LESSON LEARNED
Make It Clear! Defining the Role of the Family Partner
Taking the time to clearly define and behaviorally describe the program or practice to be implemented is essential for success. “What does this look like in saying and doing? Who is involved? Where would I notice this happening?”
This process includes identifying the essential functions of the program or practice, defining whose behavior is involved in making them happen, and documenting how they impact both people and procedures in the organization.
What this can look like in practice
Each of the seven facilities who participated in the BBI-Six Core pilot project received funding to hire a Family Partner as part of their agency’s larger efforts to infuse trauma-informed principles into residential care practices. Early on in implementation efforts, sites realized that having a person resourced and designated for this role was important but did not necessarily translate into the purpose of the role actually happening in real time. What is the role of the Family Partner? How does the organization highlight it as an important part of their culture? How does it interface with existing roles of other staff or team members? With current case management practices?
Teams recognized the importance of having clear role and service delivery descriptions that would guide their teams through key workforce development decisions of recruitment, selection, and hiring for the newly created role. For example, it was essential for many of the agencies to discuss how this role, though overlapping in some respects, was functionally different to clinical roles on staff; This resulted in one agency hosting Family Partner show and tells during their onboarding of staff to ensure all staff knew what the role was and wasn’t and how to work alongside the Family Partner in their specific role. Over time, teams also worked with other clinical staff to determine how effective family engagement and advocacy might show up and align with other client services.