Barrier Breakers: Advocacy, Linking, & Letting Go

Misty Miller, MSW, CIRS

Traci Byrd, CIRS2-1-1 Texas/United Way of Greater Houston

AIRS Annual Training & Education Conference

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Workshop Objectives

• Review AIRS standards on follow-ups and advocacy

• To explore creative problem solving through Barrier Breakers, quality assurance, and advocacy processes within the context of I&R

• The value and necessity of 360˚ communication

Who we are…

• United Way of Greater Houston• 2-1-1 Texas

– Statewide network

• Largest call volume in Texas– 121,000 in 2003– 732,500 in 2009– Over 600% increase in 6 years

• 70 staff members dedicated to I&R• 24 hours, 7 days

HoodHoward

Presidio BrewsterVal Verde

CulbersonHudspeth

Jeff Davis

El Paso

Crane

Pecos

Reeves

Crockett

Terrell

Upton Reagan

Andrews

Ward

Loving Winkler MidlandEctor Glasscock

Martin

Bandera

Jim Hogg

La Salle

Webb

Starr

Zapata

Dimmit

ZavalaMaverick

Kinney Uvalde

Frio

Medina

Nueces

Brooks

Hidalgo

Duval

Kenedy

Willacy

Cameron

Jim Wells

Kleberg

Wilson

McMullen

Bexar

Atascosa

BeeLiveOak

San Patricio

Karnes

GuadalupeGonzales

Mason

McCulloch

Edwards

Sutton

Schleicher

Kerr

Real

Kimble

Menard

Nolan

Tom GreenIrion

Mitchell

Sterling CokeRunnels

Concho

Coleman

Taylor Callahan

Bell

Blanco

Kendall

Comal

Gillespie

Llano

Travis

Hays

Caldwell

Burnet

Williamson

Comanche

Mills

San Saba

Brown

Eastland

Hamilton

Lampasas

Coryell

Erath

Bosque

Somervell

Swisher

Randall

Hockley

Gaines

Yoakum

Cochran

Dawson

Terry Lynn

Lubbock

Deaf Smith

Bailey

Parmer

Lamb Hale

Castro

Hartley

Oldham Potter

Moore

Dallam Sherman

Knox

Kent

ScurryBorden

Garza

Crosby Dickens

Fisher Jones

King

Stonewall Haskell

Hall

MotleyFloyd

Briscoe

Hardeman

CottleFoard

Childress

JackYoung

StephensShackelford

Throckmorton

ParkerPalo Pinto

Wise

Baylor Archer

WilbargerWichita

ClayMontague

GrayCarson

Armstrong Donley

Hutchinson Roberts

Wheeler

Collingsworth

Hemphill

OchiltreeHansford Lipscomb

Jefferson

Trinity

Brazos

Lavaca

Victoria

Goliad

Refugio

De Witt

Calhoun

Aransas

Jackson

Wharton

Milam

Bastrop

Fayette

Lee

Austin

Colorado

Burleson

Washington

Robertson

Waller

Brazoria

Matagorda

Fort Bend

Harris

Galveston

Chambers

Montgomery

Walker

Grimes

Madison

Jasp

er

Liberty

Hardin

PolkSan Jacinto

Tyler

Anderson

Ellis

Falls

McLennan

Hill

Freestone

Limestone

Leon

Navarro

Henderson

DallasTarrant

Johnson

Denton

KaufmanVan Zandt

Collin

Rockwall

Hunt

Smith

Cherokee

Houston

Nacogdoches

Angelina

Rusk

Shelby

Panola

Fran

klin

RainsWood

Hopkins

Marion

Gregg

Upshur

Harrison

Titus

Camp

Mo

rris Cass

New

ton

Orange

San Augustine

Sabine

FanninCooke Grayson

Delta

Lamar Red River

Bowie

Gulf Coast Region 40115

South Central Texas Region 40121

North Central Texas Dallas Region 40116

North Central Texas Fort Worth Region 40117

Rio Grande Region 40120

Panhandle Region 40118

South Plains Region 40122

Alamo Region 40111

Tip of Texas Region 40125

Heart of Texas Region 40131

North Texas Region 40134

Bryan/ College Station 40113

Coastal Bend Region 40126

Permian Basin Region 40119

Central Texas Region 40114

Texoma Region 40124

Concho Valley Region 40127

West Central Texas Region 40136

Southeast Texas Region 40123

South Texas Region 40135

Golden Crescent Region 40130

East Texas Region 40129

North East Texas Region 40133

Middle Rio Grande Region 40132

Deep East Texas Region 40128

2-1-1 Texas/United Way Staff

Draw a Vacation…

Follow-Ups

AIRS Standard 5: Follow-Up

The I&R service shall have a policy that addresses the conditions under which follow-up must be conducted. The policy shall mandate follow-up, when feasible, with inquirers in endangerment situations and in situations where the specialist believes that inquirers do not have the necessary capacity to follow through and resolve their problems. Additional assistance in locating or accessing services may be necessary.

Why Follow-Up?

• AIRS Standards require centers that are accredited to perform follow-up on a portion of their calls

• Follow-up provides important information– Gaps in services in the community– Accuracy of the resource database– Quality assurance of the I&R agency

Goal of Follow-Ups

• Determine if the caller was able to get their need(s) met through resources given by 2-1-1 or through other means

• Determine that callers who contact 2-1-1 are treated with professionalism and respect

• Gather resource information; Further advocacy if needed

Who Needs Follow-Up?

• Persons who are complaining about a service

• No resources available to meet the caller need

• Child or elder abuse is suspected

• Persons who may be a threat to themselves and refused a transfer to a mental health hotline

Who Needs Follow-Up?

• Callers who may not be able to follow-through with referrals due to a barrier– Language– Transportation– Confusion/Mental health issues– Health-related barriers

• Any other caller who is willing to conduct a follow up survey

Follow-Up Framework

• Each full-time call specialist required to schedule 1 follow-up per 4 hours of work or 10 per week

• Specialists expected to use professional judgment when trying to determine if someone would participate or and/or benefit from a follow-up call and/or questionnaire (quality assurance)

• “Our agency is continually looking to improve service. Would you be available for a follow-up call sometime within the next 10 days?”

More Details

• When follow-up calls are made, messages or voicemails should not be left with third parties

• Three attempts are made before a follow-up is closed out

• Leave brief notes on the follow-up screen so the team can understand which person should follow-up– Only speaks Spanish– Hard of hearing

Advocacy

Ricardo Steele, Veterans I&R Specialist

Nick Huber, Loaned Executive

AIRS Standard 3: Inquirer Advocacy

The I&R service shall offer advocacy, when necessary, to ensure that people receive the benefits and services for which they are eligible. Inquirer advocacy efforts seek to meet individual needs without attempting to change social institutions and, for purposes of these standards, does not include system advocacy or legislative advocacy (lobbying). All advocacy efforts shall be consistent with written policies established by the governing body of the I&R service and shall proceed only with the permission of the inquirer.

Advocacy

• Definition: “The act of pleading or arguing in favor of something, such as a cause, idea, or policy; active support.” (The American Heritage Dictionary, 4th edition, 2000)

• Advocacy takes over when empowerment isn’t enough

System Advocacy

• System advocacy involves advocating on the needs of a community or area based on the information gathered through caller contact

• System advocacy is NOT lobbying

• Examples:– Writing letters to the local newspaper’s editorial section– Testimony before review committees or legislative bodies– Agency annual reports (need to describe the need for services)

Individual Advocacy

• Reasons to advocate or intervene:

– Needs help to establish eligibility or to obtain needed services

– Has been denied benefits or services to which they are entitled

– Need assistance to communicate their needs to a service provider or otherwise represent themselves

– Has a complaint about a service

When to Advocate• Individual faces barriers to receiving services

– Language

– Age

– Physical or Developmental Disabilities

– Communication Issues

– Emotional/Mental Health Situations

– Poverty

– Endangerment

Who is involved?

Advocate intervenes on behalf of the client with the decision-maker

DecisionMaker

Advocate

Client

Why Advocate?

• “Advocacy involves changing the pattern of decision making, thus attempting to increase the probability of a specific decision being reached.” (Social Work Processes, 4th Ed., 1989)

• Some social service professionals act/react differently when working with another professional in the field than they do when working directly with the client

Advocacy Strategies

• General approach toward intervention

• In I&R the most common means is when advocate and client have a basic understanding about the need & how to approach getting the need met.

• Could include:– Letter writing & phone calls– Agency site visits– Bargaining or negotiation– Building and maintaining strong relationships– “Bug and Beg”

Assessing the Approach• Who is the client?

• What methods has the client tried?

• What service do they need first or which barrier needs to be met in order for others to “fall into place?”

• Are there contacts at the agency that can meet this need?

• How open is the agency to advocacy efforts?

• What approaches have worked in the past with this agency?

Advocacy Scenarios

A mother of three calls for referrals for her rent. The agency that should be able to meet her need has given her inaccurate information about their rental assistance program, claiming that funds are not available. Yet, at a meeting only two days prior, the agency announced the availability of rental assistance funds on television. How do you proceed?

Advocacy Scenarios

An elderly man calls for help with prescriptions. He was released from the hospital yesterday and sounds quite frail. He has no family in the area who can assist him. He does not think he can drive to pick up the medications, even if he could afford to pay for them. Do you advocate? How?

Advocacy Scenarios

A “frequent caller” of the I&R service has a complaint about an agency in the community. Although many programs are aware of this woman and her previous attempts to misuse the system, this time her complaint seems legitimate. She feels that she was denied electric bill assistance inappropriately, even though she clearly fit the criteria. She feels the action is one of the agency’s intake worker not liking her rather than assessing her based on her current situation. Do you advocate? How?

Barrier Breakers

2010 First Quarter Barrier Breakers: Allison Marek, Rachelle Alridge, & Anabelle Dominguez

with Misty Miller

Background

“As part of our mission to impact our community through effective and accurate I&R, we want to move forward in creating and implementing team strategies by empowering individuals and families thus breaking barriers via our follow-up calls and advocacy procedures.”

Barrier Breakers

• Follow-up and advocate (when needed), in order to eliminate barriers to service

• Rotating team of 3-4 I&R specialists that serve on a quarterly basis

• Vary group experience and language levels

• Leader will meet with team as needed to “staff” cases

Strategies

• Empowerment

• Joint Planning

• Self Determination

• Advocacy/Barrier-Breaking

• Shining Stars

Certificate of Appreciation

Allison MarekIn appreciation for your commitment to enhancing I&R through your Follow-up and Advocacy, we present this Shining Star

certificate.

Awarded on May 11, 2010

2-1-1 Texas/United Way Helpline

David Jobe, LMSW, CIRS Sandra Ray, CIRS

Director Manager

360˚ Communication

• Outreach Coordinator

• Barrier Breakers

• Resource Coordinator

• Resource Team

• Call Specialists

Helpful Reminders• Universalizing responses

– “Most working moms like yourself have the same fear you do about being laid off or losing their benefits if they take a maternity leave.”

• Strengths perspective responses– Identifying and affirming– “It’s amazing how much you got done with no support.”

• Conveying warmth & caring while being realistic

• “If you give a hungry person a fish, they will eat for a day. But if you teach him or her to fish, they will eat for a lifetime – if there are fish.”

• Taking care while giving care: What can you do to diminish the impact of work-stress in your life?

Share & Tell

• What’s working at your center?

• What’s not working at your center?

• What’s something new you learned today?

• What could you feasibly implement tomorrow?

THANK YOU!Misty Miller, Outreach Coordinator

mmiller@unitedwayhouston.org

(713) 685-2718

Traci Byrd, Resource Coordinator

tbyrd@unitedwayhouston.org

(713) 685-2743