Minutes: NCCEV September, 15, 2005
Steven Marans:
-brief background on the efforts that CDCP is doing in terms of the
hurricane Katrina efforts. There is some discussion about sending a
team down to LA to help provide services
-he spoke about expansion of CDCP programs and how we hope to disseminate
information to the nation and within our own communities.
-we need to define CDCP and keep fidelity to our aims and goals.
-CDCP is an ongoing process and the evolution is continuous.
K.D Williams (Charlotte):
-talked about the development of the program and how although it began
with a mental health, police and medical component, it has evolved due
to different philosophies.
-partnership for him is working and learning from each other
Chief Ortiz:
-We need to define ourselves in order to know what we are trying to
accomplish. We are all people who care about kids and want to prevent
violence.
-Continuity is important and we in New Haven are still defining ourselves
and we are trying to become stronger and tighter with leadership and
all our partners.
-In order to illustrate NHPD’s commitment to the program, he explained
that when the officers take Sgt and Lt exams there are questions about
CDCP on them.
-36% of NH is below the poverty level so we have to be creative in the
work that we do.
-CDCP is not just a program it has become a way of life in NH and everyone
working with the program all over the country are their own ambassadors
in their communities and have to show people and disseminate information
about CDCP.
Sarah Greene (Charlotte):
-Introduced today’s agenda: facilitate discussion instead of presentations.
-She likes to think about things developmentally and reiterated that
all sites are different and some are in infancy while others are more
advanced.
-Need to define CDCP more clearly, evaluate it and prove its effectiveness
through outcome data.
-We also need to figure out and define how we support each other as
a network of CDCP programs. Everyone should recognize what they hope
to get from the network (expectations) and what they hope to contribute
to the network as a whole.
Steve Berkowitz:
-What defines our ability to be effective, we are in the age of empiricism.
We need to show positive outcome data in order to interest funders.
George Koder (Clearwater):
-Issues of funding are important for this site as they currently have
auditors asking about funding.
-Statistically they are having a difficult time proving impact but he
believes that his committed efforts are the biggest proof of efficacy
and that is better than any stats.
Georgia Green (Boston):
-One of the things that helped get funding was the positive alliance
with their Police Department.
-It is important to try and quantify the quantifiable
Steve Berkowitz:
-What is partnership?
Susan Erstling (Providence):
-focused on getting data at different levels
-It is hard to measure outcomes for emergency response (better school
performance or decrease in trauma symptoms?)
-Hard to show short-term interventions
Eddie Levins (Charlotte):
-How long can we go on asking for outside funding, federal funding is
what we need.
-Charlotte has shown progression but if we can’t measure it then
it is difficult to interest politicians.
Georgia Green (Boston/Chelsea):
-the children they see are often younger which is important as the literature
emphasizes early intervention.
-They have expanded their DV outreach, officers now responding to DV
calls where pregnant women are involved use the pager and the mental
health workers help engage the woman and help her access pre-natal services.
-They have also tried a new DV 12 wk group for kids and their non-offending
parents. Assessments yielded positive outcomes.
Steven:
-You have to ask the right questions in order to determine a good outcome,
thus you need to pick the right question.
-It is vital to establish safety for these children and families or
our work is futile.
-What are the defining characteristics of a partnership.
Steve Berkowitz:
-It is difficult to have outcomes if things are not clearly defined.
-Need to start with the definition of partnership, we need to define
our practice in order to say here are the outcomes.
Jacquelyn Duval-Harvey (Baltimore):
-One of the first things that needs to be addressed is selling the idea
of the partnership to the individual parts.
Steven:
-DV takes times but we need to demonstrate the efficacy, prove that
it reduces 911 calls for service
Jacquelyn Duval-Harvey (Baltimore):
-Three elements need to be involved: donating something to the process,
compromising while in the process, and philospophical.
-Baltimore looks for and emphasizes intrinsic dedication to the program
to promote its longevity.
-A challenge is convincing the community that the Police are not bad
and that mental health workers can help make one feel better.
Mark Sofia (Rochester):
-A problem has been finding the right players and finding those within
the PD to become and stay involved.
-partnership is trial and error and takes time.
-Funding is a serious issue
-Their funders concern is that there are not enough referrals therefore
it is hard to quantify success. Do they want numbers of kids helped,
stories of kids who were helped or officers reports?
-A useful tool in getting officers on board was asking a group of officers
whether any of them have NOT been to a house where there was some sort
of violence (DV or otherwise) and there was a child sitting in the corner
watching TV---and then wishing that there was something that they could
do to help the child.
Trina Loughlin (Rochester)
-A major problem is that the partnership is at the mid level with the
PD, they need the sheriff and the chief on board
-The few referrals that they have had have done extremely well but again
it is hard to quantify.
-Trina came up with a basic standardized assessment measuring various
outcome variables but they do not have a statistician or anyone to make
sense of the data.
James Mosely (Wilmington):
-A reason that the program will hopefully succeed is that the mayor
is on board wholeheartedly. But he does want results and it is difficult
to quantify and qualify statistically what is successful.
Thomas Dunn(Chelsea):
-Poor accountability also becomes a problem, holding officers responsible
when they do not call the pager is important.
-Their chief is behind them and their work 100%
Eddie Levins (Charlotte):
-It is vital to have the support of the chief, they did not have tons
of money but if you were able to get the PD on board it was successful
because they were able to adjust schedules for training etc.
-One of the toughest problems for them was funding for clinicians because
they had so many referrals.
Steve Berkowitz:
-You have to have the political buy in to the program, the financial
buy in and other support.
-Leadership is also another key ingredient.
-One needs to define what is the program that we are trying to get support
for and who is going to be in charge of leadership.
Eddie Levins (Charlotte):
-We need to discuss what our work looks like on the street, what is
different with this service than a typical response to a 911 call. Is
it more time spent with victims, if so will that be economical in the
long run?
-We need to define what we want from our leadership, what does that
support look like.
-This is not a voluntary program, we need the program written into the
general order for the police officers.
Steven:
-Providence spent a whole year before replication training and even
before that the chief of the PD was involved in the original evolution
of the CDCP program.
-They needed a more active mental health component before they were
able to get the program off the ground.
Jacquelyn Duval-Harvey (Baltimore):
-Collaboration is important, but it is not a true collaboration until
people commit their time and resources.
Eddie Levins (Charlotte):
-Focus on reducing cost for service, ie going to the same house repeatedly
and seeing the same families commit the crimes over and over again (ie
stop the cycle of violence).
Brett Larabee (Stamford):
-This program has been in effect for about 5 years and has been involved
with some success and failures.
-When the program was implemented the chief was on board which made
things much easier. Currently in one year they had approximately 21
mobile response interventions but when the old chief was involved that
would be the number of responses in 7 weeks.
-Although the numbers are currently low, they can still go out on the
scene and 4 times more likely to get kid into therapy.
-Partnerships start with relationships.
Steven:
-Development happens at different levels at each site.
-The level of partnership and relationship is integral.
-Look at whether a particular program can go any further.
-Just because you are not having some success, do not throw it all away
because there are still some useful parts to keep involved.
Col. Odis Sistrunk (Baltimore):
-Collaboration depends on written directive.
Conference notes: 3pm-
Clearwater-
Expanded without training
Case Conference- how to include outside interest and keep them attending
Rochester-
Keep trying to include the outside parties as it is important for connecting
services and gaining expertise from other sources
Baltimore-
Program was unstable
At first it seemed very stable but then it always felt like a new program
which made it feel less stable
What kept them going was: -They retained a core group that remained
involved
-Maintained a level of activity
-They were consistent even if they were not operating at peak level
The times when they were not operating at peak level, were the most
difficult to keep selling the program
Chelsea-
Some cases are used just to create a partnership
Charlotte-
Maybe changing the name from case conference to team meeting would help
keep other parties attending even if they are not involved in specific
cases being discussed
Rochester-
What do you do when the core falls apart?
Protocol for what to when things happen would be helpful
Wanted to know essentially what to do when…
Wilmington-
They are staying in the program because they value the opportunity to
work with the family and the community- filling in the gaps in services
Want to stick to the core elements but also want to involve as many
programs from the community as possible
Rochester-
Where are the police chiefs?
They have lost several staff members
Not enough support- need more contact with other programs, like today-
only more frequently
They should have been able to reach out
Clearwater-
Finding the right people for the job is important; you have to find
people with the right “heart” for the program
The officers are not as involved as they should be
Wilmington-
Sell the program to you informal leaders first, the people on the frontlines.
If you get them, others will follow
Chelsea-
At first, there was resistance but since police have only been helpful
Don’t understand what chief wouldn’t want to support
Charlotte-
It is all about trust on the grassroots level between police and clinicians
This why meetings are important
Helps get everyone comfortable and builds trust
There are always issues
Chelsea-
Face time important- if officers can’t come to you, go to them
-Check in on the weekend even if there are no calls
Helpful to follow up on a case (with officer)
-what happened
-provide positive feedback
Baltimore-
Get buy in on the individual and system level
People who are involved with the program and get promoted- use them
Charlotte-
-Suggested that training be required with promotion
Stamford-
Problem when the is a change in police chiefs
-in new chief won’t support the program then the guys under him
are likely to not support the program either
Keep ride-alongs going, better than the training is this experience
Might be helpful to know if kids are involved at the dispatch level
Providence-
Taking things slowly
Chief presented the program and asked for a vote from the officers if
the wanted to be involved
Introduced family services
Started to become part of the routine
Response time was an issue at first, and then they started to ride with
officers
Officers voted again after a little exposure, buy-in was greater
Very lucky with the chief
-Family Services was included in meetings and decision making
Bridgeport
In between chiefs
Person speaking was new to the position
Police don’t always call if they have already called DCYF
Officers call to check on case
They send out letters to officers stating progress of cases
Zuni
In transition, change in leadership
New to program
One person responsible for on call
Wilmington
This is what they do anyway, involvement in program natural
Need to figure out the “glue”
Raleigh
1st year
In process of self-assessment
Small only 2 people- need to expand into other districts
Program was a hard sell at first
-buy-in
-training
Ride alongs were good
-got to know the officers who will make the calls
Sgt. Important to get referrals made and to hold officers accountable
“Don’t want to bother you” officers often claim
Sell not only the program, but also the fact that clinicians want to
help and are available
Engaging the families is sometimes hard
Language barrier has been a problem
Charlotte-
You can pick the wrong people for the job
One person can “poison” the water
Stereotypes exist among the officers, can be isolating for officers
Guilford-
“A success story”
Been doing it a long time
Don’t give up, stick with it
Bring in police chiefs, mayors, ceos… to sell the program
Must start at the top
Providence-
Family Service was invited to role play with officers during training
Police remembered them because of this
Nashville
Training, visit role call, and in-services
When you stop program gets forgotten
Get the “big” calls but “smaller” incidents
get overlooked
Not getting calls on lots of things
Cross-training not happening enough
Need help with assessment
Sitka
More of a rural community
On an island so there is more of a captive audience
Agencies working well together- core group
Link with Safe Start made things happen
-began an early childhood trauma assessment
-referrals jumped
Now trying to show progress
Spoke to cultural diversity and the challenges faced (languages was
an example)
