The Family Conservancy

There are specific objectives assigned to each of the Strategic Plan’s four strategies. These objectives serve as the building blocks for achieving each of the strategies. Beginning in 2016, TFC has linked the Strategic Plan objectives to the evaluation process for all agency employees. All agency employees must create goals that are tied to at least one objective of the agency’s Strategic Plan. Employees are evaluated on their advancement of these goals, and thus the agency’s Strategic Plan quarterly. The objectives for each Strategic Plan Strategy are as follows: Strategy One: Ensure fiscal stability and agency growth through effective engagement of government, community and individual partners. Objectives: 1:Assure fiscally sound business models are in place for individual programs. 2:Increase revenue and diversify funding sources through grant preparation and grant writing. 3: Grow unrestricted revenue through major gifts, legacy gifts, donations and corporate support. 4:Continually evaluate fundraising events to provide strategic value for the agency. 5: Build a foundation for future individual and corporate giving through increased involvement of volunteers. Strategy Two: Increase awareness about The Family Conservancy’s impact on children, families and the community. Objectives: 1: Communicate agency impact on people served and the community as a whole. 2: Prepare all directors and managers to share the impact of their work clearly and succinctly. 3: Shape public policy on behalf of children and families by expanding government relations and advocacy efforts in partnership with leading local and national organizations. Strategy Three: Engage and invest in staff and board members to increase the agency’s capacity to effectively provide high quality, culturally competent services. Objectives: 1: Optimize client service by encouraging internal collaboration and strengthening connections between individual programs. 2: Support effective service delivery and employee productivity through ongoing assessment of and investment in infrastructure, including technology. 3: Cultivate high level staff performance and foster leadership development. 4: Enhance board development, engagement and diversity. 5: Assure a continuous commitment to culturally competent service delivery. Strategy Four: Strengthen the ability to meet community needs effectively by improving program quality and growing the agency. Objectives: 1: Continually evaluate which services the agency should provide. 2: Improve the ability to document impact and strengthen service delivery using data systems and analysis across all programs. 3: Identify opportunities to enhance program performance using new models of service delivery, including technology based opportunities. 4: Collaborate with key community partners essential to expansion and growth.

Our agency’s long history spanning nearly 140 years, we have been responsive to the needs of the community as well as changes in funding. In addition to exceptional financial oversight, TFC boasts program experts in all of our programs who are leaders in their field. The expertise is further demonstrated through our lower than average turnover rates, which also proves continuity of service to clients and the community.The Family Conservancy uses partnerships and collaboration to serve the community and to connect to populations who are seeking or in need of our services. Some core partnerships and affiliations include Mid America Regional Council, Child Care Aware of Missouri, Child Care Aware of Kansas, United Way of Greater Kansas City, United Way of Wyandotte County, and many more. In addition to being the number one recipient of United Way funding – via contracts, allocations and designations – TFC maintains over 100 funding streams to support a variety of programming.

TFC initiated work to strengthen its Performance Measurement efforts in 2016. TFC’s Performance Management system will: 1) demonstrate progress toward advancing the agency’s mission; 2) communicate the agency’s collective impact on children, early education and families; 3) use data analysis to inform program improvements and accelerate client success; and 4) foster a performance culture characterized by open inquiry and constructive feedback. An agency-level dashboard was created to show how our work supports three impact areas: preparing children for success, strengthening early learning programs, and strengthening family resilience. 2018 outcomes are: Preparing Children for Success Early Learning Programs Improve Quality: 1) % of programs demonstrating stronger health & wellness activities through increased post-intervention GO NAPSACC scores; 2)% of Early Head Start partners who are at a 95% or higher compliance level during safe environments monitoring; 3) % of Early Head Start program staff who meet the required credential or are enrolled in coursework and making adequate progress; 4) % of Early Head Start partners who have implemented a system to support children's health services and tracking Early Learning Programs improve administrative functioning: 1) % of Directors with increased scores on topic post-tests about budget, human resources and/or family engagement; 2) % of Directors with increased scores on the Program Administration Scale (PAS) Teachers strengthen interactions with children: 1) % of teachers participating in My Teaching Partner and MMCI with increased post-intervention CLASS scores; 2) % of teachers participating in SSQS with increased post-intervention CLASS scores Early Learning programs increase family engagement: 1) Annual change in percent of QI/PD programs holding a parent event; 2) Annual change in % of families participating in parent events at QIPD programs Supporting Family Resilience Clients exhibit improved mental health functioning: 1) % of closed cases who complete 60% or more of the action steps in their treatment plan; 2) % of clients with improved scores on the Burns Brief Mood Survey Mothers’ depressive symptoms are reduced: 1) % of mothers with reduced scores on the Beck Depression Inventory; 2) % of mothers with reduced scores on the Parental Stress Index; and 3) % of mothers who completed the Moving Beyond Depression program Families are better prepared to independently access resources in the community: 1) % of Early Head Start families who demonstrate progress during post goal-setting process 2) % of early learning providers in the child care referral system whose information was updated quarterly Parents improve interactions with their children: % of parents enrolled in Healthy Parents, Healthy Kids whose KIPS scores increase

In the midst of a 3-year strategic plan, TFC reports progress toward goals to our board quarterly. One example of progress is toward our goal of: shaping public policy on behalf of children and families by expanding government relations and advocacy efforts in partnership with leading local and national organizations:In addition to supporting the two Children’s Services Fund ballot initiatives in Jackson and Clay counties, TFC has participated in several trainings and community events around advocacy. Another goal TFC continues to strive toward, is communicating agency impact on people served and the community as a whole. Plans are underway to update the agency’s website in order to communicate our impact more succinctly to our donors, clients and community. This will be accomplished by the end of the current strategic plan. TFC has reframed the way we quantify success in our outcomes by engaging more voices in our Performance Measurement Committee, and by regrouping the work by the impact it has on families. Instead of reporting back by department, staff share in groups based on their collective impact of: preparing children for success, supporting family resilience and/or strengthening early learning programs. Key performance indicators are measured quarterly to gauge success. Baseline targets are set for each KPI. These outcomes are all connected to the strategic plan and tie in to one of the three collective impact areas which align with our agency’s goals.Our agency examines not only outputs and outcomes, but program delivery when assessing the success toward our goals. One example can be found in our work delivering Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) programming to strengthen early learning programs. We began CLASS work in 2013, with an intensive, one-on-one model called My Teaching Partner. While the results demonstrated positive change, the model was quite costly to deliver, thus limiting the reach. Additionally, when just one preschool teacher from a center was involved in the project, she was left without a network of support from other teachers and her director.To more effectively impact quality, our CLASS experts formulated a model called Supporting and Sustaining Quality Systems (SSQS), which was modeled using our Theory of Change. In SSQS, all child care teachers at a center complete a brief training and participate in on-site coaching sessions. Additionally, Directors at each of the programs meet together monthly to provide peer support to one another and to set goals of how to sustain CLASS knowledge. This coaching-focused systems approach to CLASS engages the entire child care program and heavily involves leadership to integrate the program in the facets of CLASS, helping child care programs embed the CLASS curriculum.The greatest risk or obstacle is securing sustainable, multi-year funding.