Policy & Practice February 2015

members about how to transform themselves, often through real-world accounts of how some of our members are achieving transformative progress today. This is a shift from the regulative Effectiveness (OE) technical assis- tance practice was launched in 2004, replacing a classroom-based, fixed leadership development curriculum. OE was, for years, thought of as a side- table experiment that survived by paying for itself and contributing net revenues to our bottom line. Today, our change management and continuous improvement products and services are being integrated into most of our strategic initiatives. OE has evolved from experience, directly consulting with our members, through custom- ized projects that they help design and adjust as we work together, similar to consultative casework approaches. The OE practice has now been exter- nally evaluated, with very promising findings about its impact on sustained change, performance, service quality, and outcomes. This is a movement from the regulative to the integrative stage for the association. Prior to 2010 we were often reluc- tant to partner with industry, private providers, other associations, and on the international scene, though experi- ments with each were occurring. These partnerships were often viewed as “nice-to-have’s, but not essential” or only important for additional funding purposes. Today, such partnerships are integrated into our board roster, primary conferences and committees, and broader influence strategies. A broad range of partners is now working with us to better understand how we can all drive transformative change at the community level and in our society as a whole. This is a movement from the regulative to the integrative and generative stage for APHSA. Our hope is that more examples emerge of agencies and their commu- nities decoding the Value Curve and putting their related playbooks into practice—delivering greater levels of value and creating better communities for all. If you decide to take the field, know that we’re lacing up our cleats with you. to the integrative stage for us. The APHSA Organizational

and to advocate for “more money and less rules” within current programs. The federal level of the system was thought of as an arbiter of our state members’ funds and of the rules they did or didn’t like. Our focus has since shifted to policy and program inte- gration and innovation targeted to improving consumer outcomes. Since local agencies often drive innovation within existing policy and program structures, we now view them as the We see many examples around the country of agencies and their partners decoding this Value Curve— communicating about it more confidently, applying the framework through a range of actionable strategies, and winning stakeholder support for advancing through its four stages. primary incubator of what would form the basis for later broad-scale reforms. Our focus at the federal level has evolved to cross-programmatic and cross-jurisdictional influence, toward enabling increased service integration and more preventive service designs at the consumer levels. This is a shift from the regulative to the collaborative and integrative stage for us. Prior to 2010, APHSA did not have a formal strategy. We’ve since developed formal strategic plans and rebranded ourselves, with Pathways emphasizing a vision for the future of our field—how we can all work together to create a desired future state of our organiza- tions and practices that better impact outcomes for those we serve. Our Innovation Center has focused on pro- moting promising ideas and strategies throughout the field, such as alterna- tive financing and adaptive leadership practices. Our National Workgroup on Integration is designed to explicitly support Value Curve movement within communities across the United States. We are now communicating with our

community as a whole, and employing practical solutions that work.

Thinking of Johnny U’s little pep talk, here are three straightforward, real-world examples of how agencies are decoding and applying the Value Curve today: l An agency improving SNAP benefits accuracy and timeliness builds upon its successes by partnering with community-wide program providers to meet together with consumers on Saturdays. After a series of these “open houses,” the various partners develop protocols to engage with common consumers and determine service eligibility more holistically. This is a strengthening of regulative value and a shift from the regulative to the collaborative stage. l A local agency with multiple program responsibilities decides to affect out- of-home service and placement rates state, city manager, and the courts to blend and braid funds and customize service plans at the individual and single-family levels. It is guided by the view that “families are the best experts of what they need to thrive.” This is a shift from the regulative to the integrative stage. l A county-wide citizen service board is established to develop shared outcomes goals and determine the predictive “risk factors” it will track to ensure the community as a whole for children, youth, and its aging population, by working with the evolves in a way that benefits all citizens, including those experi- encing acute risk factors. Improved infrastructure projects and economic development efforts with greater taxpayer support result in their col- lective efforts. This is a shift to the generative stage of value. APHSA’s Journey through the Value Curve Stages Since 2010, APHSA has created a new playbook and taken the field under the leadership of our governing Board and executive director, Tracy Wareing. Prior to that time, the policy and program emphasis here was to help our agency members understand and navigate the current ones better,

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February 2015   Policy&Practice