Getting off the Merry go Round

Friday, October 30, 2009 was my last day at DHS. I have been there so long I had forgotten what life might be without the security of a steady I weekly salary as well as the impact of the title and responsibility. A lot of positives have come from my experience at DHS both in the field and administrative experience. For many it makes no sense for me to leave however I beg to differ and I will explain why later in this post. First I want to say thank you to the many people who supported and promoted through the tangle ranks of this huge institution. Too many to name but they know who they are and what they meant. Some who risked their careers, and reputation believing in me and my passion for getting the job done with creativity and an eye on the outcome for the consumer.

Folks, I had to get off the merry go round. Round and round we go never getting anywhere. 2 steps forward and 3 backward. You have seen it as well, programs cut because someone does not like it or the person running it. No matter if it is successful or not. Programs with outlandishly successful outcomes removed or bastardize to the point of being ineffectual, this based on the whim of a politician or their appointee. Never mind the impact on the consumer opps that's right many still refer to them as clients which seems to mean a diminished level of respect and expectation for results. So much of what we are able to do is dependent on the unexplainable.

Hey this was easier than I thought. 26 years after I began a career in social services I finally managed the momentum to leave. Not in anger or disgust and not even frustrated as some have suggested. I am not any of those things. I am excited about the opportunity to operate outside of the box again. Out of the box and unleashed to be creative, innovative and outcome driven. Outcome driven, purpose driven, the words seem interchangeable. Almost synonyms, since each indicates a focus and commitment to success, achievement and sustainable positive change.

I am excited about the prospect of new ideas and new attitudes towards he work we do. Our greatest fear is our light not our darkness. When I first heard that phrase it rang true for me and it was as if someone was speaking directly to me and asking why was I hiding in the mist of conformity that frequently leads to mediocrity and seduces us with it's false security. It does not please God that you diminish yourself in order to make others feel secure around you. If I never saw explicit examples of that before, the last few months were awakening of just how uncomfortable people may become when one, is making manifest the glory of God, through their words, work and attitude, despite your efforts to engage and provide access. Anyway this is where I found myself and I knew in order to do Jay, Jay had to leave. Hey someone moved my cheese and I could either remain and keep looking for the cheese in the same place or I could go out and find the cheese. Well I am working to go one better and create the cheese that is to my taste and temperament. Jack was let out of the box some time ago never to return.

The definition of insanity is to continually repeat the same actions and expect a different result. The administration of human services remains stuck in a mindset that I fear will never allow for the success of their consumer. Despite their long history lacking in quantitative or qualitative outcomes, they continue to fear and resist innovation with the tenacity of a bear protecting its cubs. This is puzzling and yet understandable since they are only held accountable when a child dies. This is the only point in the process that you will hear someone speak to any level of accountability. Why you ask, because the predominant thought is that their consumer is so damaged that it is not fair to hold the professional accountable for a lack of positive measurable outcomes. Even gross misconduct is often ignored, "would it matter anyway". Mistakes are repeated because they are never measured and determined objectively to be in error and we are left with anecdotal memories instead of any real history that we may use as a indisputable foundation to build upon. SCOH is replaced with ARS and what is the difference, we will never know because SCOH was never evaluated longitudinally though we have the stories which are lacking any objective measures may be the latest pancea but if it is not evaluated for more than who it served it too will leave us without the tools and building blocks to move our discipline forward. I walked into DHS in 1983 and their was a small covey of providers who because of their leverage as the sparse cadre of resources were non responsive to the oversight DHS was responsible for executing. Guess what they agency is returning to that format and many of the smaller more responsive and tractable agencies will be squeezed out. Watch the merry go round and round.

DHS is a multi million dollar corporation managed without consumer input, satisfaction surveys, quality control, or structured and researched staff development, or focused and coordinated product development. I.e. for truancy we are considering the NY City model yet their graduation rates are as poor as they are here in Philadelphia and despite determined efforts they have not made a significant measurable impact on their school attendance rates. Probably due to some of the same issues we face here in Philly. The largest departmental budget in the city is not driven with purpose and clear measurable goals but via the flavor of the day chosen by the politician of the day. 3 years ago there was push to look at the VA model for reducing truancy until someone pointed out that they were a rural area and that I had participated in the development of their plan. Not that they did not have outcomes or that they were dealing with a completely different population with unique dynamics. Hey like Baskin and Robbins we have at least 32 flavors but I am betting B&K did some consumer studies before they went beyond the basic 5 or 6 flavors and subsequently did sales research on the added 26 or 27.

Currently we are returning to the future, bringing back the past and calling it our future. Well I can not and will not take that ride with you. I thought we could produce measureable significant change from within the bureaucracy and we did but we can not sustain it as we are often vulnerable to the instability of the political process the infinite wisdom of the overeducated and the ham handed generosity of the money changers. Can do it and won't do it that way anymore. Not leaving the field of battle as this is my passion and my vocation, however I will not continue the insanity that now exist. Gonna change the world, and I am going to need some help. Are you out there.