Sarah Carnochan

Performance Measurement Challenges in Nonprofit Human Service Organizations

This qualitative study examines the experiences of four nonprofit human service organizations engaging in performance measurement processes to satisfy accountability requirements and increase organizational and program effectiveness. Nonprofits are increasingly required to respond to performance measurement mandates issuing from multiple sources. However, many of the recommended strategies have been developed in the for-profit and public sectors, and are less appropriate or feasible for nonprofit organizations. Three central findings emerged from interviews, focus groups, and review of archival data. First, the complexity of human change processes and the variation among individual clients complicate efforts to define client outcomes. Second, staff skills play a critical role in effective utilization of data systems. Third, organizational strategies to support performance measurement include incorporating user perspectives into system design and providing adequate staff access to data.

Building Managerial and Organizational Capacity in Nonprofit Human Service Organizations Through a Leadership Development Program

Highly skilled managers are needed to lead organizations and enable them to survive in changing times, especially in this era when members of the baby boom generation are retiring from senior positions. Most short-term in-service management training programs for practicing managers reflect the abbreviated versions of content found in either undergraduate or graduate degree programs in nonprofit management. Recognizing the limitations of these traditional approaches to training future senior managers, a group of directors of nonprofit human service agencies serving children and families collaborated with a university to develop and implement a training program for their middle and senior managers to enhance their managerial leadership capacities. The program design and evaluation differs from traditional professional development programs in terms of the: 1) extensive involvement of agency directors and program participants in the program design; 2) learning projects that address agreed-upon agency issues that focus on both managing and leading; 3) participant-centered learning with individualized coaching; and 4) outcome-focus with respect to identifying new conceptual frameworks for training. This case study of the training design, implementation and evaluation concludes with implications for effectively preparing future generations for leadership roles in nonprofit human service organizations.

Family Law in the New Millennium For Whose Families

In this article, the authors review changes in family law over the past 30 years in the following areas: marriage, divorce, child custody, remarriage and stepfamilies, unwed fathers, third-party visitation, nontraditional partnerships, assisted reproduction, and adoption. The authors also discuss the role that the social sciences have had in the family law revolution. Finally, the authors speculate about future changes in family law and the role that the social sciences will play in these legal reforms.

Child Welfare and the Courts: An Exploratory Study of the Relationship Between Two Complex Systems

ABSTRACT This exploratory study focuses on the relationships between professionals working in the juvenile dependency system, including judicial officers, attorneys, social workers, and court-appointed special advocates. It includes an examination of the quality of professional relationships, factors contributing to tensions, the consequences of difficult relationships, and strategies for improving relationships. It utilizes interviews and focus groups with professionals and focus groups with clients involved in the juvenile dependency system. The major findings address: (a) the nature and quality of professional relationships, (b) the structural and operational factors contributing to tension in those relationships, (c) client perceptions of professional relationships, and (d) respondent recommendations for improving professional relationships. This study is a contribution to the small but growing literature on the complexity of the interface between public child welfare services and the court system.

Achieving Placement Stability

Placement stability as an outcome goal in child welfare performance measurement is grounded in the importance of providing stability for children as they are developing attachments and relationships to caregivers. Research shows that many children are vulnerable to placement instability, especially those who have been in long term foster care. This literature review provides an overview of the federal placement stability measure. It then summarizes the diverse set of factors has been found to be associated with placement instability, including characteristics of the child and family of origin, placement type and quality, and the child welfare system and services. Promising practices aimed at promoting placement stability are summarized, followed by questions designed to foster discussion about the relationship of the evidence to child welfare practice.

The Challenges to Promoting Collaboration Between Child Protection Services Workers and Court Professionals

Abstract In juvenile dependency proceedings, the protection of children depends upon the collaboration between professionals in the child welfare and court systems. Since there is little empirical research on such collaborations, this exploratory study sought to identify factors associated with the difficulties encountered in these professional relationships through an analysis of case records. The data were extracted from 111 cases in seven Northern California counties. Using a logistic regression it was found that the short tenure of court professionals is significantly associated with the difficulties of fostering inter-professional collaboration. The implications for future practice and research are identified.

Becoming a Manager in Nonprofit Human Service Organizations: Making the Transition from Specialist to Generalist

The transition from direct service to management in human service organizations requires newly promoted managers to engage in significant role transformation that calls into question their self-concept and identity. This analysis draws upon the for-profit and nonprofit literature to construct a conceptual model of managerial identity formation. The model is then applied to a case vignette of a managerial leadership development training program developed by a regional network of nonprofit human service agency directors. The analysis concludes with implications for managerial training and leadership development in human service organizations.

Preventing Re-Entry to Foster Care

Re-entry to foster care generally refers to circumstances in which children who have been discharged from foster care to be reunified with their family of origin, adopted, or provided kinship guardianship are returned to foster care. In the context of the federal performance measurement system, re-entry refers specifically to a return to foster care following an unsuccessful reunification. The federal Children and Family Services Review measures re-entry to foster care with a single indicator, called the permanency of reunification indicator, one of four indicators comprising the reunification composite measure. This review focuses on research related to the re-entry indicator, including the characteristics of children, caregivers and families, as well as case and child welfare services that are associated with a higher or lower risk of re-entry to foster care. Promising post-reunification services designed to prevent re-entry to foster care are described.

The context of child welfare performance measures.

A growing movement in the United States seeks to improve the outcomes achieved by public agencies through performance measurement strategies. In child welfare policy, a federally mandated performance measurement system has evolved since the 1980s, establishing the federal Child and Family Services Review which uses a series of performance indicators for evaluating the child welfare system. This article reviews the literature on performance measurement and performance management in the public sector in order to develop a conceptual framework for examining the federal child welfare performance measurement system. It briefly summarizes the evolution of federal policy related to performance measurement in child welfare. The framework is then used to guide an analysis of the debate surrounding the establishment of the current child welfare performance measurement system, concluding with recommendations for consideration in future reform efforts.

The Impact of the Great Recession on County Human-Service Organizations: A Cross-Case Analysis

ABSTRACT This exploratory qualitative study examines the experiences of eleven county human-service agencies as they worked through the budget reduction process during the Great Recession (2008–2013). The principles and values that guided decisions are identified retrospectively through an analysis of 46 individual interviews with members of the senior management in each organization. The findings include decision-making strategies that include the engagement of stakeholders as well as the tactics employed for balancing the budget. The study informants reflect upon the success of their actions and upon the environmental and organizational factors that facilitated and constrained managerial decision making. The study concludes with implications for practice and future research.