Policy & Practice October 2016

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Policy&Practice October 2016 38
MANAGING KNOWLEDGE continued from page 19
appointments thoughtfully assessing
“what is,” purposefully avoiding any
knee-jerk reactions. Results? Well,
among others, a determination that
while comprised of committed, hard-
working, and passionate staff, DFCS’s
state office was not bringing the level
of value-added business support
required to achieve best-in-world
status. So it was time for a “rewire.”
That was one year ago. Now back to the
KM function.
Shortly after the determination was
made to rewire, Lee Biggar was offered
and gladly accepted the opportunity
to take on the newly created role of
director of KM. The initial charge was
pretty straightforward: develop a KM
section that, when fully operational,
would provide value-added business
support to Field Operations and fully
tap the potential of cross-functionality.
Development has been underway for
a little more than a year and while
there is a way to go, much has been
accomplished. Evidence of this is found
within the section’s charter, which was
finalized and approved by leadership
this past April.
The charter lays out the section’s
vision, mission, goals, and objec-
tives—all of which are consistent with
a commitment to bringing value-added
business support to Field Operations.
The charter introduces the results
of the rewiring efforts—all of which
are consistent with a commitment to
leveraging the full potential of cross-
functionality. The section is comprised
of five interrelated Units; Policy and
Regulations, Education and Training,
Data, Quality Assurance, and SHINES
(DFCS’s child welfare information
system). Contained in the charter is a
detailed description of the make-up,
duties, and responsibilities of each
unit. Also contained is a listing of some
of the many benefits that result from
the cross-functionality that exists
between units inclusive of:
„ „ Alignment of policy and training-
related deliverables that fosters
consistency in practice, clarity about
performance expectation, and devel-
opment of a knowledgeable and
skilled workforce
„ „ Integration of SHINES application
and subject matter training that
results in substantive documentation
of case planning, justification for key
decisions, and availability of useful
data to generate performance man-
agement/improvement reports
„ „ Fully informed SHINES enhance-
ments leading to improved usability
and less time needed “on the
computer”
„ „ Development of training interven-
tions that address performance
deficits identified through multiple
quality assurance reviews and trend
analysis processes
„ „ Continuous quality improvement
efforts informed by accurate,
relevant, and visually appealing data
The charter, which has been widely
disseminated across state office and
field operations, is a document that
serves to inform. But it’s much more
than that. It’s a document that the
department’s KM section staff—165
strong—take pride in “bringing to
life” each and every day as they work
to manage and mobilize knowledge
forward throughout the division.
The section will continue to evolve
as a catalyst for the development of
a true learning organization, where
continuous learning, practicing, and
mastering of skills lead to a competent
workforce and positive outcomes for
children and families in the state of
Georgia.
Reference Notes
1.
pathways/INNOVATION_CENTER.html
2.
pathways/NWI.html
Education
&Training
Data
Quality
Assurance
Strengthen capacity of Field Operations
by
Providing value-added support and services
to
Achieve desired performance outcomes related to safety,
permanency and well-being
SHINES
Policy