Winter 2001 Newsletter

It takes a certain amount of patience and perseverance to work with clients over a long period of time. There are many issues with which we must deal and these peoples' lives are typically complicated. I believe that we, as clinicians, have historically underestimated how much these clients can change and have therefore set lower expectations than necessary.

For the last several years I have been training and consulting with many foster care and home based clinicians around the country. Over the years I have noticed certain Solution Focused interventions that have made significant differences in peoples' lives. There are three ideas I would like to present in this article for those clinicians who are working with this population.

The first challenge is to create small well-formed goals, which the clients can definitely achieve. We have historically not set goals for fear that people could not make change, but I think we were just thinking of huge goals instead of smaller, almost microscopic goals. A good goal is sometimes a thought change. These goals must be measurable and achievable so that we can know if the client meets the goal. I believe it is valuable to find out what someone has tried despite the fact that she ultimately failed. Most people view failed attempts as failures, but you can also view it as trying something different, which indicates change. It is important to get clients to view any new thought or effort, regardless of the outcome, as a positive change. This is very empowering.

The second challenge is to look for exceptions. These are times when the problem doesn't happen or happens less. This is a precious skill to teach someone who may struggle for his entire life. If we can teach people to spend most of their days looking for what is working instead of focusing on what is wrong or broken, then they will have more hope. We all know that hope is a crucial element in anyone's recovery. The art of eliciting and amplifying exceptions takes practice, but is a life skill worth mastering. We can start learning how to do this with ourselves. At the end of every day, ask yourself, ìwhat was good about my day?î If some of us are resistant to this idea, imagine how our clients will feel!

The third challenge is to measure progress each time you meet with someone. I think we all too often form opinions about whether or not our treatment is helping our clients, but we forget to ask them. Solution Focused Therapy requires that you ask your clients to measure their progress toward their goals each time you meet with them. This empowers our clients to feel in control of their lives, and it tells us whether or not treatment is successful. Solution Focused Therapy calls this scaling. We use a 1-10 Likert scale and ask clients to always attach a number to the way they feel during the session. The important follow-up question is what they need to do to move up the scale 1/2 point. This teaches people to set small goals that they can realistically achieve. Most people who have been stuck for a long time do not know how to figure the next small step they need to take in order to get closer to their ultimate goal, which is why they stay stuck.

Obviously, it is difficult to summarize so much in a short article, but it is valuable for us to believe our long term clients can and do set small goals they do achieve. These and many more ideas and practical techniques are being presented and practiced at the MHBFSA one-day conference on May 3, 2002.

Susan Lee Tohn, MSW, LICSW, is presenting on this topic at the May 3rd one-day workshop at the Judson Center in Royal Oak, Michigan. Susan is an international Solution Focused consultant who has a clinical practice in Framingham, MA. You can reach Susan at: Solutions, 14 Newton Road, Sudbury, MA 01776, 978-443-7574 (phone and fax), sltjao@sprynet.com

Spring is finally here! While we have all enjoyed a mild winter, lately it seemed like it would never end. Sometimes, our work with families can seem like a long winter. Dragging on for a long time without any real changes. It is when we are feeling discouraged that it is important to reach out and find a way to revitalize ourselves.

With Spring, we get sunshine and warmer weather. With the Michigan Home Based Family Services Association you can get support, training and comradery. The MHBFSA is very excited this Spring. We are offering our first one-day conference since 1999. This will be a great way to encourage our members to stay hopeful and to learn effective tools to help the families we serve.

Susan Tohn, who presented at the Annual Conference in 2001, is returning to offer a follow-up to her topic of solution focused techniques. Susan offers practical and innovative ideas that will be easy to incorporate into practice.

I would like to thank the members of the Training Committee, for their efforts in organizing this one-day seminar. The training committee is already hard at work planning the Annual conference in October. If you are interested in helping feel free to contact the Board for more information.

The Membership Committee has also been very busy. They have just finished their 2002 Membership Drive. They are busy sending out membership packets, updating the Associations Web Site and planning ways to build the membership though sale items.

The Public Education Committee has been busy getting articles for Practice. This is their second issue for 2002 and the committee is off to a good start.

The Board is anxious to share their efforts with the membership so each committee has prepared a report for this issue of Practice. I hope you see the extraordinary effort that these volunteer board members put forth to make the MHBFSA a vital organization. If you are interested in becoming more involved in the Association contact any one of the Committee Chairs as listed in their reports.

Have a great Spring!

The Michigan Home-Based Family Services Association Board met in December to review the Strategic Plan from 2001 and to develop new goals for 2002. For 2002 the Board will focus on the following goals:

FILL OPEN BOARD SEATS AND LEADERSHIP POSITIONS: by developing slate of Officers and Board members for 2003 prior to the Annual Meeting in October.
EXPAND COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP: by having committee chairs recruit new members, increasing participation for December Strategic Planning meeting, and setting up a recruitment table at the annual conference.
PROMOTE AND CLARIFY CURRENT ASSOCIATION RESOURCES: by reorganizing products (T-shirts, mugs, books) prior to and after annual conference.
CLARIFY ASSOCIATION PROCESSES: by obtaining Board approval for 2002 committee budgets, have committees provide reports for each Board meeting, and develop transition plan for officers and committee chairs.
ESTABLISH CENTRALIZED ACCESS TO ASSOCIATION MATERIAL: by archiving Board minutes and Practice, and developing process for transitioning to new leadership.
IMPROVE COMMUNICATION WITHIN THE MEMBERSHIP; by maintaining web site, develop web site links, maintain member contact by linking committee meetings and board meetings, and maintain Practice distribution
EXPAND MEMBERSHIP BASE BY 15% ANNUALLY.
BROADEN SCOPE OF TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES: by increasing participation at Annual Conference, and offering smaller workshops.

If you have any suggestions for the Board please feel free to contact one of the Board members or Committee Chairs. Also included in this issue are the strategic plans from the three major committees.

Co- Chairs: Chris Rehagan and Judy Brown-Clark

The Public Education Committee is responsible for promoting home-based family services in the State of Michigan through a variety of news media and personal contacts. Public Ed develops and distributes the Michigan Home Based Family Service Association newsletter PRACTICE to the membership as well as legislators.

The Strategic Plan for 2002 includes the following goals:

PRACTICE will be published 4 times in 2002 and will include the following: pictures from events hosted by MHBFSA, committee reports, articles related to best practice, etc.
Increase membership of the Public Education Committee by 2 members.
Transition Judi Brown-Clark into the Editor of PRACTICE by January 2003.
Committee meetings will correspond to Board Meeting dates.
Collaborate with Training and Membership Committees.

Anyone interested in joining the Public Education Committee can contact the
Co-Chairs, Chris Rehagen at 517-321-7663 or creha@lssm.org or Judi Brown -Clark at 517-335-7789 or Brownj10@michigan.gov.

Meetings are held at Highfields, 3400 S. Cedar Street, Lansing and schedule from noon to 1:00 on: May 10, 2002, August 9, 2002 and September 13, 2002.

Chair: Jeff Greshak

The purpose of the Membership Committee is to develop and maintain mechanisms by which individuals and organizations can formally join the Association in its pursuit of identified goals and objectives.

The functions of the Membership Committee include the following:

Maintaining a current mailing list for all members and prospective members.
Conduct an annual membership drive of all persons eligible for membership and encourage them to become members of the Association.
Research and purchase merchandise with MHBFSA logo to promote the Association.
Create, maintain, and update a website for the Association to include the Practice Newsletter, Association Bylaws, Membership information, Links to members and member agencies, and a Bulletin Board to post relevant home based messages.
Promote the Association with the Display Board and membership applications.

Our goals for 2002 :

Create Welcome Packets for new members that will include information about Standards of Practice, Safety Guidelines for Home-Based Services, information about the conference, website information and the most recent edition of Practice Newsletter.
Increasing memberships to 250 active members.
Enhancing the website to include the Practice, Links, and Conference information.
Purchase new MHBFSA merchandise to sell at the conference.
Design and order T-shirts for the Annual Conference.

This committee meets every other month and we encourage you to consider joining this group. We often meet in the Lansing area, however we are open to meeting in various locations to accommodate everyone's schedule.

By: Carla Waite

On September 11th our nation experienced a crisis of epidemic proportion, tragedy on American soil that has rocked our nation. The outpouring of support testified to the profound sense of community and caring that extends beyond geographical borders. As with many Americans I felt a deep sense of pain for all lives lost and affected by the terrorist bombings. I experienced a feeling of unrest, knowing that this act of hatred must be matched with hope and healing.
Our household gave money and attempted to give blood. Putting things in perspective this was a nominal and desperate contribution. As the feelings of helplessness brewed a local broadcasting station scrolled the answer for me across the bottom of the television ìNew York has enough volunteersÖmental health workers still needed .î
On Monday September 17th I began a whirlwind of phone calls between a local agency, Crisis Care Network, who was arranging a team of mental health professionals to go to New York. Family Outreach Center, where I work, ultimately allowed myself and three of my staff to leave our work responsibilities in Grand Rapids. We were able to and assist in the emotional recovery underway in Lower Manhattan. Initial phone calls focused on planning a future trip, however, within four hours I was asked if myself and Family Outreach Center staff could be ready to leave the next day.
September 18th continued as an incredible roller coaster ride while the details of the trip were negotiated. My initial fear of flying was soothed. We were advised that Amway would be donating a corporate jet to transport the 12 mental health workers to New York. By the days end this plan had fallen array due to the air restrictions on private pilots. In the end my worst fears were realized when we received a call indicating that the State of New York had purchased 12 tickets on a commercial flight and that we were expected to be at the airport in an hour.
We flew into Newark where an overwhelming sense of sadness flooded my heart as we walked through the same concourses that only a week ago hosted the killers that would change our world.
We spent time on Wednesday at Union Square where a memorial had developed over the days following the terrorist attack. Hundreds of people were walking about the parkÖlooking at pictures of people who were missingÖplacing flowers and other items in honor of those who lost their lives in this senseless act. Some making the decision to place a photo and description of their loved one on the wall. As I walked around Union Square I noted the absolute silence and solitude in this place of hope. As I took in the pictures, sights and smells tears ran unknowingly down my face.
As we emerged from the subway we neared what is described as ground zero. The experience attacked all of your senses. The three dimensional view of this disaster was overwhelming and surreal. The sounds of cranes and heavy machinery echoed in the streets. Most troubling of all was the smell. There were miles of electrical wire smoldering, smoke filled the air and an isolated smell that reminded you of the staggering loss of life that occurred .
We spent time at Ladder No. 3 a fire station that lost 12 of their 25 fire fighters. There was an overwhelming sense of loss that was depicted through the photos displayed of each fallen fireman as you entered the station. One firefighter talked about the tragic loss to many families because in New York many firemen followed the footsteps of their fathers, brothers, and uncles' families crumbled as they lost multiple family members.
The United States military was called upon to assist in the rescue efforts and protect the perimeter of the bombsite. Crisis Care Network was contracted to provide mental health services to the 300 men and women of the National Guard who were ending their two-week duty in New York's disaster area. The National Guard was among the first to respond along with firefighters and NYPD. The individual sessions with these brave men was the hardest part of my experience. While talking with a Major he uttered ìwe lost two of our boysî it was incredible how young these men looked. The Major recalled memories too painful for most to bear and sights too horrific to forget.
At times it was difficult to reconcile our feelings and emotions. An overwhelming need rose to talk to more victims, hear their stories and experiences no matter how terrible.
I had the opportunity to visit one site on two occasions. The second day my co-worker Troy and I returned to the Department of Motor Vehicles. We were greeted with hugs and thanked for the relief employees felt after the debriefing the previous day. It was validating to know that what we did in New York made a difference. Although we were welcomed back like heroes there was never any doubt that the heroes were those who endured this experience and were brave enough to return.
After a week in the ravaged ruins of New York (Ground Zero) we were exhausted physically and emotionally. At no time did I feel more homesick and fortunate that I was returning to the ones I loved. Despite the emotional and physical drain, I felt like the luckiest social worker alive to helped bring healing to our Nation. There was no where on earth that I would have rather been.

Carla Waite is a supervisor/ in-home worker for Family Outreach Center in Grand Rapids. Carla won the MHBFSA President's Award in 2001 for her exceptional work with families. Here is her personal account of her trip to New York after September 11th , and another example of her dedication to Social Work.