2017-2021 FIVE YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN FY 2017 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES Objectives Executive Summary The Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS) is committed to achieving safety, permanency and well-being for Arizona’s children and families. DCS is driven by this commitment, as well as a desire to be a national leader for child safety through a well-run, efficient, and effective organization based on best practices and continuous improvement. DCS developed the 2017-2021 Strategic Plan as a continuation of the accomplishments achieved in fiscal year 2016 that stabilized the incoming workload, established business operations for the new agency, and improved objective decision-making at the Child Abuse Hotline and in investigations. Fiscal year 2017 is focused on sustaining the improvements made and safely eliminating the investigations backlog so that agency resources can be redirected to support permanency efforts for children in care. Agency Description: The Arizona Department of Child Safety is a human service organization dedicated to achieving safety, well-being and permanency for children, youth and families through leadership and the provision of quality services in partnership with communities. Avoid historic 10%+ out-of-home population growth through improving safety decisions, targeted activities, and prevention work Maintain Fiscal Responsibility Refine and implement service array standards and application ►Develop improved process standards for services that improves outcomes and ensures accountability through improved contracting process and fidelity monitoring Achieve operations cost targets ►Execute specific process improvements and targeted projects to reduce operating expenses Successfully engage children and families to ensure safety, strengthen families, and achieve permanency. Execute the Title IV-E waiver demonstration project ►Execute the IV-E waiver demonstration projects including the redeployment of any potential savings Core Principles: Safety: All Arizona’s children are safe and protected from harm Five Year Agency Strategic Priorities: Improve performance and quality of services through employee retention Reduce length of stay for children in out-of-home care Improve capacity to place children in family environments Reduce recurrence of maltreatment by improving service delivery Refine and implement the budget control process ►Refine the management process to support fiscal responsibility and standardize planning, reporting, and accountability Refine and implement the placement improvement process ►Improve the foster care experience including management of existing and new foster families, and the placement of children DCS Mission: Improve objective decision making at the Hotline and Investigations Refine and implement statewide field standardization ►Implement statewide standard for case transfers from investigationsongoing-specialized units including case planning ►Implement management system elements Expand the Office of Prevention ►Enhance and expand preventative services that support a reduction in the number of children who enter dependency care DCS Vision: Well-Being: All Arizona’s children are given the opportunity to thrive through support of strong families and their communities Refine and implement Safety Assessment and Intervention Model improvements ►Improve the safety model with particular attention to practice knowledge and utilization ►Partner with Action 4 Child Protection on latest science enhancements Implement targeted permanency activities to reduce OOH population ►Support specific project work to safely reduce the duration children stay in care, thus reducing the out-of-home care population Children thrive in family environments free from abuse and neglect. Permanency: All Arizona’s children live in safe, loving forever families Initiatives & Key Actions Improve Employee Retention Execute investigations backlog reduction project ►Continue specific project work to eliminate investigations backlog statewide and establish sustainment of performance Define and implement case management job family and compensation structure ►Implement specific actions to realign the pay structure and job classification for the Child Safety Specialist series Refine and implement "onboarding" experience ►Improve employee onboarding, training, and coaching for casecarrying staff and supervisors Define and implement a leadership development program for all people leaders ►Implement a leadership program for supervisors and managers to develop general management and leadership skillsets January 2017 MANAGEMENT SYSTEM — Continuous Improvement & Sustainment VALUES DRIVEN DCS is one year into building a management system to guide strategic decision-making while sustaining positive progress across all areas of the Department. The management system contains the following components: people development, leader behaviors, problem solving, visual management, tiered accountability, and standard work. Coaching and implementation of these concepts is occurring across all areas of field and business operations. This management system approach encourages continuous improvement in processes and procedures while maintaining safety and quality in the work and services delivered. Child-centered: Children belong with families – their own when it is safe to do so and when it’s not, with a safe, permanent family who can meet their unique needs and will maintain their supporting, meaningful connections to continue positive values, beliefs and their cultural legacies. Performance Measures for Fiscal Year 2017 As part of the management system, fiscal year strategic objectives are set to align with the five year strategic priorities. Each objective has a set of initiatives and key actions that may involve collaboration across internal program areas and external partnerships with key stakeholders. Progress is tracked in a strategy deployment scorecard and reviewed by the DCS executive leadership team on a monthly basis. Improvements made from these objectives are sustained through the routine reporting and review of key data metrics from all levels of DCS. Outlined below are the three fiscal year 2017 objectives, their respective performance measure, and a brief description of what the objective will achieve for the advancement of the Department and the families and children served. Avoid historic 10% + out-of-home population growth through improving safety decisions, targeted services, and prevention work Maintain OOH population below 19,000 children by June 30, 2017 Family-focused: Families have the primary responsibility for raising their children and keeping them safe. Families are the experts regarding their own strengths and needs and will have a voice and decision-making role regarding decisions that affect them and their children. Successful engagement: Children, youth, and families are best served when child welfare staff respect the family, actively listen to them, and invite participation in decision-making to achieve positive outcomes. Partnerships and community: The entire community shares the responsibility of keeping children safe and protected from abuse and neglect. Professional environment and workforce excellence: Our professional competence will be demonstrated by an organization and workforce that proactively responds to the changing needs of communities and provides respectful treatment to families. Cultural responsiveness: All children and families have the right to be understood within the context of their own family rules, traditions, history, beliefs, and culture. Accountability and Transparency: The child welfare system holds itself accountable to the highest standards of practice at all levels within the organization. We are transparent and responsive to our children, youth, and families as well as our staff, partners, and communities within the limits of confidentiality. Resource Assumptions FY 2017 efforts will sustainably and safely eliminate the investigations backlog, permitting resource shifts to speed up the timeliness to permanency Maintain fiscal responsibility FY 2017 FY 2018 Budget Appropriations Request Full-Time Equivalent FY 2019 Estimate FY 2020 Estimate FY 2021 Estimate 3,193.1 3,193.1 3,193.1 3,193.1 3,193.1 General Fund Other Appropriated Funds $379,179.4 $402,097.4 $402,097.4 $402,097.4 $402,097.4 $178,139.1 $178,139.1 $178,139.1 $178,139.1 $178,139.1 Federal Funds $415,269.4 $415,269.4 $415,269.4 $415,269.4 $415,269.4 Total Agency Funds $972,587.9 $995,505.9 $995,505.9 $995,505.9 $995,505.9 Operate the Department at or below appropriated budget Reducing the time to permanency will reverse the OOH population growth and targeted initiatives will stabilize the cost of operating the system Improve employee retention Reduce all employee turnover from 26.7% to 25.0% by June 30, 2017 These efforts, complimented by specific actions to improve onboarding and leadership development, will improve retention Note: Excluding FTEs, numbers are in thousands.