David C. Diehl, University of Florida dcdiehl@ufl.edu

1. Protective Factors in Community Partnerships: Findings from United Way Strengthening Families Focus Groups David C. Diehl, University of Florida dcdiehl@ufl.edu Larry F. Forthun, University of Florida lforthun@ufl.edu Jayne Moraski, University of Florida jmoraski@ufl.edu G. Kim Sumpter, United Way of Metro Atlanta gsumpter@unitedwayatlanta.org

2. Protective Factors “Plain Language” Adapted from: www.keepyourfamilystrong.org

3. www.keepyourfamilystrong.org/strength1.html

4. United Way Strengthening Families Project Overview • Project led by United Way of America (Nina Sazer O’Donnell and Samantha Wigand) • Project Funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation • Built on the foundational work of the Center for the Study of Social Policy (Strengthening Families Project) • National evaluation led by the University of Florida (David Diehl, Larry Forthun, Jayne Moraski) • 6 Pilot Sites (Anchorage, Atlanta, Brownsville, High Point, NC, San Antonio, Washington State)

5. The Original Strengthening Families Model Protective Factors Quality Early Care & Education: Parental Resilience Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Program Strategies That: Social Connections • Facilitate friendships and mutual support • Strengthen parenting • Respond to family crises • Link families to services and opportunities • Value and support parents • Facilitate children’s social and emotional development • Observe and respond to early warning signs of child abuse or neglect Knowledge of Parenting & Child Development Concrete Supports in Times of Need Strong Families Social and Emotional Competence of Children Nurturing and Attachment Source: www.buildinitiative.org/docs/StrengtheningFamilies.ppt

6. Purpose of the Project • The purpose of the project is to use United Way’s nationwide network to expand the use of effective, research-based strategies for preventing child abuse and neglect and promoting positive child development into all aspects of what Local United Ways do. (Infusion of protective factors into the work of LUWs)

7. Responsibilities of National Evaluators • Conduct a process evaluation of UWSF utilizing a participatory approach and focusing on process documentation, lessons learned, and resources for dissemination and replication. • Provide resources, support, and ongoing guidance for local evaluation teams to successfully evaluate their local efforts. • Analyze and synthesize the data being generated at the local level. • Create resources that capture the lessons learned from this process and encourage replication of the project in other communities.

8. Key Elements of the Evaluation Breakthroughs/Success Stories We are asking sites to capture their key breakthroughs that might ultimately become success stories. Ultimately, these stories will include: the situation; thought process; strategies; keys to success, and benefits for the project. • Site Learning • Creation of UWSF Toolkit • Keys to Success • Advice for Sites • Success Stories • Tools and Resources Project Lead Interviews Every six months, the National Evaluation Team will conduct a phone interview with each Project Director to explore project progress, including: key activities; barriers and challenges; keys to success; and next steps. Community Focus Groups Focus Groups were convened at each site to obtain community buy-in and facilitate planning. Issues included: Community Partnerships; Barriers and Solutions; and Success and Sustainability Progress Reports Every six months, the site evaluators will submit a progress report that provides an update on: the project logic model; counts of key activities; project progress; evaluation progress; next steps; and tools and resources developed.

9. Focus Group Objectives The objectives of the Stakeholder Focus Groups were to: • Facilitate stakeholder buy-in to the United Way Strengthening Families project; • Facilitate joint program planning for the UWSF pilot sites; and • Collect common data from all pilot sites to inform the national evaluation process.

10. Participatory Nature • Decision to convene focus groups was jointly made between national evaluators and pilot sites • Focus group topics and questions were jointly developed with pilot sites • Sites selected the questions that were most useful to them

11. Three Topic Areas • Community Needs and United Way Partnerships • Community Barriers and Solutions • Success of the United Way Strengthening Families Project

12. Description • About 90 minutes each • Facilitated by site evaluators • Recorded and transcribed • Facilitator / Project Lead Reflection • 7 focus groups • Average group size = 9 people • Participants • United Way staff • Directors of community agencies • Front-line service providers • Parents

13. Analysis • Project Coordinator conducted initial coding, identifying initial themes (using NVivo). • Co-Investigators then further refined the coding framework by identifying larger themes and repeated ideas, including key examples • Project Coordinator and Co-Investigators achieved consensus on the larger themes and repeated ideas, including key examples

14. Topic 1: Community Needs and United Way Partnerships •  Q1.1: Community Needs:“Let’s start by talking about people’s needs in our community.” Ask each participant, “which factor did you rank as the highest need? and why?” • Q1.2: Existing Organizations:What organizations (e.g., agencies, programs, collaborative groups, etc.) are already addressing protective factors in our community?Which of these organizations should be engaged in United Way Strengthening Families? What other organizations should be engaged? How do we get these organizations involved? • Q1.3: Role of Community Partners: What is the best role of community partners in United Way Strengthening Families? Who are the most critical partners and what are their roles? • Q1.4: Parent Leadership: How should parent leaders be involved in the work of United Way Strengthening Families? What programs in our community have strong parent leaders? How have families been involved in other projects or programs?

15. Which of the protective factors do you consider to be the most important need in your community? Parental Resilience Social Connections Knowledge of Parenting and Child Development Concrete Support in Times of Need Social and Emotional Competence of Children Nurturing and Attachment

16. Topic 1: Community Needs and United Way Partnerships • Ranking highest need (gap in services) • Rankings differed by location; encouraged much discussion • Knowledge of Parenting and Child Development • Social and Emotional Competence of Children “I chose Social and Emotional Competence in Children…because I didn’t have the emotional thing running in my family, the social…I didn’t have any of it. I had my first child at 15, so I didn’t want to be like them. I’ve always looked around that, regardless of that, I always let them know that I’m here and it’s ok, it’s not your fault, because I didn’t have that growing up.”

17. Topic 1: Community Needs and United Way Partnerships • Existing organizations that address protective factors; Critical partners • Discussions were specific to location but provided important insight into the organization of local human services • Suggestions covered spectrum of services: child protective services (CPS), early care and education, family services, health/mental health, education, etc. • Organizations that could do more? CPS, health care, schools/education, and the workplace

18. Topic 1: Community Needs and United Way Partnerships • Parent Partnerships • Suggestions to increase parental participation: • Convenience • Transportation, child care, dinner • Go to the parents (workplace, church, community center, school) • Engagement • Empower/acknowledge parental authority, avoid stigmatization • Partner in child’s development (i.e., share test scores or early learning activities) • Recognition (awards, etc.) • Training • Leadership

19. Topic 2: Community Barriers and Solutions • Q2.1 Barriers: What are the barriers or roadblocks to infusing protective factors into work with children and families in our community? (Alternative Phrasing: What aspects of the community will work against accomplishing the goals of this project?) At the end of these questions, it may be advantageous to prioritize the most serious barriers) • Q2.2: Solutions: then ask, “What are some solutions to these barriers?”What are the best strategies for getting organizations to embrace and use protective factors?How can the impact of community partners be maximized? (Alternative Phrasing: What aspects of the community will work in your favor to accomplish the goals of this project?)

20. Which of the following do you think is the biggest barrier to infusing protective factors in community agencies? This is nothing new! Organizational inflexibility People not understanding the language Getting buy-in at all levels Lack of funding

21. Topic 2: Community Barriers and Solutions (to the infusion of protective factors) • Discussion focused on broad barriers to effective social service delivery • Common barriers: • Challenges of intersecting with the child welfare system • Severe challenges facing families • Need for staff and parent knowledge of PF • Is PF just the next “flavor of the day?” • Funding

22. Topic 2: Community Barriers and Solutions • Language and Culture • How to communicate PF to broad audiences • Need for “plain language” • Need to make the concepts concrete and real in the lives of people • “ …it has got to be in very simple language. Talking about protective factors or saying parent resilience, or you know, social skills- doesn’t cut it for the majority of the public.’” • Broad issues of culture and language • Language is considered a barrier (lack of interpreters, multiple languages) • Cultural issues around acceptable discipline, spanking, etc. • Desire to integrate the PF into various cultures to build support

23. Topic 2: Community Barriers and Solutions • Changing the Culture of UW and Partner Agencies • Focus groups used to engage UW staff in the project • Change must first take place in UW • Staff need to embrace these principles • Customer service orientation • “The customer would be the parents and children, but making sure that everything is aimed at that and not how nice it is going to be for the person providing the service.” • Need to create understanding and buy-in • “Even within organizations, there is a lack of shared understanding of concepts like ‘customer service.’” • “Re-Framing” the issue of child abuse and neglect • “One of the hurdles is to convince everyone not to look at these parents as the bad people.”

24. Most people in my community believe that local social services are “people friendly.” Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

25. Topic 2: Community Barriers and Solutions • 1-Stop Shop • Transportation and access • Focus on better service delivery • “It’s beyond co-locating services, it’s thinking comprehensively. You can be in the same building, but I should be looking for those other needs. I know I can send them right around the corner to work with you. You collaborate to do a comprehensive look at the family.” • Climate of Service Delivery • Stigma of social services • Customer service • Building client trust and comfort • 211 (call-in information and referral) • “We hope that people are calling them, and when they do we want to give them the tools to push a little bit and to be deliberate in connecting families to those protective factor issues.”

26. Topic 3: Success of the UWSF Project • Q3.1: Project Success (Process): What does the United Way Strengthening Families initiative need to do to be successful? (“to be successful in our community, the United Way Strengthening Families initiative should …”) • Q3.2: Project Success (Outcomes): What would the success with the United Way Strengthening Families initiative in our community look like? (“we will know the project is successful when …”) • Q3.3: Knowledge of Protective Factors:“Now, let’s look at the overview of protective factors and discuss how much people in our community already understand the importance of these factors for positive child development and family functioning. “In our community, what is the current level of knowledge about these protective factors and how they relate to positive child development?” (you may want to discuss parents, providers, and policy makers separately) How can we improve knowledge of protective factors in our community through marketing and other efforts? • Q3.4: Sustainability: What can be done to make this initiative sustainable over time?

27. Business leaders in my community are committed to strengthening families. Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

28. Topic 3: Project Success • Importance of Engaging Business Partners • “And if we can get their voices involved in not only the community level, but begin to feel like there is a statewide business voice, that is a very powerful voice. I think it goes a long way toward moving the agenda.” • Engagement Strategies • Specific ideas: program site tours for businesses; Lunch and Learn programs; presentations to CEOs focusing on Return on Investment • Outcomes, both short-term and long-term are critical • Build the relationship first, provide information, then ask for more commitment later • Personal experience (Example: CEOs who were grandparents connected to early childhood issues very well) • “When they picture a little child in an at-risk family that’s not getting any of the benefits that their little grandchild is getting and they can really picture that literally, and how said that really is, it prompts them to want to do something about it so that more kids can have the wonderful kind of life that their little grandchildren are going to grow up with.”

29. Most people in my community are knowledgeable of factors that promote strong families. Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree

30. Topic 3: Project Success • Knowledge • Very few discussions addressed the intended question of how much people knew about the relationship between protective factors and positive child outcomes. • Most discussions focused on the extent to which the protective factors were evident in their communities • High Levels of Knowledge • Parental Resilience • Concrete Support in Times of Need • Low Levels of Knowledge • Concrete Support in Times of Need • Knowledge of Parenting and Child Development

31. Topic 3: Project Success • Process (requirements for success) • Broad and diverse engagement • Businesses and donors engaged to provide “voices and resources” • “I really believe there are people out there that want to really do this kind of investment and not just keep funding the same programs.” • “taking all of those local pieces that are so powerful on a local level and being able to say throughout the state there are 100 or 200 business voices that join in behind these, whatever statements you have around early learning and early childhood education.” • The right people • Organizations • Attitudes • Common culture • “I think that we do have a lot of agencies that are working to a certain extent in isolation… has there ever been an attempt made to develop a common culture for the division of these services so that all the people that are involved with it buy into that culture as part of this service provision.”

32. Topic 3: Project Success • Process (Cont.) • Improved access to services and tone of services for families (“I think to be successful, your community residents would not only be able to have access to your services, but feel comfortable in accessing those services… so to me, success would be being able to make those people who need those services feel absolutely comfortable using those services.” • “Learning circles” and strong communication • Parent-defined success (“one thing that would make me feel that it was successful is if parents and families viewed and said ‘yes, this is what I need.”)

33. Topic 3: Project Success • Outcomes • Return on Investment (ROI): at least equal to other communities • Cost-benefit analysis (for every $1 spent, $2 gained) • “somebody somewhere is going to pay for it… they are going to want to see that even if you can’t solve the entire problem, that their money is going to be used effectively and efficiently to at least chip away at it.” • Reduced rates of child abuse and neglect • Stronger parenting skills (knowledge, patience, etc.) • Relationship to other outcomes (dropout prevention, teen pregnancy, etc.) • Stronger work force

34. Reflections on the Process • Before focus group • Identify reasons for convening a focus group • “What are we going to get from it? Who would we invite? And do we really want to do that? And what are we doing it for?” (focus group facilitator) • Identify the “right people” to attend • Identify the time/place • Around lunch time, provide food • Ensure questions are at literacy level of participants

35. Reflections on the Process • Beginning focus group • Set the context and expectations for the focus group • Introduction (with role in strengthening families) • Focusing exercises • During focus group • Level of depth (balance) • Get more depth asking “how” or “in what ways” • Visual aides • Confusion when visuals were placed throughout room • Keeping everyone on track • Ensure that protective factors are not discussed as risk factors (reframing)

36. Conclusions • Focus groups were useful for obtaining community buy-in and shaping the strategic plan • It was a great tool for the national evaluators to understand the pilot site communities and United Way’s role in each community • However, because of the diversity of the communities represented, it was very difficult to analyze the findings for commonalities • The focus group process shed great light on the types of tools needed for the toolkit that the national evaluation team is creating – specific and concrete examples are critical. • Those states that already have Strengthening Families in their states had a head start on other sites. • Qualitative analysis is NOT for the faint of heart!