youth information sheet Read and discuss additional resources Participate in group call

How this work translates to Phase III

Purpose of Phase III: Promote Resiliency- Oriented Organizational Change Build off of foundational resiliency knowledge and work organization is doing at the practice level Invited to think more globally about developing resiliency-oriented organizations Learn about and experiment with four areas of opportunity in organizational change process Increase resiliency-orientation buy-in Build momentum toward larger change

Phase III: Requirements for Participating Organizations Organization must have participated in Phase II of the Transition Age Youth Initiative Continued Executive Sponsor commitment to participate in initiative activities Continued support and participation from at least three of the current change team members Change team must have children’s and adult mental health staff participants Organization leadership will allow two hours per week for resiliency oriented project work, in addition to in- person activities Participation in data collection, including distribution of staff and youth surveys at the beginning and end of project year

Phase III: Expectations for Participating Organizations Executive Sponsor and change team members: – Are ready for and excited about creating a resiliency- orientation at their organization – Will maintain this project as a top priority at their organization – Will participate in all activities with an open mind – Are open to feedback and are interested in partnering with Via Hope in order to create organizational change – Show commitment to future leadership opportunities for youth who have been served by their organization – Will show movement in all four areas of opportunity by end of Phase III

Phase III: Areas of Opportunity Opportunity Area I: Increasing capacity for youth leadership – Focuses on building upon the knowledge of youth engagement and setting the stage for youth leadership. – Explores interest in having youth as decision makers at their organization, building buy-in for this work, and taking steps to help youth leadership succeed!

Phase III: Areas of Opportunity Opportunity Area II: Spreading the Resiliency Knowledge within Organization – Focuses on increasing the understanding of resiliency throughout the organization. – Explore how to communicate with and educate fellow staff members about resiliency, how to build bridges between children’s and adult mental health staff and decision makers.

Phase III: Areas of Opportunity Opportunity Area III: Creating a Resilient Organizational Environment – Focuses on the resiliency-orientation and youth friendliness of the environment and staff at the organization – Explore how their building could inspire hope, how their materials could be more youth-friendly, and how they could include youth in changing the environment.

Phase III: Areas of Opportunity Opportunity Area IV: Building Your Local Resiliency Community – Focuses on how the organization relates to and includes other community entities in their work – Explore which organizations they connect with, how to forge new relationships, and how to increase resiliency capacity in the community

Phase III: Timeline Phase III of project will begin in July 2013 and end in November 2014 Summer of 2013 – Apply for Phase III and notified if accepted Fall of 2013 – Focus on getting to know your organization in a new way and engaging in innovation discovery in four areas of opportunity Winter of 2013 – Focus on creating a plan for prioritizing steps toward change and to discover good work happening at organization Winter of 2014 – Focus on getting stakeholder input for plan Spring of 2014 – Focus on implementing the plan and building momentum for organizational change Summer of 2014 – Focus on continuing the organizational change work and learn new ways to build enthusiasm Fall of 2014 – Focus on sustaining the work beyond Phase III of the Transition Age Youth Initiative

Phase III: Site Visits and Group Gathering Activities Fall 2013 – Site visits in order to orient Via Hope and CSWR staff to your organization and explore key dimensions of resiliency with staff and decision makers – Group gathering in order to begin to set key priorities and create steps for innovation and growth Winter 2014 – Site visits in order to support change team members as they educate other staff about resiliency practices and begin to build momentum toward chosen goals Summer 2014 – Group gathering to provide an opportunity to share success strategies, learn from one another and receive content more specific to priorities set by participants Fall 2014 – Group gathering at which team members will review their accomplishments during Phase III and create a plan for how they will keep moving forward with resiliency work

Phase III: Monthly and Bi-Monthly Activities Monthly: – Individual site calls – Accomplish steps laid out in change plan – Complete exploratory activities as invited – Act as champions for youth leadership, resiliency orientation, resilient environments, and resilient communities Every other month – Participate in online trainings with topics connected to four areas of opportunity – Participate in group calls to share successes and challenges and to learn from one another

Application Information Application must be completed by the EXECUTIVE SPONSOR Application has more information about the project, agreements for executive sponsor to make, and short answer questions to be completed Application will be posted by 5pm on Friday, June 14 th ( with link will be sent out) All applications must be submitted by 5pm on Thursday, July 11 th. Chosen organizations will be notified by 5pm on Thursday, July 18 th.

Happy applying!