Co-designing takes a village -
and makes a better one, too
Have you read recent updates about the Rock County Equity Project? Team members from Alia and Rock County are busy sharing the insights and outcomes from our work so far. This project brings Beloit-based parents and child welfare staff together to imagine a new system that better supports families.
But what comes after we’ve dreamt big, built trust, and crafted our vision? How does co-design not just nurture the work, but mobilize it? While there is no set end point, Rock County is finding the answers to these challenging questions by keeping parents, child welfare staff, community leaders, and more as connected as ever to implement ideas and evaluate their impact.
With all project stakeholders deep in the trenches of pursuing an UnSystem, co-designing is the approach that keeps us grounded and our village strong. See what Rock County is hoping to accomplish in the Idea Book: A New Future for Beloit Families.
Trauma Effective Leadership Certificate
We are excited to partner again with the Center for Practice Transformation at the University of Minnesota School of Social Work for another Trauma Effective Leadership Certificate course. This cohort of leaders will walk away with new trauma-effective leadership techniques, and increased awareness of the leader’s role in shaping culture to be safe in both conscious and unconscious practices.
Registration is now open through September 7. Space is limited, so register asap!
Here are some ideas that got us thinking this month. Visit our website to read the full-length posts, and join us in the conversations online!
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Just 15 days after the Juneteenth, Independence Day is a celebration of liberty, yet also a reminder that the declaration of freedom from Britain in 1776 did not apply to everyone. It would take another century before emancipation reached enslaved people.
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We all make positive contributions throughout our lives when we do things like encourage others, keep commitments, extend generosity, or exude joy. Also, we can never fully extract from our psyche the idea that white is right. Taking inventory of our thoughts and actions leads to self-awareness. When we see it, we then have the ability to choose equity and liberation more often, in big or small ways.
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In this time in our history where political polarization feels most intense, Americans still have far more overlapping beliefs and values than contradicting ones. We all want to feel safe. We all want to be free from harm or the threat of harm. We all want to be able to care for those we love.
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The Children’s Justice Initiative at the Minnesota Judicial Branch and the MN Department of Human Services gathered colleagues from across Minnesota to interrogate a specific area of racial disproportionality: high re-entry rates of African-American children in foster care. Specifically, the question, "How have we allowed Black children to re-enter foster care at a rate higher than other children in Minnesota?" was a main focus.
Resource Highlight
Bright Spots is a first-of-its-kind online resource library of child welfare practices reviewed and recommended by parents who have been impacted by the system.
Another 10 resources are being vetted by our trusted partner organizations and will be shared on the site soon! This month, we want to (re)introduce the parent-led organizations who review and approve the resources and practices that are shared on the site.
Founded in 2005 and led by parents impacted by the family policing system, Rise believes that parents have the answers for their families and communities. Rise magazine is written by parents who have faced the child welfare system in their own lives. Through personal essays and reporting, parents illuminate every aspect of the child welfare experience from parents’ perspectives.
Be Strong Families strives to have the next conversation—to go where others are not yet going, to approach pressing issues in ways that are fresh and real. They partner with a diverse team of community leaders, teachers, social workers, small business owners, parents, youth, thinkers, and dreamers to lead online webinars, workshops, and professional development trainings that further their shared mission.