LIA is a program of the Academy for Professional Excellence at San Diego State University School of Social Work Enhancing the Management Talent Pool through Leadership Development and a Certificate in Social Work Administration Presented by: Tom Packard, DSW, Jennifer Tucker-Tatlow, MSW San Diego State University School of Social Work and the Academy for Professional Excellence Presented at the Annual Conference of the Network for Social Work Management Washington, DC, June 2015

Southern Area Consortium of Human Services Directors of eight Southern California County Human Services organizations engage in  Strategic discussions regarding public human services issues  Research to inform practice  Policy development  Executive development and succession planning Staffed by the Academy for Professional Excellence, School of Social Work, San Diego State University

Leaders in Action 2003: Directors noted many pending executive retirements Desire for custom-designed leadership development to meet succession planning needs Leadership development best practice review Development of competenciesDesign of program

Leaders in Action Since 2004:  Eleven annual cycles completed  300 participants trained to date (~27/year)  Funded by county training registration fees and Title IV- E funds Goal is to create a critical mass of highly competent executives in the southern region ready for tomorrow’s county leadership opportunities and challenges.

Core Elements 360-degree assessments 15 days of training by professional trainers and county directors Individual development plans Professional trainers & county directors Journaling Executive coaching Book club Cross-county networking Call back trainings

TOPICS Block 1 Leadership Critical Thinking Block 2 Coaching Organizational Change Presentation Skills Block 3 Strategic Management Leading a Racially Diverse Workforce Fiscal Essentials Block 4 Board of Supervisor Relations/Political Savvy Media Relations/Interview Skills Ethics and Your Career Diversity in the Workplace Managing Litigations Block 5 Self-Care for Executives Influence/Negotiations & Conflict Resolution Board of Supervisor Presentation Coaching for Results

Demographics (Cohorts 1-10)

Years of management experience:  5 or less 28%  6-10 years 35%  %  Over 20 years 7% Number of employees participants supervised:  Less than 50 49%  %  %  %  Over 500 3%

Evaluation Level 1 Satisfaction/Opinion/Reaction Satisfaction survey Oral feedback Open-ended survey Level 2 Knowledge/Skill Acquisition Participant Self Assessment of Learning Level 3 Transfer of Learning Post-training qualitative overall evaluation 3, 6, 12 month web-based follow-up Level 4 Outcomes 3, 6, 12 month web-based follow-up

Success Factors Essential ongoing involvement of the agency directors:  Active role in initial planning  Involvement as trainers  Annual review of evaluation findings  Ongoing support through selecting promising staff for participation  Conveyed practice wisdom throughout sessions

Success Factors  Coaching by the program manager  “Call back” sessions for additional training of program graduates  Involvement of participants’ supervisors  Attend to organizational factors that help to facilitate transfer of learning for maximum impact

Future Plans  As of 2016, deliver 2 cycles/year (N~50 total)  Ongoing curriculum revisions and enhancements  Ongoing program evaluation to inform program improvements

Evaluation Articles on Leaders in Action  Packard. T. & Jones, L. (2015). An outcomes evaluation of a leadership development initiative, Journal of Management Development. 34(2),  Coloma, J., Gibson, C., Jones, L., Packard, T., Rahiser, P., Tucker- Tatlow, J. (2014). A leadership development initiative for eight county human service agencies: results after nine years, Training and Development in Human Services. 8(1),  Coloma, J., Gibson, C., & Packard, T. (2012). Participant outcomes of a leadership development initiative in eight human service organizations. Administration in Social Work. 36:1, 4–22.

Certificate in Social Work Administration THE NEED AND OPPORTUNITY  Managers in the County HHSA noted a need for qualified candidates to select for management positions  Positive reaction to the idea for a certificate program for Direct Practice/Clinical MSW employees wanting to enter management  MSWs + basic administrative knowledge and skills = ready to promote

Certificate in Social Work Administration THE NEED AND OPPORTUNITY  Mangers w/ direct practice and management skills greater value to an agency than a generalist manager without social work knowledge & values or a social worker with no management training  MSW program budget cuts fewer students, need to ensure continued value of the Admin concentration adding certificate students to existing Admin classes would increase enrollment and revenue

Target Audience  MSWs who have recently been promoted to an administrative position  Direct service practitioners interested in enhancing their leadership and management capabilities  MSWs with little formal training in administrative practice  Other human services professionals who would like to add maximum value to their organizations when they are promoted to management levels

Program Goals  Enhance the skills and career prospects for MSWs who have moved into, or are interested in moving into, administrative positions  Augment the talent pools of promotable mangers and leaders with advanced administration knowledge and skills as well as a strong grounding in clinical practice  Contribute to increasing the effectiveness of human service organizations in terms of client outcomes and management capacity

Program Content (15-week courses) Managing for Performance Program design Proposal development Evidence-based programming Logic models Management auditing Human resource management Strategic planning & management Marketing & public relations Leading for Change Leadership competencies Leadership styles Change leadership Creating a learning culture Cutback management Evidence-based management Organizational change processes Supervision and transitioning into supervision Information Systems & Knowledge Management Information systems design Current human services software Program evaluation Balanced scorecards Measuring effectiveness, efficiency, and quality Principles & processes of knowledge management Using data to drive decisions Financial Management & Resource Development Budgets: line item, program, performance Budget monitoring & control Break even analysis Fund development Cost allocation & analysis Financial analysis & financial statements Managing multiple funding sources

Program Options  MERGED: Certificate Students attend regular Admin classes: increase enrollment, one instructor for 2 target groups, enriched class discussions  SEPARATE: Certificate Program through the College of Extended Studies: Content can be specifically designed for Certificate students, more convenient scheduling (evening classes)

Positives and Challenges with the Merged Model  4 graduates since Fall 2011  Current MSW students can get the certificate  SW can’t offer FM & IS electives (not enough students): Use courses in Pub Adm & Nursing  University now requires that 3 of the 4 courses must be taken through regular enrollment ($2,705/semester)

Alternative: Separate Model  Great flexibility in course content, scheduling, and fees  Additional time for hiring instructors, training, quality assurance  Not as rigorous (or prestigious/valuable?) as the Advanced Certificate through regular University enrollment

Issues  Merged vs. separate models  Meeting University requirements  Instructors: faculty, practitioners, both  Quality assurance and support for practitioner instructors  Content relevance: competencies for entry-level managers  Marketing  Use of local tuition reimbursement programs

Questions? Comments?

This presentation is brought to you by: Leaders in Action Tom Packard, DSW Jennifer Tucker-Tatlow, MSW LIA is a program of the Academy for Professional Excellence at San Diego State University School of Social Work