Developing a Belonging Strategy Thunder Bay District Best Start Service Integration Committee

Membership of Service Integration Committee Public Health (Preschool Speech & Language; Children’s Clinical Programs; HBHC; Screening (Fair Start); Child Welfare (CAS; Dilico); Children’s Mental Health (CCTB; Dilico; NOSP); Parenting Support (OKC; Triple P); Child Care Resources (SNRP; Child Care Supervisors;)

Terms of Reference Purpose: To bring together service providers identified in Ontario’s Best Start Vision for the purpose of collaborative planning for seamless and integrated services to children. Responsibilities of Committee Members:  To think broadly about the needs of children and families in our community  To bring observed inequities in access to services to the attention of the committee  To actively pursue solutions to ensure that services are reaching the people who need them most

 Recurring theme: Families who would benefit are not accessing services; or “how to engage ‘hard-to-reach’ families”  June, 2010 – Facilitated meeting of Service Providers, Hub Coordinators, and invited guests to discuss “What do we know are effective strategies to engage families?”  Tried to keep it positive – did not focus on barriers but rather on what works Background

 Create safety  Be inviting  Meet family needs  Stay engaged  Sense of belonging/membership What People Told Us:

 Families find ways to overcome barriers when there is trust, relationships, and when they feel welcome.  When people feel a sense of “belonging” or membership…. whether in a family, a group, or a community, they feel ownership and a pull to participation.

What the Research Says:  Workers in effective programs use specific relational skills to recreate a nurturing family environment that fosters parent engagement (Gockel, Russell, Harris, 2008).  Parents attend more sessions, remain longer in programs, and participate more actively when their group leader came from a comparable SES background (Dumas, Moreland, Gitter, Pearl, Nordstrom, 2008).  Australian study examining factors that influence parent motivation and engagement in parenting programs found that payment (or incentives) were found to be a significant factor in recruitment and engagement of “high risk” parents; program design was not (Heinrichs, 2008).

Creating “The Belonging Strategy” PNPS Identify Key Themes Feedback to LSSMT Design VAT Train the Trainer Modules Training to City Trainers Training to District Trainers Training to Other Trainers Agency Training Agency Training Agency Training Agency Training Agency Training Agency Training ASK LISTEN CALL TO ACTION CONSOLIDATE DELIVER

Short Term: Annual meeting for trainers and EDs for feedback and support; Feedback to be compiled by Best Start Evaluation Committee and presented to Service Integration Committee or LSSMT or both for action; Assumed that training will likely be modified and offered every three years or so to ensure it remains viable. Long Term: Funding agreements with MCYS will include deliverables related to Values Awareness Training being delivered and acted upon. How Will It Be Sustained?

Agency A Trainers & ED Agency B Trainers & ED Agency C Trainers & ED Agency D Trainers & ED Agency E Trainers & ED Feedback Session – Best Start Evaluation Committee, January, 2013 Evaluation Committee Report with Recommendations to Service Integration Committee and Best Start Network Best Start Workplan 2013 incorporates training recommendations for 2014 MCYS Deliverables?

Staff in agencies will be aware of their own values and how they affect their basic beliefs about people and communities. Agencies will be aware of their policies and practices that promote diversity and support “belonging” and those that promote uniformity of approach and may be preventing “belonging”. Agencies will review and revise their policies and procedures to ensure that hiring practices reflect diversity that is appropriate to the client group they aim to serve. Agencies will ensure all new staff receive Values Awareness Training and are able to demonstrate an understanding of the implications. How Will We Know It’s Working?

Questions?