Strength BasedPolicy Development This presentation was produced by the Vera Institute of Justice under Award # 2016-XV-GX-K015, awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this presentation are those of the contributors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. Workshop objective Ą To understand the resiliency on boys and men of color Ą To understand cultural humility and cultural resiliency Ą To recognize how institutions play a pivotal role in social change Assessing personal strengths Ą Understanding your strengths and weaknesses can be of tremendous value for your life and career Ą Knowing your strengths will, for instance, help you to become more resourceful during difficult moments of your life Ą It will help you focus on the right things in an optimal way Assessing personal strengths (2) Ą Your strengths are found in the things that seem easy to learn and easy to do Ą These strengths can be behaviors, characteristics, inherent talents, learned knowledge, and transferable skills Ą They can be areas developed through effort (such as education or personal study such as martial arts) where you are proficient and can perform tasks and activities higher than most people Ą What are my strongest character attributes? Ą What strengths have assisted me most? Ą What would [personŐs name] say are my greatest strengths? Ą What qualities could I not do without? Ą What do I do especially well? Ą What seems easy to learn and easy to do? Ą What indispensable knowledge do I have? How is this a strength? Activity: assessing personal strengths (3) Activity: assessing personal strengths (4) Ą What activities was I drawn to when I was a child? Ą What skills have I learned rapidly and mastered quickly? Ą What skills, abilities, and/or qualities account for my greatest successes? Ą What activities do I get completely immersed in? Ą Where do I have the ability to be outstanding? Ą What part of my job do I do better than other people? Ą What behaviors have shaped my strengths? Small group debrief Ą What did you learn about yourself? Ą Were there any surprises? Ą Did this affirm what you already knew about yourself? Personal challenges There are three main reasons why you have challenges: Ą Lack of experience; misguided in some way; and limiting beliefs. Ą Alternatively, they can also stem from a lack of resources, a lack of support, or a lack of self-discipline. Assessing personal challenges Ą Understanding your challenges will allow you to turn challenges into strengths Ą Best use of your time by focusing on the things that will bring you the highest returns, essentially comes down to concentrating on your strengths Ą DonŐt ignore your challenges. ItŐs really about the best use of your time, energy and effort Đ so you donŐt waste time and resources on areas if there is little worth or value in the long-run Activity: assessing personal challenges Ą What is preventing me from living the life I desire to live? Ą What have I personally struggled with over the years? Ą What has prevented me from performing at my very best? Ą What seem to be my character flaws? Ą What learned behaviors are letting me down? Ą What limiting beliefs are preventing me from moving forward? Ą How could these limiting beliefs be connected to my character flaws? Ą In what areas do I lack the knowledge I need to get ahead? Activity: turning challenges to strengths Ą How could I best overcome my personal limitations? Ą Who could potentially assist me in this area of my life? Ą What resources and knowledge might I need to acquire? Ą What experience might I need to gain? Ą How can I potentially use my strengths to overcome my challenges? Ą What potential opportunities can be found within my challenges? Ą How could my challenges become strengths in a different context? Activity: Challenges as an Actual Limitation Ą How have I managed challenges in the past? Ą How can I minimize challenges in the present? Ą How can I better manage challenges in the future? Use a strengths-focused perspective Potential strengths-oriented questions include: You have accomplished a lot in dealing with your trauma, what accomplishments give you the most pride? Ą What would you say are your strengths? Ą How do you manage your stress today? Ą What behaviors have helped you survive your traumatic experiences (during and afterward)? Use a strengths-focused perspective (2) Ą What are some of the creative ways that you deal with painful feelings? Ą Since surviving trauma, what characteristics have helped you manage these experiences in your life? Ą If we were to ask someone in your life, who knew your history and experience with trauma, to name two positive characteristics that help you survive, what would they be? Use a strengths-focused perspective (3) Ą What coping tools have you learned from your _____ (fill in: cultural history, spiritual practices, athletic pursuits, etc.)? Ą How do you gain support today? (Possible answers include family, friends, activities, coaches, counselors, other supports, etc.) Ą What does recovery look like for you? Ą Imagine a group of people are standing behind you showing you support. Who would be standing there? It doesnŐt matter how briefly, or when they showed up, or whether or not they are currently in your life or alive. Six standards for a strengths-based approach 1. Goal orientation: It is crucial and vital for the person to set goals 2. Strengths assessment: The person finds, and assesses their strengths and inherent resources 3. Resources from the environment: Resources could be individuals, associations, institutions, or groups Six standards for a strengths-based approach (2) 4. Different methods are used first for different situations: clients will determine goals first and then strengths 5. The relationship is hope-inducing: By finding strengths and linking to connections 6. Meaningful choice: Each person is the expert on their life, the practitioner helps make informed decisions. Why Culture Matters What is culture? Ą The values, norms, and traditions that affect how individuals of a particular group perceive, think, interact, behave and make judgments about their world. Ą There are large cultural groups (race, religion), small groups (office culture, sports fans), then there are sub-cultures (vegans, goth) In my culture: Ą I was told I can be anything I want when I grew up and I believed it Ą I see many examples of people like me on TV, in entertainment, in professional jobs, or in Government Ą People like me are often shown to be heroes and leaders Ą My religious practice encourages the spread of our beliefs onto others so they can be help spiritually Ą I believe I can try any religion I choose In my culture: (continued) Ą Spirituality and religion are the same Ą The criminal justice system is there to help me Ą I get approached by other people not of my culture asking if they can touch my hair Ą I can go through life being myself and not be worried of how I represent my cultural association with others Ą Most of the people in my family have attended college Ą Do you prepare for possible insults before leaving home at least once a week? Ą Do you feel you have to be careful about your appearance to avoid harassment? Ą Do you try to avoid certain social situations and places? Infographic on discrimination Survey responses from Black people and white people: Do you prepare for possible insults before leaving home at least once a week? 15 % of Black people said yes, and 3% of white people said yes. Do you fee you have to be careful about your appearance to avoid harassment? 16 % of Black people said yes, and 5% of white people said yes. Do you try to avoid certain social situations and places? 30% of Black people said yes, and 8% of white people said yes. Hypervigilance Infographic about hypervigilance with heart and pillow images: 55% of Black adults have hypertension 20 % of white adults have hypertension 15% of Black adults reported more hypervigilance-related sleep problems than white adults. Cultural humility Ą We can never be competent in a culture outside of our own. Ą Understanding the need to be a life-long learner Ą Fix power imbalances Ą Be a good guest -it's an ongoing process, shaped by every encounter we have with every person, as long as we maintain an open mind and heart Cultural Competence & Humility Cultural Competence Cultural Humility Goals To build an understanding of To encourage personal reflection and minority cultures to better and growth around culture in order to more appropriately provide increase service services providers' awareness Values Knowledge Introspection Training Co-learning Cultural Competence & Humility (2) Cultural Competence Cultural Humility Short- Enforces the idea that there can Challenging for professionals to grasp comings be 'competence' in a culture other the idea of learning with and from than one's own. clients. Supports the myth that cultures No end result, which those in are monolithic. academia and medical fields can struggle with. Based upon academic Knowledge rather than lived experience. Believes professionals can be "certified" in culture. Strengths Encourages lifelong learning with no Allows for people to strive to end goal -appreciation of the journey obtain a goal. of growth and understanding. Promotes skill building. Puts professionals and clients in a mutually beneficial relationship and attempts to diminish damaging power dynamics. Goals for working with male victims Ą There are four main goals for working with male victims Ą They are not all-inclusive Ą First step on the journey to knowledge Goal 1 for working with male victims 1. Create a trusting relationship with the survivor by acknowledging his distinct cultural identity. Ą Identity, history, and culture and what it means for safety and justice Ą Can rely heavily on family/community experience Goal 2 for working with male victims 2. Create a system of support through partnerships with programs that specialize in serving communities of color or have a dominant portion of staff who are people of color. Ą Some of the highest rates of victimizations from multiple sources (in home, by strangers, by institutions) Ą High number of cases unreported dues to lack of services and/or trust of services Goal 3 for working with male victims 3. Gain knowledge about the historical roots of violence in communities of color Ą Colonization Ą Slavery Ą Boarding Schools Ą Segregation Ą Jurisdiction Goal 4 for working with male victims 4. Become informed about self-determination and what this means for the safety of boys and men of color. Ą Institutional policies and practices Ą Support his ability to govern his own life Inforgraphic: Cultural Resilience; It's in our roots Tree with people shaped inside it, roots growning to different principles, two houses above ground on the roots. Cutural is a shared set of rules, beliefs, and attitudes which share our perception and interpretation of life events: Self-expression and articulation, communication and problem-solving, navigation within groups or location, kinship community, connetions, and family support. Learn more from the Sacred Hoop Coalition in Duluth, MN: https://mshoop.org/ Cultural resiliency Ą Self-expression and articulation Ą Communication and problem solving Ą Navigation within groups or location Ą Kindship, community connections and family support Resilence Model: Risk factors and protective factors pressure each other. Risk factors include stressors, like adversity, loss, life events, poor relationships and resilency factors include personal, biological, family, friends, social/economic, cultural, spiritual, systemic, and policy. Homeostasis is Resilence between these factors, a balance between triving, post-traumatic growth, and disruption, dysfunction, and mental illness. 34 Institutional Practice Assessing Capacityand Readiness Institutional Practices Wagon Wheel Activity Empty wagon wheel, pie chart with six equal parts and 6 numbered blank spaces to write in. Example Example of the wagon wheel activity, completed includes designating different factors to each spoke of the wheel,(divider line) and drawing on the degree to which each factor influences ones life. in this example, family, friends, fitness, work, hobbies/art, and spiritual all influence this person's life to varying degrees. Small Group Discussion Ą What kind of shape do you have? Ą If this were a wheel how well would it roll? Ą What do you need in order to create some balance? Cultural Competency Survey 1. You or others in your program know the varied histories, countries of origin, and experiences of People of Color in your area 2. Your organization overall know and understand your varied histories, countries of origin, and experiences People of Color in your area? 3. Your organization challenges staff and consultants on perceptions or misconceptions of People of Color? Cultural Competency Survey, continued 4. You are a vocal supporter for People of Color when prejudice/racism is targeted at a specific community? 5. Your Caucasian staff receives training/support on white privilege? 6. You have a collective organizational understanding of institutional racism and internalized oppression and how it affects People of Color? Wagon Wheel Đ Round 2 Wagon Wheel with six factors about organizations' cultural competency: 1. knowing histories, countries, and expereinces of People of Color (PoC) 2. Organization overall knowing histories, countries, and expereinces of People of Color (PoC) 3. Organization that challenges staff, volunteers, and consultants 4. You are a vocal supporter and advocate for PoC 5. Training on white priviege? 6. Understanding of institutional racism and internalized oppression Small Group Discussion 2 Ą How balanced is your organization? Ą What are youŐre your organizationŐs strengths? Ą What are you're organization's weaknesses? Ą What policy shifts need to occur? Essential elements for cultural humility in your organization 1. Valuing diversity 2. Having the capacity for cultural self-assessment 3. Being conscious of the dynamics inherent when cultures interact 4. Having institutionalized culture knowledge 5. Having developed adaptations to service delivery reflecting an understanding of cultural diversity Essential elements for cultural humility in your organization (2) These five elements should be manifested at every level of an organization: 1. Policy making (administrative and practice) 2. Attitudes 3. Structures 4. Procedures 5. Services of the organization Rating capacity and readiness Ą Philosophy Ą Compliance Ą Public representation Ą Information, knowledge and application Ą Partnerships and Alliances Ą Learning or teaching environment Scale for rating: Capacity 0 Unaware /Insufficient Not knowing much about the knowledge issues 1-3 Minimal knowledge Have a little bit of understanding of yet will need more assistance in understanding core concepts 4-5 Basic knowledge Have a basic understanding of concepts but have not yet reached consistent proficiency Scale for rating: Capacity (2) 6-7 Proficient knowledge Has solid understanding of the issues and can apply their understanding independently and consistently 8-9 Advanced knowledge Has advanced knowledge, skills and abilities that are applied in many other social contexts 10 Competent Can fully articulate the issues and engage in many other social issues Đ at times persuading others Example of threshold scales: Beginner Ą Clinics should be trauma-informed in attitude, educational materials, policies, and the built environment. Ą Clinics should offer a private and safe environment that does not leave patients feeling vulnerable, exposed, or re- traumatized. This may include privacy curtains, appropriate gowns, private weighing/vital sign collecting areas. Ą Clinic practices involving billing, late patients, and Ňno showsÓ should be trauma-informed. Example of threshold scales: Intermediate Ą Intakes and assessments of trauma in clinic should be focused as much as possible so the child/family does not have to repeat their story to multiple health care providers which may be traumatizing. Ą Clinics can participate in programs such as Promoting First Relationships, Bright Beginnings, and Reach out and Read that promote parental confidence and competence and increase parental knowledge about development. Ą Clinic staff should be trained in trauma-informed deescalation practices Ą Clinics should promote family empowerment through shared clinical decision-making, program development, and solicitation and feedback. Ą Clinics should strive to overcome barriers to health literacy such as culture, language, and overall literacy. Example of threshold scales: Advanced Defining thresholds Ą Each dimension contains a five point rating system that you will need to define incorporating you specific organizational practices Ą Reflecting back on strengths and challenges your org may not be strong in one area, and may never be, so how to balance that is important Ą Revisit the plan often, acknowledge and celebrate success, and reassess periodically (annually or grant cycles) Threshold Dimensions: Philosophy Threshold Dimension Advanced knowledge: Demonstrate sophisticated application in new contexts Visionary Đapplies philosophy in new ways Proficient knowledge Demonstrate and apply skills consistently Respects and values philosophy Inclusive and community-driven Basic Knowledge: Demonstrates skills inconsistently Responsive, deliberative and commitment to serve Threshold Dimensions: Philosophy (2) Threshold Dimension Minimal knowledge Limited skills and require significant assistance Reactive--Rubber stamp Unaware /Insufficient knowledge No evidence of Hostile, non-responsive knowing about the issues Threshold Dimensions: Compliance Threshold Dimension Advanced knowledge: Demonstrate sophisticated Applies compliancy to other application in new contexts social issues Proficient knowledge: Demonstrate and apply skills consistently Fully integrated into person and professional life Basic knowledge: Demonstrates skills Compliant, explains need for inconsistently compliancy Threshold Dimensions: Compliance (2) Threshold Dimension Minimal knowledge: Limited skills and require significant Inconsistent, but knows they assistance should Unaware/Insufficient knowledge: No evidence of Indifferent knowing about the issues Threshold Dimensions: Public Representation Threshold Dimension Advanced knowledge: Demonstrate sophisticated application in new contexts Continuous and comprehensive Proficient knowledge: Demonstrate and apply skills Inclusive and clear consistently Basic knowledge: Demonstrates skills Basic and consistent inconsistently Threshold Dimensions: Public Representation (2) Threshold Dimension Minimal knowledge: Limited skills and require significant assistance Episodic and insufficient Unaware /Insufficient knowledge: No evidence of Nonproductive or disruptive knowing about the issues Threshold Dimensions: Public Information, Knowledge, & Application Threshold Dimension Advanced knowledge Demonstrate sophisticated Multi-functional Đintelligent application in new contexts Proficient knowledge Demonstrate and apply skills Comprehensive and integrated consistently Basic knowledge Demonstrates skills Functional, current, used, and inconsistently useful Threshold Dimensions: Public Information, Knowledge, & Application (2) Threshold Dimension Minimal knowledge Limited skills and require significant assistance Unaware /Insufficient Reactive Đ uses in response to question or event knowledge Inaccurate, unavailable, non- No evidence of knowing about existent the issues Threshold Dimensions: Partnerships & Alliances Threshold Dimension Advanced knowledge Demonstrate sophisticated application in new contexts Entrepreneurial, proactive, seeks opportunities Proficient knowledge Demonstrate and apply skills Cooperative consistently Basic knowledge Demonstrates skills inconsistently Willing Threshold Dimensions: Partnerships & Alliances (2) Threshold Dimension Minimal knowledge Limited skills and require Disinterested significant assistance Unaware /Insufficient knowledge No evidence of knowing about Combative / turfy the issues Threshold Dimensions: Learning or Teaching Environment Threshold Dimension Advanced knowledge Demonstrate sophisticated Participatory and Empowering application in new contexts Proficient knowledge Demonstrate and apply skills Consultative consistently Basic knowledge Demonstrates skills inconsistently Supportive Threshold Dimensions: Learning or Teaching Environment (2) Threshold Dimension Minimal knowledge Limited skills and require Inconsistent significant assistance Unaware /Insufficient knowledge No evidence of knowing about Participants not valued the issues Conclusion Ą Comments? Ą Questions?