Zone Director Recommendations_L. Flieth

working with CCHSZ team members. That information and feedback back should be incorporated to improve quality and the culture of the agency, and modeled by leadership. Relationships with essential community partners are damaged.  It does not appear that the philosophy and structural changes through the formation of Human Service Zones is understood, and certainly is not embraced by CCHSZ. In many aspects, the Zone has operated in isolation. CCHSZ appears to believe they are unique in the barriers and problems the Zone encounters. In an agency of this size, problem solving, processing, etc. is done “in house” with internal co-workers & supervisors. Whereas many other smaller zones have needed to reach out and form partnerships and collaborations with other zones. This type of “networking” lends to a broader view of human services and forms relationships and partnerships. This isolation, particularly in the new zone hybrid model, requires partnering with DHS, the county, as well as other zones.  DHS views that all HSZ’s have “one caseload”, and that previous restrictions of county lines is cumbersome and ineffective. The expectation is that we (DHS, HSZ & counties) are all working as one. It does not seem that this message/expectation has been relayed, and certainly is not understood nor implemented at CCHSZ. Again, encouraging CCHSZ staff to participate and learn from their colleagues in other zones, as well as the director communicating ‘current events’ to staff can promote greater insight, and encouraging collaborative work with others to address problems system-wide.  The child welfare unit has expressed to me that they have appreciated having a social work perspective in this interim director role. While having a social work degree is not required to be a Director, some type of human service experience or educational foundation must be heavily considered. Serving as the custodian to foster children, and making important live-altering decisions for them is a huge responsibility and requires more than just an administrative skill set. Balancing policy, best practices, and problem- solving barriers to achieving permanency requires a broad knowledge base. Economic Assistance programs are heavily regulated by policy, but those policies impact human beings. It is important to keep our clients and the impact of decisions and policies at the forefront.  Since initially starting this list, the loss of Marla McIntyre, and potential loss of Shelly Tang, have materialized. The two of them carry a great deal of technical and informal knowledge of agency operations. This is a significant loss for staff as well as the future Director. I am aware that Kim has provided her thoughts on potential administrative restructuring. I am hoping that some of the existing support staff’s talents and knowledge can be drawn upon to lend a sense of stability during this time of transition. I would like to continue to dive a bit deeper in the coming months to try to address some of these issues and will continue to offer observations and support to the future Director. The last several weeks have been interesting and challenging. I have spent much more time than I initially imagined I would! I want to continue to be helpful and provide some stability and leadership to the child welfare & APS units, but also need to balance my responsibilities to the