Lisa Pion-Berlin, PhDPresident and Chief Executive OfficerParents Anonymous® Inc.

Leah Davis, California State Parent Team

Achieving Shared Leadership® :Achieving Shared Leadership® :Meaningful Strategies for Meaningful Strategies for Impacting Fairness & Equity in Impacting Fairness & Equity in Child Welfare PracticeChild Welfare Practice

Our History

First Christian Church-Pomona, CA

Parents Anonymous® Program host for 9 years

Parents Anonymous Inc. was founded in 1969 through the extraordinary efforts of a courageous mother, Jolly K., seeking help to create a safe and caring home for her children.

Working in partnership with her social worker, Leonard Lieber, they developed a unique solution for parents who wanted to strengthen their families – the Parents Anonymous Mutual Support Group – and launched a worldwide movement to bring hope and support to millions of families whose voice had never been heard.

Today Parents Anonymous Inc. is an international organization dedicated to strengthening families and advocating for policies and services through meaningful shared leadership.

Ensuring Meaningful ChangeEnsuring Meaningful Change Shared leadershipShared leadership® ® has has

emerged as a vital and emerged as a vital and practical strategy with practical strategy with unprecedented impact across unprecedented impact across systems.systems.

Meaningful shared leadershipMeaningful shared leadership®® is achieved when parents are is achieved when parents are in leadership roles with staff or in leadership roles with staff or policy-makers to create policy-makers to create effective programs, caring effective programs, caring communities and responsive communities and responsive social policies.social policies.

Over the past 15 years, Over the past 15 years, numerous creative strategies numerous creative strategies and programs have emerged and programs have emerged that embrace shared that embrace shared leadershipleadership® ® and have brought and have brought about social change that about social change that results in better outcomes for results in better outcomes for families and communities.families and communities.

Shared Leadership® Process Model

Better Outcomes For Children & Families

STAFF PARENTS

PARTICIPATION

INVOLVEMENT

ENGAGEMENT

PARTNERSHIP

SShared Leadershiphared Leadership® ® : : Socio-Ecological FrameworkSocio-Ecological Framework

INDIVIDUAL-

Strategies designed to change an individual’s attitudes, beliefs and

behaviors

RELATIONSHIP-

Strategies that focus on changing individual behaviors by influencing a person's close interpersonal relationships

COMMUNITY-

Strategies that focus on modifying the characteristics of neighborhood settings and institutions

SOCIETAL-

Strategies that focus on changing legislation and public policies that impact the larger social and cultural environments

SPHERES OF INFLUENCE

Individual and RelationshipIndividual and RelationshipParent Anonymous® Adult Groups

Parent Anonymous®

Children and Youth Programs

CommunityCommunity

Implementing Shared Leadership®

California Parent Engagement Center

Shared Leadership® in Action Program

Improving parent engagement practice

CA Wraparound Parent Partner Role Description and Fidelity Tool

Improving Parent Engagement practice to improve child welfare systems outcomes

Shared LeadershipShared Leadership®® in Action in Action Program Program ResultsResults

Shared LeadershipShared Leadership® ® is successfully achieved when is successfully achieved when parents, community members, staff, policymakers, parents, community members, staff, policymakers, and others build effective partnerships and share and others build effective partnerships and share responsibility, expertise and leadership in decisions responsibility, expertise and leadership in decisions being made that affect families and communities to being made that affect families and communities to improve systems and the quality of life. improve systems and the quality of life.

Evaluation studies of Shared LeadershipEvaluation studies of Shared Leadership®® in Action in Action trainings show statistically significant increases in trainings show statistically significant increases in Shared LeadershipShared Leadership®® knowledge levels and abilities of knowledge levels and abilities of staff and parent participants.staff and parent participants.

Our research shows positive changes in child welfare Our research shows positive changes in child welfare practices through meaningful involvement of Parent practices through meaningful involvement of Parent Leaders in numerous California counties. Leaders in numerous California counties.

Leadership Practices and Leadership Practices and Behaviors InventoryBehaviors Inventory

Five exemplary leadership practices and behaviors

Model the WayModel the Way Inspire a Shared VisionInspire a Shared Vision Challenge the ProcessChallenge the Process Enable Others to ActEnable Others to Act Encourage the HeartEncourage the Heart

Valid and reliable measure of parent leadership

Measuring Shared LeadershipMeasuring Shared Leadership®®

Leadership Practices and Behavior Leadership Practices and Behavior Inventory (modified with permission of Inventory (modified with permission of Kouzes and Posner)Kouzes and Posner) Measures 6 exemplary leadership Measures 6 exemplary leadership

practices and documents new practices and documents new behaviors to measure parent behaviors to measure parent leadership.leadership.

Shared LeadershipShared Leadership Assessment Survey Assessment Survey Measures perceptions of Measures perceptions of

opportunities and barriers of staff opportunities and barriers of staff and Parent Leaders working in and Parent Leaders working in Shared LeadershipShared Leadership..

California Parent Engagement CenterCalifornia Parent Engagement Center

Ground-breaking Ground-breaking database, online database, online resourcesresources

Highlights parent Highlights parent advocacy models, advocacy models, research results, etc. research results, etc.

Moving towards Moving towards evidence-based practice evidence-based practice

SocietalSocietal

Child Abuse Prevention &Treatment Act (CAPTA). Child Abuse Prevention &Treatment Act (CAPTA). Parents have testified and advocated

for different aspects in CAPTA: Requirements for Parent involvement in policy,

planning, implementation and evaluation California Child Welfare System Reform:California Child Welfare System Reform:

Child Welfare Council, , State Program Improvement State Program Improvement Plan and County Systems Improvement PlansPlan and County Systems Improvement Plans

National Coalition for Parent Advocacy in National Coalition for Parent Advocacy in Child Protective ServicesChild Protective Services

Our VisionOur VisionAll families are strong and have theAll families are strong and have theresources they need to raise theirresources they need to raise theirchildren in a healthy productivechildren in a healthy productivesupportive environment.supportive environment.

Our MissionOur MissionTo mobilize birth parents andTo mobilize birth parents andadvocacy organizations to createadvocacy organizations to createpositive public policy and programpositive public policy and programchanges that prevent removal ofchanges that prevent removal ofchildren from their families by childchildren from their families by childprotective services, strengthen andprotective services, strengthen andensure the rights of families whoseensure the rights of families whosechildren have been removed, andchildren have been removed, andreturn children to their families.return children to their families.

California Coalition for Parent Advocacy California Coalition for Parent Advocacy in Child Protective Servicesin Child Protective Services

Improving Child Welfare Policy Improving Child Welfare Policy and Practicesand Practices Significance: Parent Leader serves on Child Welfare Significance: Parent Leader serves on Child Welfare

Council (most important policy making body: courts, state Council (most important policy making body: courts, state agencies and counties) shaping advocacy efforts to agencies and counties) shaping advocacy efforts to improve practice statewideimprove practice statewide

- Implementation of Family Finding & EngagementImplementation of Family Finding & Engagement- Ongoing parent advocacy roles to improve reunification of Ongoing parent advocacy roles to improve reunification of

familiesfamilies Modification of Train the Trainer model with CALSWEC for Modification of Train the Trainer model with CALSWEC for

enhancement of effective family engagement and enhancement of effective family engagement and participatory planning participatory planning

This strength-based core component is designed to This strength-based core component is designed to improve child welfare practice, ensure family well-being improve child welfare practice, ensure family well-being and assist in achieving PIP goalsand assist in achieving PIP goals

Fairness and EquityEquity

Integrate Parent Leaders (who have Integrate Parent Leaders (who have experienced the Child Welfare System) in experienced the Child Welfare System) in planning, implementation and evaluation planning, implementation and evaluation of training efforts county, regional and of training efforts county, regional and statewidestatewide

Measure impact of shared leadershipMeasure impact of shared leadership on on training goals and reunification goalstraining goals and reunification goals

Link shared leadershipLink shared leadership to practice to practice models of successful parent/family models of successful parent/family engagementengagement

Challenge Yourselves

Work in collaboration View change positively Training must be linked to better outcomes

for families Recruit and support parent leaders Create shared leadership opportunities

For more information contact:

Meryl Levine, MSSA

Vice President of Development

Parents Anonymous® Inc.

675 W. Foothill Ave, Suite 220

Claremont, CA 91711

Tel: 909 621-6184 x220

Fax: 909 621-0614

mlevine@parentsanonymous.org