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OFFICE OF STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
The Impact of Seamless Services for Families
Due to COVID-19, 2020 brought about some of the most sweeping changes in Children’s Friend’s 186-year history. Amid tragedy and grief, we also found opportunities for strategy and innovation as we continued to adapt to the ever-changing situations and circumstances. Children’s Friend staff have always been a core support and lifeline for those they serve, and this role is more crucial than ever during the pandemic. Following the strategic “North Star” we set in 2018 to prioritize the most vulnerable kids, all while operating in this new pandemic context, we’ve learned many lessons about engaging families that have changed us dramatically.
In the “new normal” of hybrid in-person and virtual home visiting and learning, with many families experiencing more vulnerability than ever, we recognize that families need seamless supports. With 19 programs and specialists across early education, child welfare, and child development, we can significantly impact a family. But our ability to do so is influenced by how easily – seamlessly – our teams can work together to create a network of support for a family.
So we asked a question: How might we seamlessly connect families and pro-
2020 BROUGHT ABOUT SOME OF THE MOST SWEEPING CHANGES IN CHILDREN’S FRIEND’S 186-YEAR HISTORY.
viders across our programs to offer families the supports and services they need to maximize their child’s growth and development?
To answer that question, we’re under- taking several innovative initiatives, three of which we’ll share here:
Launch an Innovation Lab: As a coordi- nated effort between our Philanthropy department, Programs, and Office of Strategy Management, the Innovation Lab will support our work to gather ac- tionable feedback from staff and fami- lies that will guide program decisions, develop new approaches to supporting families, and help us improve through learning from our shared experiences.
Keep offering virtual services: Chil- dren’s Friend plans to continue offering hybrid virtual and in-person services to families even after the pandemic because we’ve learned that in many cases, virtual options expand seamless access to our services and collaboration across providers.
Create a Centralized Intake process for all of our programs: We are using a staff and client-guided (Human-Cen- tered) approach to design a new Centralized Intake department that connects families to the services they need while building connections across our programs.
Starting in 2021, the Innovation Lab and the Office of Strategy Management will work with a small team to design, test, and gather feedback from families and staff on different approaches to building seamless connections at intake. In an organization with 19 discrete programs, each with varied intake requirements and goals, this is no small task. With the experience of families and staff as a guide, we will create something that meets their needs first and plants the seeds for lasting, supportive relationships.
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