On Monday, October 19, 2020, over 60 leaders from Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo Counties virtually gathered to begin weaving connections at the Tri-County ACEs Aware Care Network Leadership Convening. Under the guidance of Barbara Finch (SBC Department of Social Services, KIDS Network), Terri Allison (Moonlit Consulting), and Carl Palmer (LegacyWorks Group), participants came together with the intention of learning about local implementation of the ACEs Aware initiative, building regional and cross-sector relationships, and exploring a model for developing strong care networks to support ACEs prevention, screening, and intervention.
As participants trickled into the call, Carl Palmer introduced the structure of the call, which included a shared Google Document where participants were invited to add comments, thoughts, ideas and questions that might arise throughout the meeting. This structure set the stage for a collaborative meeting format that served, intentionally, to disrupt normative power imbalances that are typically assumed in meetings with speakers and audiences.
Following this, Barb Finch reviewed the overarching objectives of the convening: to explore ideas for creating a resiliency-focused care network, to coordinate and align efforts within and between counties, and to include parent voices in developing plans for screening and responding to ACEs. Finch then introduced Florene Bednersh (Children and Family Resource Services), who led the group in an engaging and thought-provoking activity. This began with a short clip (linked here) from comedian Michael Jr. about the importance of recognizing one’s why in their work-- and letting this both guide and enrich their what. Bednersh prompted participants to think about their “why” and, from here, the larger group split into smaller pairings to engage in a two-to-three minute “storytelling.”
This beautiful activity is customary for the Resilient Santa Barbara County group: Terri Allison and Barb Finch frequently format their network meetings to initially break off into smaller groups, inviting participants to engage in a storytelling activity, prompted by a thought-provoking question that sets the stage for the rest of the meeting. The “rules” of this portion of the meeting are to allow each member of the small group a turn to speak while each of the other members listen without response or interjection; the activity is designed to provide each speaker full attention and allow them to share all of their thoughts on the subject matter. It is also a great way to allow participants to meet and learn about each other in an intimate, small group setting while providing them the opportunity, if they take advantage of it, to exercise their active listening skills.
Some “why”’s of the group, later shared in the Google Document, included, “taking pleasure in helping others and being a small part of their success,” “mental and emotional well-being,” “the fact that “ACEs have impacted [a particular participants’] family personally,” and “as a professional, [they] have sought to help others by increasing [their] knowledge.”
As the activity finished, Finch presented an overview of the landscape from which the ACEs Aware work emerged, and asked if key points resonated with the individual and organizational experiences of people from other counties. Various voices chimed in, commenting on how the work presented itself differently for each of them. Other participants noted that trauma informed care and building relationships to build trust were frameworks that centered their work.
From here, Finch introduced the plethora of organizations seeking to collaborate in cross-sector work and the varying networks identifying common concerns. Finch then introduced the multiple frameworks that have emerged to center the work, including strengthening families protective factors, trauma-informed care, social determinants of health, the core practice model, and ACEs and Resilience. The presentation posed ACEs science as a bridge to these concerns, explaining how it touches on concerns in all sectors, has implications for all individuals, organizations, and communities, intersects with other frameworks, is rooted in science, links healthcare and human services, and offers hope.
Terri Allison then shared slides on the Pair of ACEs: Adverse Childhood Experiences and Adverse Community Environments, in order to introduce their outlook on approaching a “Continuum of ‘Problems,’” a concept borrowed from Leading from Within, as well as “The Collaboration Continuum.” The Collaboration Continuum, which had been laid out for meeting participants in a visual chart, read from left to right: “networking, coordinating, cooperating, and collaborating.” The chart showed that while the initial stages of the continuum allow for information exchange, as networks develop across the continuum, the opportunity for meaningful shared work, in cohesive collaboration, arises. Allison then explained the key differences between organizations and networks, subsequently describing the many kinds of networks across “the evolutionary spectrum,” which was displayed on a graph for participants to visually explain the progression from scattered fragment network connections, hub and spoke network connections that connect at one center hub, a multi-hub network with a larger number of connections, and, finally, a core/periphery network with a multitude of interwoven connections.
The larger group was then split off into a second break-out session and prompted to discuss how they perceived the current care network in their counties. Gloria Munoz (Resilient Santa Barbara County) intentionally designed the break-out groups to contain one representative from each county, offering participants the chance to hear a vast array of experiences. Numerous respondents mentioned in a survey following the meeting that the breakout sessions, organized meticulously by Munoz, were in their opinion the most beneficial part of the convening because they offered them the opportunity to build meaningful connections both in and out of their counties.
From here, Finch introduced the Resilient Santa Barbara County Network vision, purpose, principles, and objectives as a model for other counties, and potentially for the care network as a whole. She shared how the principles and objectives have continued to evolve, based on progress made thus far and input from new participants.
The group then engaged in a third and final break-out session where participants were split based on their county and prompted to answer a series of questions regarding the building of care networks; this activity served as a way to reflect on the ideas presented thus far in the convening. They were encouraged to discuss their vision for a strong care network, opportunities to coordinate, align, and connect, and how they could build in a process for reflection and self-assessment. Following this activity, the group reconvened and discussed what was shared among the three counties.
The focus of the convening then shifted to the ACEs Aware initiative. After introducing the ACEs Aware mission, the meeting offered a short presentation from each Tri-County ACEs Aware Grantee. This gave Grantees the chance to showcase their work, and attendees the opportunity to learn about the various projects that Grantees are working on.
With an exciting conclusion to the convening, Finch presented the 2021 Goals for the 5th Annual Bridges to Resilience Conference, which will take place in Spring of 2021. This will be an ACEs Aware provider engagement activity that will bring together Medi-Cal providers and members of the care networks, with a focus on strengthening connections between healthcare and other service sectors.
Participants left feeling grateful, connected, inspired, hopeful, and motivated (these were just a few of the words expressed in the closing activity where each attendee was invited to turn their microphones on and share --in one word-- how they were leaving Monday’s convening). Most survey respondents noted that following the convening, they had a stronger sense of the cross-sector nature of the ACEs and resilience movement in their county. They also, notably, greatly appreciated the ability to connect across county lines. Thank you to all of the contributors and participants to this meeting and we look forward to our next Tri-County ACEs Aware Care Network Convening!
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