Policy Needed The majority of responses indicated that liability issues had not yet been discussed or – addressed within CMPs of participating coordinators. One response stated that liability coverage for family advocates can be a challenge in terms of finding an agency that will assume the responsibility. Other Challenges Responses indicating other challenges were minimal but included repetitions of issues mentioned previously such as securing funding for advocacy positions and addressing other issues such as ensuring confidentiality and identifying families that have relevant personal experience. The survey also sought to understand key advocacy challenges and lessons learned, as perceived by CMP coordinators as well as local family advocates. Gathering this information will inform committee efforts to support advocacy efforts throughout the state. Family advocates were to report on the most challenging aspects of their jobs in an open-ended survey question. The most frequently reported challenges included: System Barriers Confronting challenges from systems in terms of consistently supporting a high level of – family engagement. This challenge was most often reported in terms of resource allocation, as the dedication of time and funding for advocacy work was perceived to be insufficient. General bureaucratic barriers within systems were also reported. For example, advocates reported confronting barriers when working with families to access services (e.g., family not meeting strict eligibility criteria for needed services). (9 responses) Family Engagement and Buy-in Ensuring family engagement, consistent involvement and follow-through (9 – responses) Accessing Needed Resources Locating and securing needed resources for families (4 responses) – Other challenges included team scheduling in terms of the needed time commitment for all members, and ensuring cultural competency KEY RESOURCES NEEDED TO ENHANCE FAMILY ADVOCATE WORK Gathering information about resources needed to enhance advocacy activities was another key area of interest for the committee in terms of providing future support. Coordinators most often mentioned training for family advocates, which aligns with coordinator perceptions about key challenges (discussed above). The advocate survey specifically about key training areas that would be useful for family advocates in their continued work. While each training area was indicated by close to half of advocate participants, a slight majority of advocates selected that training on child-serving systems and professional ethics/confidentiality would be beneficial.
Policy Needed – The majority of responses indicated that liability issues had not yet been discussed or addressed within CMPs of participating coordinators. One response stated that liability coverage for family advocates can be a challenge in terms of finding an agency that will assume the responsibility. Other Challenges Responses indicating other challenges were minimal but included repetitions of issues mentioned previously such as securing funding for advocacy positions and addressing other issues such as ensuring confidentiality and identifying families that have relevant personal experience. The survey also sought to understand key advocacy challenges and lessons learned, as perceived by CMP coordinators as well as local family advocates. Gathering this information will inform committee efforts to support advocacy efforts throughout the state. Family advocates were to report on the most challenging aspects of their jobs in an open-ended survey question. The most frequently reported challenges included: System Barriers – Confronting challenges from systems in terms of consistently supporting a high level of family engagement. This challenge was most often reported in terms of resource allocation, as the dedication of time and funding for advocacy work was perceived to be insufficient. General bureaucratic barriers within systems were also reported. For example, advocates reported confronting barriers when working with families to access services (e.g., family not meeting strict eligibility criteria for needed services). (9 responses) Family Engagement and Buy-in – Ensuring family engagement, consistent involvement and follow-through (9 responses) Accessing Needed Resources – Locating and securing needed resources for families (4 responses) Other challenges included team scheduling in terms of the needed time commitment for all members, and ensuring cultural competency KEY RESOURCES NEEDED TO ENHANCE FAMILY ADVOCATE WORK Gathering information about resources needed to enhance advocacy activities was another key area of interest for the committee in terms of providing future support. Coordinators most often mentioned training for family advocates, which aligns with coordinator perceptions about key challenges (discussed above). The advocate survey specifically about key training areas that would be useful for family advocates in their continued work. While each training area was indicated by close to half of advocate participants, a slight majority of advocates selected that training on child-serving systems and professional ethics/confidentiality would be beneficial.
CMP-Family-Voice-and-Choice-Committee-2011-Family-Involvement-Survey-Summary-of-Data.1.0.docx