Strategic Visioning February Meeting Summary
On February 17, The Strategic Visioning Committee held its first quarterly meeting of the calendar year, and its fourth quarterly meeting since the approval of the Strategic Plan in April 2021. The purpose of the quarterly meetings is to hear from the Strategic Initiative leads, gauge progress toward our strategic goals, and set additional goals for the next quarter. We were thrilled to see that the four active initiatives completed over 78% of their goals set in the prior quarter. We have worked to adapt our meeting content and structure to optimize our time together, and to learn as much as possible from one another. During the last meeting, we focused on the vision, roadmap, and measurable outcomes of each team. We also discussed key insights, progress against past goals, and future 90-day deliverables. The overwhelming feedback was that the initiatives continue to bring our stakeholders together, particularly by socializing draft concepts early and often, and that prioritizing efforts is critical to success. Some challenges include ensuring that the intensity of our work pace is sustainable, the need to clearly define what “success” looks like, and how to share that information. Overall, things are working and progress is happening! It is exciting to see this evolution. We are STRONGER TOGETHER!
A brief summary of each initiative’s successes and future goals is provided below to ensure full transparency and keep everyone fully informed of the progress. The full meeting minutes can be found here. The formal Strategic Plan and related documents have been updated with the revised mission statement approved by the Board of Governors at their October meeting. Links to all the quarterly meeting materials and 90-day deliverables are available on the Strategic Visioning Implementation Updates page on The Arc New York website. We welcome you to review these documents, which contain many more details on the progress and process of our Strategic Plan. The previous commitments and the overall goals of each initiative can be found there as well.
Next Steps
Each group continues to work diligently to achieve their overall objectives and short-term deliverables. Globe North Consultants, LLC, has been retained to assist the initiative workgroups with managing change, engaging stakeholders, and ensuring each team has a clearly defined plan with timeframes to meet their objectives. They have met with each of the workgroups to assist in building roadmaps and ensuring clarity of vision.
In other exciting news, the Strategic visioning Committee plans to hold its first annual meeting in May to review the past year and make recommendations on future goals. This will be in addition to the regularly scheduled quarterly meetings.
Initiative Summaries
Staffing
The mission of the staffing group has been to improve recruitment and retention of our direct support staff, which is identified as the organization’s most significant and immediate priority. The staffing group made incredible progress toward short- and long-term goals during 2022. Toward the end of the year it became clear that a pivot to longer-term goals was warranted due to the number of objectives that were already met. When the New York State Executive Budget was announced in January, it was obvious that many of our longer-term goals were already being supported by the Governor, including increased funding, retention bonuses, recruitment of foreign workers, and expansion of the BOCES program to recruit high school students to the field. This success necessitated a pause to reassess and avoid duplication of efforts.
The DSP rebranding campaign continues to move through the execution phase, despite this momentary reassessment.
The staffing group intends to take stock after the final NYS Budget is passed, and once the legislative session is completed, to determine where remaining gaps need to be filled by the work of this initiative. In the interim, the State Office is engaging Chapter leadership to determine their current priorities to ensure our next step best meet their needs.
Advocacy
The incredibly positive content of the NYS Executive Budget is proof that our sustained year-round advocacy efforts are working. The Advocacy initiative team met several times during December and January to finalize a report] summarizing its work and recommendations. The report lays out a robust advocacy framework and recommends that further steps be taken by an operationalized standing committee for the organization that will continue to advance our advocacy. We look forward to supporting the new committee in its work.
Fiscal Sustainability
The Fiscal Sustainability initiative intends to create a toolkit for each service provided throughout the Organization to achieve positive financial outcomes that maximize quality and opportunity for the people we support. Using these toolkits we will identify, promote, and communicate best practices to achieve financial sustainability through metrics and efficient operations to provide the highest quality services to the individuals we support.
Third & Fourth Quarter Successes
- Development of best practice guides for seven separate programs has been approximately 60% completed
- Electronic Records Platform (ERP) vendor was selected
- Common chart of accounts, standardized reporting, and timeline for Chapter implementation is underway
New 90-Day Commitments
- Begin implementation process for the ERP (planned to “go live” in January 2023)
- Work to establish common chart of accounts for participating Chapters
- Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) for all services areas covered by best practice guides
- Develop and implement socialization plans for the toolkits and KPIs
- Continue to test the toolkits for refinement
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
We recognize there is a lack of diversity within all levels of The Arc New York. We aim to increase diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI) within The Arc New York. To achieve this goal, we will:
- Gather demographic data related to DEI at all levels of The Arc New York
- Develop a career pathway for Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) DSPs and others
- Create DEI Strategies at all levels of The Arc New York
- Create a welcoming environment and inclusive culture
- Conduct outreach and collaboration with BIPOC communities
Third & Fourth Quarter Successes
- The DEI survey and accompanying toolkit was launched to all Chapters, and nearly 10,00 employees from across the state have participated
- Consultants were interviewed and a finalist identified
New 90-Day Commitments
- Conduct analytical review of survey data
- Review and revise existing goals and target dates with newly onboarded consultant
- Develop mission, position, and value statements and common language, including outreach to broader stakeholders within The Arc New York
- Roll out modified plans to The Arc New York
- Implement listening sessions/focus groups
Governance & Change Management
The Arc New York’s current governance model is defined by multiple stakeholder groups with varying levels of understanding of their scope and roles. We intend to create a governance model that is aligned with the overarching vision for The Arc New York, nurtures communication and culture that supports change management throughout the organization. This model will add greater clarity of functional responsibilities & accountabilities, while also integrating and eliminating overlapping roles, resulting in greater efficiency & speed in decision-making.
Third & Fourth Quarter Successes
- Met with the Legal Committee to review proposed by-law changes to implement our work
- Planned the segmentation of future-state proposal across multiple Board of Governors’ meetings during 2022, recognizing that this is best done in “bite-sized” pieces
- Conducted a training needs assessment to determine requirements for training, coaching, and mentoring to improve Governors’ ability to support a more strategic focus, increase engagement, and increase collaboration.
- Piloted a new approach to BOG agendas and meetings
- Held several regional forums to expand on implementation approach
- Continued to drive integration and assist groups with change management/development of clear initiative roadmaps
New 90-Day Commitments
- Continue to enhance BOG calendar and meeting processes
- Actively engage Governors, EDs, and Chapters in at least one additional regional meeting
- Finalize feedback and recommendations on the tools needed to enable/train Governors
- Hold at least one webinar to seek feedback on defined future state recommendations
Innovative Supports & Services (formerly “Supports & Services”)
We plan to identify ways in which The Arc New York can best leverage its collective expertise and experience to identify and recommend innovative, lower cost, quality approaches for service system redesign, including more integrated supportive housing options that offer funding flexibilities and reasonable regulatory standards.
Third & Fourth Quarter Successes
- Completed Chapter interviews to further explore innovative day and residential supports
- Began a draft of modeling for an Enhanced Supportive IRA option
- Began the development of a plan to demonstrate the benefits of using remote technology to promote greater independence in individuals living in Supportive IRAs
- Completed 80% of the first draft of a plan to promote to OPWDD the use of respite funding to support flexible retirement options and discuss strategy for necessary waiver amendment for individuals in certified residences
- Completed a survey regarding self-direction and created a forum for meeting with survey respondents identified as having experience with self-determination programs
- Analyzed survey results to develop a simple report to Chapters, which has since been disseminated
- Established a routine meeting and created a platform on MS Teams for Chapter staff involved or interested in Self-Directed and Fiscal Intermediary services to communicate, share resources and network
New 90-Day Commitments
- Begin the development of a table of contents for the self-direction guide
- Socialize the information from the self-direction survey and forums
- Develop a framework for moving our “idea engine” concept forward
- Recruit and engage team members in the five deliverable areas for development of the Enhanced Supportive IRA model
- Finalize and pilot respite-funded day services model and budget; socialize among Chapters for pilot opportunities
- Attend AWS Imagine Conference to learn about virtual learning and remote supports
Please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions about our Strategic Vision or progress toward our Strategic goals. We have much work to do but we are well on our way.
As always, we are STRONGER TOGETHER!
