A COMPETENCY MODEL FOR LEAD CASE MANAGERS IN INTEGRATED CASE MANAGEMENT

by Freda D. Bernotavicz and RuthAnne Spence

Edmund S. Muskie School Public Service
Institute for Public Sector Innovation
University of Southern Maine
96 Falmouth Street
Post Office Box 9300
Portland, ME 04104-9300


February 2000






Acknowledgements

This competency model for Lead Case Managers utilizing Integrated Case Management reflects the insight, contributions, and labor of many people. We would like to express appreciation to the following individuals whose assistance has been invaluable:

Members of the Integrated Case Management (ICM) Training Subcommittee -- David Barrett, Kelly Bickmore, Lisa Burgess, Polly Campbell, Tracey Cooley, Diane Haley, Susan B. Harlor, Michele Hylen, Paul MacFarland, Martha Proulx, Shelby Rafter, Valerie Ricker, Catherine Stakeman -- for assistance in the overall planning and implementation of the ICM project and competency model development.

Tracey Cooley, Michele Hylen and Paul MacFarland for their contributions to the Domestic Violence, Substance Abuse, and Mental Health Technical Knowledge and Skills sections .

The numerous case managers at the Integrated Case Management pilot sites who reviewed, edited, and revised many drafts.

Institute staff involved in this project include:

Freda Bernotavicz, who directed the development of the competency model.
Melinda Brubaker, who developed the first draft of the competency model.
Polly Campbell, who provided support and insight from the cross-disciplinary training project.
RuthAnne Spence, who developed and integrated the cross-systems and technical knowledge competencies into existing Institute for Public Sector Innovation published competencies.
Phyllis vonHerrlich, who provided support to the process and directed the final report production.
Karen Wood, who provided editorial assistance.

Support for the publication of these competencies was provided through a Child Welfare Training Grant from the Administration for Children, Youth, and Families, U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (Grant # 90-CT-0001).






Contents

Preface

I. Introduction

A. The Need for Systems Change
B. Integrated Case Management Initiative of the Maine Children's Cabinet
C. The Role of the Lead Case Manager
D. Interdisciplinary Approaches
E. A Holistic Approach to Competencies
F. Developing A Holistic Competency Model

II. Development of A Competency Model for Lead Case Managers in Integrated Case Management

A. Approach
B. Review and Verification
C. Applications

III. Integrated Case Management Competency Model

A. Outline
B. Lead Case Manager Competencies
C. Interdisciplinary Competencies


I. Child Welfare
II. Domestic Violence
III. Substance Abuse
IV. Mental Health

Appendix: Bibliography and Background Readings

Preface

A Competency Model for Integrated Case Management Lead Case Managers

In the fall of 1997, the Institute for Public Sector Innovation at the University of Southern Maine's Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service, in collaboration with the Maine Children's Cabinet, began work on an Interdisciplinary Training Program funded by the DHHS Children's Bureau. The goal of the project was to develop improved outcomes for children and families (especially in instances of child abuse and neglect complicated by substance abuse, mental illness and domestic violence) through interdisciplinary case management and integrated service delivery.

Central to this effort was the development of a competency model for the role of Lead or Primary Case Managers utilizing an Integrated Case Management (ICM) system to coordinate and provide services to children and families in Maine. The competency model lays the foundation for case managers, from any of the range of disciplines, to enhance their professional case management and group facilitation skills.

This report summarizes the work of developing the competency model and includes a description of the Integrated Case Management initiatives, the procedures for developing the competency model, and the model itself.

These materials are the result of a lengthy collaborative process among public agencies, the ICM pilot project communities, and the state university system. Each of the partners in this process brings their own perspective and knowledge base as we pursue the common goal of improving the welfare of children and families in Maine. The competency model produced through this process is a living document, a work in progress that we continue to refine and adapt. In presenting this product to the field, our hope is that others throughout the country involved in similar cross-systems work will benefit from our experience as they strive together to produce relevant materials for their own use.


Freda Bernotavicz
Augusta, Maine
2000


I. Introduction

A. The Need for Systems Change

Senge uses this story to illustrate the importance of getting to the root of problems in systems thinking. It can be applied equally to the concept of systems change. Over the years, we have tended to throw rugs over the problems involved with providing services to children and families. Different people, from different disciplines, each with their own approach... one rug on top of the other ... each masking for a time the underlying issues. These layers of rugs are one of the reasons why systems change work is so hard. To really get to the root of the problem, we have to peel back the rugs, one at a time, the way the rug dealers do. As we get further and further down the pile, closer to the ground level, the work becomes harder as the weight of the rugs increases. And what do we find there underneath the many layers, what snakes and spiders, cracks and pockmarks, uneven flooring and warped planks? And yet, to truly address the problems, we need to engage in this tedious, strenuous and challenging work. Moxley (1989) suggests that one way to address the problem of fragmented services is through increased collaboration and case management.


B. Integrated Case Management Initiative of Maine's Children's Cabinet

In 1995 Governor Angus King established the Children's Cabinet in response to identified problems with the fragmented delivery of services to Maine's children. The Children's Cabinet includes the Commissioners of the Departments of Corrections, Education, Human Services, Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services, and Public Safety. In his charge to the Cabinet, the Governor emphasized the Commissioners' important leadership role to collaborate and promote the concept of a seamless service delivery system for children and families, as well as the need to pool funding to maximize limited resources.

Recognizing the complexities faced by today's families, especially those with multiple needs, when attempting to access social services, the Children's Cabinet of Maine established the Integrated Case Management (ICM) initiative in 1997. The vision behind this initiative is to:

• provide Maine families and children with access to services that are planned for, managed and delivered in a holistic and integrated manner in order to improve their self-sufficiency, safety, economic stability, health and quality of life.

The goals of the Integrated Case Management initiative are:

• to integrate case management business practices across departmental lines to create a fully coordinated and seamless delivery system, and
  
• to create a "federated system" using an integrated case management system that is electronically linked.

Rather than a system that delivers services categorically by individual agencies, resulting in costly fragmentation and services that are often unavailable to those most in need, Integrated Case Management represents a fundamental reform in the way services are delivered. Under this initiative, agencies have joined for the purpose of improving services. Additionally, ICM policy committees actively participating in this project are building collaborative processes into their design and development work and have begun to build them into their service delivery systems.


C. The Role of the Lead Case Manager

One of the fundamental tenets of the Integrated Case Management initiative is that when a family is being served by two or more case managers, one case manager becomes the Lead Case Manager to orchestrate the Integrated Case Management process. The role of the Lead Case Manager is to take a holistic view of the family, its service providers, and its familial and community support systems. The Lead Case Manager engages with the family to identify all pertinent information, services, and existing case plans necessary to coordinate an ICM team meeting at which a comprehensive case plan for the whole family can be developed. Respectful of any safety or statutory parameters that may exist, the Lead Case Manager is responsible for convening the initial ICM meeting where, based on the family's specific issues and the constellation of ICM team players, a comprehensive family plan, along with an individualized ICM process to guide implementation of that plan, is developed.

Implementation of the family plan is supported and guided by the Lead Case Manager and reflects the commitment of all team members to the distribution of tasks and responsibilities, the movement toward desired outcomes, and establishment of accountability. Thus, the Lead Case Manager's role in ICM incorporates both the generalist case management functions of monitoring and supporting the family with implementation of their plan and the more extensive cross-systems case management functions such as resolving conflicts, breaking down barriers, and coordinating various plan adjustments with the multiple service and support systems identified in a family's plan.


D. Interdisciplinary Approaches

Despite the fact that professionals from different fields are often working with the same families, they generally function in isolation from each other. The separation of the disciplines results in duplication of efforts, clients "falling through the cracks", miscommunication among providers and clients, professional parochialism and contradictory treatment approaches. This lack of coordination, communication and collaboration is counterproductive to effective delivery of services to affected children and families, and families are often confused and overwhelmed by the fragmented service delivery system.

Behaviors that diminish collaboration and maximize delays and problems with providing responsive services to children and families include:

• a focus on one's own disciplinary mandates and constraints;
  
• a lack of familiarity with the mandates, philosophy and constraints of other disciplines;
  
• an emphasis on protecting one's disciplinary "turf";
  
• an orientation to a discipline rather than to the client/family; and
  
• a desire to make the family fit with the discipline's framework rather than adapting the discipline to the family's need.
  

Each disciplinary perspective is a view of the world, a mental model, that can obscure what is truly there. Four major factors appear to be critical to the success of interdisciplinary approaches: shared vision, family-centered, experiential and competency-based.

Shared vision: Interdisciplinary efforts need a guiding vision for improving outcomes for children, youth and families. Absent such a vision, collaboration and integration tend to be pursued as ends or goals in themselves (Lawson and Hooper-Briar, 1994). The Maine Children's Cabinet began its work in 1994 with the articulation of a clear vision, including the need for state agencies to collaboratively support families and communities, by keeping children and families at the heart of all decisions. This vision has informed the Integrated Case Management process and related training.

Family-centered: To make the transition from categorical thinking, providers need to embrace a relational view, which means that children and youth cannot be served or understood without considering the characteristics and capacities of their families. Understanding and supporting the family are impossible without referencing the community (Lawson and Hooper-Briar, 1994). Thus, Maine's Integrated Case Management approach considers the entire family as the "case" in line with the Children's Cabinet vision that children's needs are best met within the context of relationships at the family and community levels.

Competency-based: Clearly, it is not possible to expect all professionals from all disciplines to have the in-depth knowledge of each separate discipline. On the other hand, to collaborate effectively more knowledge is needed than simply the skills of collaboration (e.g. consensus building, compromise tactics, barrier-busting strategies and conflict resolution approaches). The right balance can be found through a competency-based approach (Bernotavicz, 1994), which allows the following:

• clear delineation of the competencies which include the functional (specific content) knowledge and skills of each discipline; the interpersonal skills to function collaboratively; and contextual knowledge and skills (systems or task environment knowledge, including the mandates and service constraints and ways of dealing with them);
  
• self-assessment in relationship to the competencies;
  
• ability to access other training to complement the core training.
  

Experiential: Practitioners learn best by doing. To effect the fundamental changes in knowledge, attitudes and behavior necessary to promote systems change, training must be designed so that close connections are made between conceptual and experiential learning (Knapp et al., 1993). In addition, opportunities for self-directed, continuous learning are needed so that practitioners are encouraged to continue learning beyond their core training. Since group-based problem solving and learning strategies are at the heart of successful collaborations, they must be emphasized in training and in experiential workplace learning through successful innovative approaches such as peer training, reflective practice, and guided case reviews.


E. A Holistic Approach to Competencies

The Institute for Public Sector Innovation (IPSI) supports training that is based on a holistic view of the competencies needed for effective performance on the job. This holistic view includes both the specific job tasks, the individual performing the job and the organizational context.

Tasks: Jobs are more than a sum of the specific job tasks. Jobs are not static. Particularly in today's volatile work environment, they are made up of a variety of responsibilities that change in response to emerging needs of the organization. People do not perform tasks in a neat sequence, one at a time. In the real world, people juggle several tasks at once, shifting gears and setting priorities in media res. Thus, anticipating new priorities, collaborating with others, and managing the workload are all essential job functions in addition to the specific tasks that form the core responsibilities for any job. The mechanistic view of jobs, as a listing of job duties that can be defined in a job description, is being replaced by a more organic view of jobs as a fluid set of responsibilities.

Further, new organizational patterns are promoting the concept of inclusion and participation, recognizing that to be effective an organization needs input from all levels. As we move towards these new organizational structures, the concept of people performing specific tasks in isolation becomes less relevant. The concept of "contextual performance" recognizes that effective organizations need people who commit significant time and effort to extra-job activities such as volunteering on committees, mentoring new employees, and supporting the organization's goals.

Individual: People at work are whole persons. We can think of individuals at work as being like icebergs. Above the surface, we can observe the knowledge, skills, and abilities (often called the KSAs) needed to perform the job tasks. However, below the surface are a number of personal characteristics (their attitudes, values, traits, and motives) that influence how well they do their job as a whole. This entire range of KSAs and personal characteristics make up the competencies needed for effective performance.

Studies have shown that the competencies that distinguish outstanding performers tend to be the underlying personal characteristics such as flexibility or results orientation rather than KSAs such as interviewing skills or the ability to operate a particular piece of equipment. Because the underlying personal characteristics are more difficult to change, it makes sense to screen and hire for individuals with the necessary underlying personal characteristics and train for the KSAs once people are on the job.

Context: Jobs are not performed in a vacuum but in specific organizational settings. The mission and goals of the organization, its customers or clients, policies, procedures, structure, culture and climate all impact on how the job is defined and what constitutes effective job performance. Therefore, a holistic view of competencies also includes the contextual knowledge and skills needed to be effective in a specific organization.

Some of these contextual knowledge and skills are readily acquired in an orientation program. For example, the specific policies and procedures of the organization, the standard operating procedures (SOPs), the specific software program or information system, the organizational structure and reporting relationship are all appropriate content for on-the-job training. Other contextual skills are less easy to acquire on the job. For example, the culture of an organization may require a degree of conformity and deference to authority that an otherwise qualified individual may not be able to demonstrate. In these instances, it is appropriate to identify the necessary contextual skills and to screen for them in the hiring process.

A systems view of job performance suggests a continual, dynamic interaction among these three major components: the tasks or job duties, the individual performing the job, and the organizational setting or context. A holistic view of competencies includes all three components: first, the KSAs that are needed to perform the tasks; second, the underlying personal characteristics that distinguish effective performers (the attitudes, values, traits and motives which drive people to action); and third, the context skills and knowledge needed in the specific organizational setting. Finally, linking all these skills (as a meta-competency), the IPSI competency model emphasizes self-awareness and reflective practice as the basis for self-directed, ongoing learning to bridge the gap from the classroom to job performance in the real world of work.


F. Developing of A Holistic Competency Model

Developing a holistic competency model requires combining several different approaches to the analysis of job performance and to the collection of data.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs): The functional or task-related knowledge and skills are developed through task analysis using both on-site observation and expert opinion. Here the focus is on generating detailed listings of the job duties and then identifying what people need to know, or to be able to do, in order to perform these tasks. People familiar with the job (incumbents, supervisors or trainers), the so-called Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) are used to identify this information.

Personal Characteristics: The characteristics of outstanding performers are generated through a different technique known as the Behavioral Event Interview. Using a structured approach, trained interviewers probe beneath the surface to articulate the underlying characteristics of individuals who have been identified as being outstanding at their particular job.

Context Knowledge and Skills: The identification of the context knowledge and skills requires yet another approach. Here the unit of analysis moves from the specific job tasks to the organizational setting. Some of this information is drawn from organizational data in policy and procedures manuals. Surveys or focus groups provide more in-depth information on the organizational culture and climate.

This holistic approach to competency identification results in a competency model which has five categories:

(1) Work Management Skills: Performing effectively in the work context.

(2) Conceptual Knowledge/Skills: Using information effectively.

(3) Interpersonal Knowledge/Skills: Relating to others effectively.

(4) Self-Management Skills: Effective use of self in the job.

(5) Technical Knowledge/Skills: Information and skills to perform the job tasks.

Each category contains a list of competencies with specific behavioral indicators that demonstrate optimal performance.

Data from each of the different approaches are combined and redundancies eliminated. The resulting model is then reviewed and validated by focus groups familiar with the job in question. Such reviews ensure that both concepts and language accurately reflect the experience of those most knowledgeable about effective performance. Furthermore, the reviews reflect the Institute's commitment to shared ownership.

In this holistic approach, effectiveness on the job is viewed as a process, a constant spiral of learning, growth and renewal which stems from the individual's inner core of competencies, her or his attitudes, values and motives. Because training can address this inner core only to a limited extent, the responsibility for the on-going process of effectiveness must rest with each individual.

A holistic approach also recognizes that effective functioning in the real world of work involves the capacity to learn from experience and to manage change. The truly competent professional is engaged in an ongoing process of self-assessment and reflective practice, competencies that are emphasized throughout the training offered by the Institute as well as modeled by the trainers. In this constant spiral of learning and growth, of reflecting upon and learning from experience, the individual is engaged in a continual process of becoming competent at being competent.



II. Development of A Competency Model for Integrated Case Management Lead Case Managers


A. Approach

Developing a competency model for the Lead Case Manager role was challenging for a number of reasons:

Role not a job: unlike other competency models developed by the lead author (e.g. child welfare case workers and supervisors, child support enforcement agents, adoptive and foster parents, child care teachers), the Lead Case Manager is not a job, but a role which can be played intermittently by different individuals.

Role not defined: when the competency model was first developed, the Integrated Case Management initiative was in its preliminary planning phase. The Steering Committee decided to implement pilot programs in three areas of the states and to leave decisions about functions, processes and roles to each of the pilot sites. As a result, it was difficult to ascertain the responsibilities of the Lead Case Manager. In fact, the role is different in the two pilot sites where the ICM was implemented. In one site, the Coordinator role and Facilitator role are separated and carried out by two different individuals.

Interdisciplinary issues: since the selection of the Lead Case Manager is made in concert with the family, the person assuming the role may be from one of many different disciplines: a mental health specialist, domestic violence advocate, child welfare caseworker, a housing specialist, adult literacy teacher, etc.

Because of these issues, a research-based approach (combining task analysis, behavioral event interviews and organizational assessment) was not appropriate in developing the competency model for Integrated Case Management Lead Case Managers. Instead, the approach recommended by Spenser and Spenser (1993) for developing competency models for jobs not yet performed was utilized, i.e. extrapolation from job elements and competency correlates of known jobs. Other research-based competency models were utilized as a starting point, primarily the "Maine Competency Model for Child Welfare Caseworkers" (1994) and the "Maine Competency Model for Child Welfare Supervisors" (1996). These models formed the basis for the competencies in the areas of Work Management, Interpersonal, Conceptual, Self-Management and Case Management Technical Knowledge and for the Child Welfare specific technical knowledge.

In utilizing existing data to develop the model, a basic assumption about the role of Lead Case Managers was made. Since the ICM model framework requires that two or more case managers be involved with a family in order to provide ICM services, and that the Lead Case Manager would be identified from the existing group of case managers working with the family, it is assumed that in order to be a Lead Case Manager, those selected would already possess general case manager competencies as their basis. Therefore, the Lead Case Manager competencies incorporate both generalist case management skills/behaviors as well as the interdisciplinary cross-systems case management skills/behavior needed for ICM. For example, the additional need for the collaboration skills and behaviors necessary to negotiate across departments, agencies, and systems moves beyond the more generalist coordination skills all case managers need to have.

Context skills identify the competencies required to function effectively in a specific organizational setting. To complete the picture of the competencies needed for effective performance in the provision of Integrated Case Management services, information about cross-systems context and interdisciplinary team settings was needed. Insights on competencies relevant to interdisciplinary work were drawn from the curriculum "Caring for the Abuse Affected Child Cross-Disciplinary Training Manual" (Devoe, et al., 1993, 1996 Revision). Drawing on the Institute's five-year history of providing such training, a group of cross-disciplinary trainers and trainees were surveyed to identify the key contextual components of successful collaborative cross-systems teamwork. Analysis of their responses produced a list of context skills (e.g. negotiation of competing mandates and/or needs within a specific service plan for a family) that was incorporated into the competency model in the categories of work-management, interpersonal, and technical knowledge/skills.

The challenge for the ICM training workgroup was to review this voluminous source of information, eliminate redundancies, and synthesize the various job and disciplinary information in order to identify those core competencies and behavioral indicators relevant to the provision of interdisciplinary case management.


B. Review and Verification

Once the competency model had been developed, content experts and service providers from each of the four disciplines (domestic violence, child welfare, substance abuse, and mental health) reviewed and revised the entire listing. These reviews resulted in changing the language to make it more reflective of the target audience, and in building familiarity and ownership of the competencies. The discipline-specific categories for the Technical Knowledge/Skills were refined considerably as a result of this process.

The draft competency model was further reviewed and refined by ICM training subcommittee members, disciplinary content experts, and pilot site ICM team case managers and participants. Through this review and revision process, various competencies and behavioral indicators were solidified as central to the job of ICM Lead Case Manager, understanding that the specific context will be different based on the composition of the team. The final listing of 23 lead case manager competencies and the companion 25 discipline-specific competencies are a blending of both historic and current best practice competency-based case management.

Because ICM Case Management is a "new" model being piloted, we did not have a cadre of "outstanding performers" with whom to do behavioral event interviews. Thus, we cannot know yet whether or not this competency model truly captures the characteristics of outstanding performers.


C. Applications

Competency models can be utilized for a number of performance management applications including the following:

Selection: designing job samples, interview questions, rating sheets; assessing applicants.

Developing individual competency development plans: specifying prior learning and experience; planning for learning outcomes; designing ongoing professional development.

Designing curriculum: identifying specific competencies to be addressed in training interventions; obtaining competency-based individual/group profiles for training events; designing training activities to develop competencies.

Evaluating performance: linking performance appraisal and promotion with competency-based professional development plans; using competencies to identify and address performance problems.

Developing competency profiles of the organization: presenting data on competency-based learning outcomes and needs assessments in reports to supervisors, managers, policy makers, committees, trainers.

In the current Maine Integrated Case Management system, the role of the Lead Case Manager is situation-specific and the selection of the individual to assume the responsibility for the role is based on family preference rather than competency. However, as the Initiative becomes institutionalized, a certification process is envisioned. The competency model can then provide the framework for the following:

Selection: designing assessment protocols to select individuals to participate in the certification program.

Certification standards: designing competency-based standards for levels of responsibility linked to certification (and potentially reimbursement) along with assessment protocols to determine levels of performance.

Designing curriculum: identifying competencies to be addressed in the training interventions linked to the certification process.

Quality assurance: communicating about performance issues; providing feedback to Lead Case Managers during or following an assignment to a case; reflecting upon successes or failures in a case intervention; resolving problems in the case management team.

As mentioned in the preface to this report, the competency model is a work in progress. It is designed to help state and local communities think about what it takes to do the work in which they are engaged day-to-day, and to do it collaboratively. Provision of integrated case management services moves beyond the coordination of services initiated over the past decade. True integration requires a cultural change in the way we work with both families and the multiple systems affecting their lives. Transformation at this scale is difficult, time consuming, and ever evolving. As this ICM Lead Case Manager model is reexamined, rearranged, and applied in new and different ways, it can become increasingly meaningful and useful to cross-systems and inter-disciplinary case management professionals. Hopefully, it will continually provide feedback for the improved and expanded practice of cross-disciplinary case management.

Peeling back the layers of rugs to reveal the foundation of the problems faced by children and families is work that demands patience, perseverance, resilience and a willingness to work together across the various disciplines involved. Using a competency-based approach is one way to help communicate about and focus this important work.

III. Integrated Case Management Lead Case Manager Competency Model


A. Outline

Lead Case Manager Competencies

I. Work Management Skills

1. Collaboration
2. Organizational Ability
3. Decisiveness and Directness
4. Information Gathering
5. Team Leadership

II. Interpersonal Knowledge/Skills

6. Group Process
7. Interpersonal Understanding
8. Communication

III. Conceptual Knowledge/Skills

9. Problem Analysis
10. Judgment
11. Conceptual Thinking

IV. Self-Management Skills

12. Job Commitment
13. Self-Awareness
14. Self-Control
15. Self-Confidence
16. Flexibility

V. Technical Knowledge/Skills: Integrated Case Management

17. Statutory and Regulatory Bases
18. Policy and Procedures
19. Family Centered Practice
20. Case Management
21. Cultural Sensitivity
22. Fiscal Responsibility
23. External Relationships

Interdisciplinary Technical Knowledge/Skills

I. Child Welfare

1. Protection of Children
2. Services to Families
3. Services to Children in Care
4. Human Development
5. Psychology
6. Health

II. Domestic Violence

1. Dynamics of Domestic Violence
2. Effects of Domestic Violence on Children
3. Intersection of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault/Marital Rape/Incest/Sexual Harassment
4. Intersection of Domestic Violence and Substance Abuse and Mental Illness
5. Community Response and Legal Services
6. Shelter and Crisis Counseling Services

III. Substance Abuse

1. Definitions
2. Screening, Intake, and Assessment
3. Philosophical Approaches to Addiction
4. Change and Recovery Process
5. Family Systems
6. Human Development
7. Treatment, Referral, and Prevention Services

IV. Mental Health

1. Definitions
2. Screening, Intake, and Assessment
3. Approaches to Mental Health Issues
4. Supporting Change
5. Community Services
6. Values

B. Lead Case Manager Competencies


I. Work-Management Skills

1.00 Collaboration

01.01 Resource Identification: Identifies and understands what resources are available, and builds and maintains effective working relationships with a network of interdisciplinary systems.

01.02 Appreciation of Difference: Understands, appreciates the different views, expertise and experience of others; understands the perspectives and limitations of other individuals and systems.

01.03 Creative Advocacy: Finds creative and effective ways to advocate for clients.

01.04 Works Across Systems and Programs: Participates constructively on inter- and intra-agency work groups and activities to clarify and improve systems and program functioning and service delivery.

01.05 Colleague Support: Offers support to colleagues

01.06 Administration Relations: Relates effectively with all levels of administration inside and outside the organization.

2.00 Organizational Ability

02.01 Work Management: Shows ability to plan, schedule, and coordinate the work of self and others.

02.02 Work Assignments: Balances task requirements and individual abilities (matching people and assignments).

02.03 Work Organization: Organizes materials, services and activities to accomplish case goals efficiently and effectively.

02.04 Goal Setting: Sets challenging yet achievable goals for self and others.

3.00 Decisiveness and Directness

03.01 Information Gathering: Anticipates significant information necessary for decision making; researches applicable information, resources, trends.

03.02 Decision-making: Recognizes when a decision is required and makes timely decisions based on available data.

03.03 Decisiveness: Maintains and/or explains positions when under pressure from others, confronting resistance if necessary.

03.04 Fexibility: Modifies case plan if new information indicates the need to
do so.

03.05 Directive: Gives directives and instructions based on personal authority,

4.00 Information Gathering

04.01 Information Identification: Clearly identifies what information is needed for effective management and the proper source for it.

04.02 Prioritizing and Analyzing Information: Recognizes the need for information from multiple sources for effective case management; prioritizes information needs and resources for gathering and manipulating information; efficiently and effectively gathers, analyzes, and shares critical information.

04.03 Using Questioning: Seeks out exact information or resolution of discrepancies by asking a series of pertinent questions.

04.04 Open to Cues: Looks for potential opportunities and/or miscellaneous information that may be of future use through astute observation and/or interaction with others.

5.00 Team Leadership

05.01 Vision: Shows ability to communicate a clear vision in a way that inspires genuine motivation and commitment to the safety and well-being of children and families.

05.02 Leadership Style: Shows awareness of how team leadership style impacts on interdisciplinary team's productivity and functioning.

05.03 Situational Leadership: Shows ability to modify leadership style to meet situational requirements.

05.04 Focus: Shows ability to manage within a context of multiple or ambiguous directives while staying focused on major goals.

05.05 Critical Thinking: Uses knowledge of the system to identify opportunities and problems; demonstrates the ability to think critically and strategically.

05.06 Information Sharing: Keeps people informed and up-to-date about activities, sharing all relevant or useful information that affects the group.

II. Interpersonal Knowledge/Skills

6.00 Group Process

06.01 Consensus Building: Shows the group process skills needed to get interdisciplinary groups of people to work together effectively to build consensus and compromise to achieve a common goal.

06.02 Seeking Input: Solicits data, ideas and opinions for specific decisions and plans.

06.03 Group Problem Solving: Engages with other interdisciplinary team members in group process to identify and solve problems.

06.04 Conflict Resolution: Works with others to find a win/win resolution of differences; prevents/defuses unnecessary conflict; recognizes the complexities inherent in conflict; proactively engages others in conflict resolution.

06.05 Group Dynamics: Understands concepts of team development, coaching, mentoring, facilitation of effective meetings, and conflict management.

06.06 Reflective Practice: Effectively utilizes reflective practice techniques to review situations and learn from experience.

7.00 Interpersonal Understanding

07.01 Understanding Others: Perceives strengths, needs, challenges, and feelings of others.

07.02 Diversity: Understands and values diversity and different styles of perceiving, learning, communicating, and operating.

07.03 Responding to Others: Uses understanding based on listening and observation to anticipate and prepare for others' reactions.

07.04 Emotional Sensitivity: Recognizes emotion-laden issues or situations and handles them with sensitivity.

8.00 Communication

08.01 Open Communication: Creates opportunities for open communication and sharing of information, adapting approaches to audience.

08.02 Attentive and Responsive: Gives verbal and nonverbal evidence of attentive listening to gather facts, provide a sounding board, make people feel heard, etc.

08.03 Questioning Techniques: Uses a variety of questioning techniques to elicit information needed to form conclusions and/or make decisions.

08.04 Ensures Information is Comprehensive and Clear: Makes sure clients/families have all the available information needed to manage situations and make sound decisions; explains complexities in an easy-to-understand manner.

08.05 Respects Confidentiality: Respects requirements for confidentiality and exercises discretion when sharing information.

08.06 Written Communication: Prepares clear, accurate and appropriate written communication and/or documents.

08.07 Dialogue vs. Discussion: Recognizes the difference between dialogue and discussion and uses each appropriately.

III. Conceptual Knowledge/Skills

9.00 Problem Analysis

09.01 Identifying Elements of Problems: Seeks out relevant data and analyzes complex information to determine the important elements of a problem situation.

09.02 Developing Alternative Approaches: Uses critical thinking to assess alternative approaches to problems and/or decisions.

09.03 Analysis of Underlying Issues: Identifies underlying issues or causes and gaps between theory and practice.

10.00 Judgment

10.01 Using Information: Reaches reasonable conclusions and makes sound decisions based on available information.

10.02 Balance: Balances short and long term considerations.

10.03 Priorities: Sets priorities for tasks in order of importance.

10.04 Objectivity: Maintains objectivity in handling difficult issues, events, or decisions.

11.00 Conceptual Thinking

11.01 Using Frameworks and Experience: Uses theoretical frameworks as well as learning from past experience to guide analysis or actions.

11.02 Past Experience: Applies past experience to interpret events, seeing crucial similarities and differences in present and past situations.

11.03 Reframing: Shows ability to reframe situations in order to solve problems or create alternative solutions.

IV. Self-Management Skills

12.00 Job Commitment

12.01 Positive Attitude: Is enthusiastic and energetic; likes the job.

12.02 Values Safe and Healthy Families: Has firm values and beliefs about protecting children and preserving families.

12.03 Responsibility for Completion: Takes ownership; assumes responsibility as a driving force in getting things done or in making changes with clients, agencies and the community.

12.04 Perseverance: Perseveres in the face of disappointment, hostility or adverse conditions; resists dwelling on disappointments; motivates self to make the best of things.

12.05 Problem Solving: Takes responsibility for addressing problems and seeing solutions through to completion.

13.00 Self-Awareness

13.01 Strengths and Limitations: Understands and reflects upon own strengths and limitations and the implications for professional role as team leader.

13.02 Intuition and Instinct: Is in touch with own intuition and instincts.

13.03 Values and Culture: Understands and reflects upon own values, cultural/personal style, familial background and how each may impact others.

13.04 Sensitive and Adaptable: Understands how he/she is perceived by others and modifies style appropriately to situation.

13.05 Integrates Change: Understands that people change over time, recognizes changes in self and others, and integrates this into his/her practice.

13.06 Limit Setting: Acknowledges importance of prudently "taking care of oneself" to maintain mental health and conserve energy and enthusiasm.

14.00 Self-Control

14.01 Truth Seeking: Resists jumping to conclusions; checks out hearsay and others' opinions in order to form opinions and conclusions based upon first-hand interaction and assessment.

14.02 Maintains Composure: Maintains composure in stressful situations; persists despite turmoil or conflict.

14.03 Stress Management: Copes with stresses and emotions.

14.04 Sense of Humor: Exhibits a sense of humor or perspective.

14.05 Patience: Demonstrates patience and acceptance; gives people reasonable time to understand or to change.

15.00 Self-Confidence

15.01 Optimism and Trust in Self: Believes in own decisions; and is optimistic about own ability to get the job done.

15.02 Decisive Action: Is able to think on one's feet and to be decisive in ambiguous or chaotic situations.

15.03 Assertiveness: Knows when to be assertive, when to take a strong stand on issues, when to confront others.

16.00 Flexibility

16.01 Fairness: Recognizes the pros and cons of alternative views.

16.02 Adaptability: Adapts personal and professional styles to meet the needs of specific situations or clients and families.

16.03 Open to Change: Is open to new information and changing own opinion.

16.04 Redirective: Is able to shift gears and redirect activities.

16.05 Acknowledges Case Outcomes: Acknowledges and copes with both positive and negative outcomes of cases; recognizes and deals with issues of grief and loss, including lost opportunities and perceived error.

V. Case Management Technical Knowledge/Skills:

17.00 Statutory and Regulatory Bases

17.01 Statutory and Regulatory base: Understands the basis in federal and state law, regulations and rules for the operation of social service programs.

17.02 Knowledge of Relevant Statutes: Knows the specific statutes related to the disciplines involved in the case, and their interrelationship with other related laws.

17.03 Terminology, Definitions and Concepts: understands the legal terminology, definitions and concepts of the disciplines involved in the case.

17.04 Legal System: Understands jurisdictions of various courts that deal with children and families.

18.00 Policies and Procedures

18.01 Policy Base: Understands the basis in policy for the operation of social service programs.

18.02 Policy and Procedures: Knows the specific policies and procedures related to the social service programs and their interrelationship with each other.

18.03 Terminology, Definitions and Concepts: Understands policy terminology, definitions and concepts and is able to apply them appropriately to case management.

18.04 Ethical Issues: Understands the policy requirements of ethical practice and the ramifications to staff and clients when this does not occur.

18.05 Documentation: Knows information to be accumulated, analyzed and recorded; appropriate forms; relationship between documentation and accountability.

19.00 Family Centered Practice

19.01 Non-judgmental: Utilizes a non-judgmental family centered approach to case management.

19.02 Involves Key Players: Identifies key players in a family's life and configures the interdisciplinary and community team.

19.03 Individualized: Assesses client/family to identify needs that are unique to each individual/family and develops plans that are as "normal" as possible, culturally sensitive and specific to each case.

19.04 Strengths-based: Assures that family member strengths are identified and ties strengths to actions when developing a case plan.

19.05 Life Domains: Considers life domain areas (e.g. residence, family, social, emotional/psychological, educational/vocational, safety, legal, medical, crisis intervention, spiritual, cultural and financial) when developing case plans.

20.00 Case Management

20.01 Case Management Principles: Understands and is able to identify standards for Integrated Case Management.

20.02 Case Planning Process: Understands and is able to identify standards and procedures for prioritizing needs and objectives and for designing clear, concise action/service plans that address outcomes, incorporate measurable activities, and have meaning to the family.

20.03 Case Documentation: Understands and is able to identify standards and procedures for identifying pertinent data for inclusion in case records and reports; organizing information in a clear and concise manner; writing summaries of assessment, case plan and other supporting data for the case record in a timely manner.

20.04 Outcome Measures: Understands and is able to identify definition and purposes of outcome measures.

20.05 Case Coordination: Understands and is able to utilize approaches to coordinate
implementation of services, evaluate effectiveness of services to meet desired outcomes and modify plan as necessary.

20.06 Case Reviews: Understands and is able to identify standards and procedures for routine and timely reviews.

20.07 Service Contracts and Referrals: Understands and is able to identify standards and techniques for coordinating the timely delivery of services to meet identified needs, including identification of community resources, advocacy, and appropriate follow-up reports.

20.08 Case Termination: Understands and is able to identify criteria and procedures for effectively terminating a relationship with a family.

21.00 Cultural Sensitivity

21.01 Cross-Cultural Diversity: Understands and is able to identify differences in cultural, ethnic, and religious values, perceptions, customs and behaviors.

21.02 Cross-Cultural Interactions: Understands and is able to identify ways cultural variables can impact on an assessment as well as ways of communicating and establishing relationships with clients/families from cultural backgrounds different from one's own.

22.00 Fiscal Responsibility

22.01 Budgeting Principles: Demonstrates general understanding of budgeting techniques and fiscal constraints.

22.02 Cost-effectiveness: Oversees case management operations (e.g. workflow, timelines, the use of resources, costs and revenues) in order to provide services in a cost-effective manner.

23.00 External Relationships

23.01 Community Service Network: Understands the community service network and develops relationships external to the team's disciplines.

23.02 Constituencies, Collaborators, and Competitors: Understands the perspectives and interests of key constituencies, collaborators, and competitors; works to build and maintain a positive public image with constituents.

23.03 Respectful: Demonstrates a high level of respect for all constituencies.

23.04 Information Sharing: Provides information to the community and others about the agencies and their programs and services.

23.05 Customer Service Orientation: Understands the overall service system as well as relevant service approaches for populations of persons served.

23.06 Demonstrates Knowledge of Resources: Demonstrates knowledge of local, regional, state and federal resources.

23.07 Stakeholder Collaboration: Works collaboratively with both formal and informal groups of stakeholders such as Boards, Advisory Committees, advocates, family members, and personnel.

C. Interdisciplinary Competencies

I. Child Welfare

1.00 Protection of Children

1.01 Definitions of Abuse and Neglect: Understands definitions of child abuse and neglect and corresponding levels and methods of interventions.

1.02 Dynamics and Indicators of Abuse and Neglect: Understands dynamics and indicators of neglect and of physical, sexual and emotional abuse including family violence and their traumatic impact on children and families.

1.03 Reporting of Abuse and Neglect: Understands the statutory responsibility for reporting suspected abuse and neglect.

1.04 Investigation: Understands and is able to describe specialized methods to assess alleged abuse, neglect, or sexual abuse in foster homes, day care homes, or child care institutions.

1.05 Intervention: Knows how to develop and implement plans and interventions necessary for the protection of children and family members which may include family (re)habilitation, preservation and/or (re)unification.

1.06 Treatment: Knows available treatment resources and modalities for dealing with child abuse and neglect.

2.00 Services to Families

2.01 Family Systems Theory and Therapy: Understands and is able to identify theoretical frameworks and procedures for assessing family dynamics, understanding their relationship to abuse and neglect, and intervening (including family interviews and service referral).

2.02 Effective Parenting: Understands and is able to identify models (behavior modification, STEP, PET, etc.) and criteria for identifying strategies appropriate for developmental level, and individual needs.

2.03 Family Preservation: Understands and is able to identify standards and casework methods to promote permanence for children, including parent involvement in case planning, services to maintain children in their own homes, parent involvement with children separated by placement, and services for timely reunification.

3.00 Services to Children in Care

3.01 Effects of Placement out of Family: Understands and is able to identify the effects on children who have been removed from their families and have been placed in another setting with different history, culture, values, expectations and behavior.

3.02 Placement Issues: Understands strategies for identifying and maintaining the most appropriate placement to meet child's needs, and avoiding unnecessary disruption.

3.03 Family Connectedness: Understands the dynamics of family relationships, the disruption resulting in separation, and the importance of maintaining a type of connectedness with previous families, based on an assessment of each family's situation and the child's needs.

3.04 Placement Resources: Has knowledge of various types of placement and their differential use based on the child's needs, has knowledge of criteria for selecting among the alternatives (e.g., kinship care, foster homes, specialized foster homes, group homes, residential treatment centers), admission and agency approval procedures.

3.05 Preparation for Placement: Understands and is able to utilize knowledge and techniques for preparation of the child and the child's placement resource, the need for continuity and information for and about the child, and ways to reduce stress and facilitate adjustment.

3.06 Special Education: Understands the broad criteria for identifying children in need of special education services, the Pupil Evaluation Team (PET) process, and the roles of the local education administration (LEA), the surrogate parent and the caseworker as set forth in agency policy.

3.07 Extended Care: Understands the criteria and procedures for voluntarily extending care nearing adulthood and its relationship to developing independent living skills and abilities.

3.08 Placement Supervision: Understands methods and techniques for working collaboratively with foster parents and other caregivers to identify issues, needs and risk factors in the particular placement and jointly develop strategies to meet needs to access and coordinate resources.

3.09 Child Safety: Understands procedures for on going monitoring to identify indicators of risk and procedures for appropriate intervention.

4.00 Human Development

4.01 Developmental Process: Understands and is able to identify stages and processes of attachment as well as physical, cognitive, social and psychological development.

4.02 Sexual Development and Behavior: Understands and is able to identify the process of human sexual development including sexual identity, sexual orientation and behavior as well as related issues such as sex education, birth control, teen pregnancy, gay, lesbian and bisexual youth, sexually transmitted disease and abortion.

4.03 Developmental Challenges: Understands and is able to identify the causes, symptoms and treatment approaches for developmental challenges or conditions such as attachment disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, fetal alcohol effect and syndrome, mental retardation, adolescent depression, suicide and other emotional disturbances, cerebral palsy and other conditions that delay or impair development.

5.00 Psychology

5.01 Separation and Loss: Understands and is able to identify the stages of grief and recovery related to separation or loss and the appropriate response to each.

5.02 Stress: Understands and is able to identify the causes and effects of stress and techniques for effective stress management and self-care.

5.03 Trauma and Victimization: Understands and is able to identify the causes and effects of trauma and victimization including the impact of early and cumulative trauma and victimization and techniques for management and recovery.

5.04 Power and Control: Understands and is able to identify power and control as forces that drive behavior, their use and abuse, and responses to their abuse such as co-dependency, domestic violence, child abuse and neglect.

5.05 Mental Dysfunction: Understands and is able to identify the types of mental dysfunctions, their manifestations, implications and management.

5.06 Addiction Recovery: Understands and is able to identify stages of recovery from addiction and effects of the recovery process on the family system.

5.07 Psychological Testing and Evaluation: Understands and is able to identify purposes of cognitive, emotional, social, and developmental assessments; techniques for formulating specific referral questions, evaluating the quality of the assessment, and using psychological information in the development of the case plan.

6.00 Health

6.01 Preventative Health Care: Understands the range of routine medical care necessary to identify health problems or issues which may require health care.

6.02 Health and Medical Conditions: Understands the factors that can effect the well-being of individuals and can identify symptoms or conditions which indicate the need for health care or immediate medical attention.

6.03 Family Health History: Understands and can identify relevant factors in family and personal medical and genetic history and applications.

6.04 Medical Tests: Knows the types, purposes of tests, including x-ray techniques, blood tests, and cultures commonly used for diagnosis or treatment.

6.05 Medications: Knows the types, purposes, and frequent side effects of prescribed medications and knows how to secure such information when necessary.


6.06 Legal and Policy Issues: Understands the legal and policy issues related to particular diagnoses such as sexually transmitted diseases, HIV-AIDS, and other communicable diseases, and knows how to secure appropriate guidance for management of these issues.

6.07 Alcoholism and Drug Abuse: Understands and can identify the dynamics and indicators of addiction, medical risks, impact on individuals and families, the connection with family violence, methods of intervention and treatment.

II. Domestic Violence

1.00 Dynamics of Domestic Violence

1.01 Historical Perspective and Grassroots Philosophy: Understands the historical perspectives, the grassroots philosophy, and the empowerment model approaches utilized within the battered women's movement and that inform and direct domestic violence work.

1.02 Cultural Norms and the Prevalence and Patterns of Occurrence: Understands the cultural/societal context in which domestic violence occurs and how it supports and reinforces violence and battering.

1.03 Definitions of Abuse, Battering, and the Continuum of Abuse: Understands statutory definitions of abuse and assault, and the continuum of abuse (Emotional/Psychological, Sexual Abuse, and Physical Abuse).

1.04 Myths and Perceptions: Understands how the dynamics of stereotyping, myths, and preconceptions work to keep abuse personal and hidden rather than public and connected to a larger political/societal picture.

1.05 Power and Control: Understands the Duluth Power and Control Wheel, the Equality Wheel, and how the issues of power and control frame the way domestic violence occurs.

1.06 Cycles of Violence: Understands the commonly identified cycles of abuse.

1.07 Lesbian/Gay Battering: Understands dynamics of lesbian/gay battering, the similarities and differences between heterosexual and lesbian/gay battering, heterosexual privilege, and the Power and Control Wheel for lesbians and gays.

1.08 Other Oppressions: Understands the connections and reinforcing effects of other forms of oppressions (racism, classism, sizism, ageism, ableism, etc.) with sexism, and how patriarchy, privilege, and violence support continued oppression.

2.00 Effects of Domestic Violence on Children

2.01 Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect: Understands definitions of child abuse and neglect, and the dynamics and impact of domestic violence and child abuse/neglect for children and families.

2.02 Dynamics and Indicators of Abuse and Neglect: Understands dynamics and indicators of neglect and of physical, sexual and emotional abuse and their traumatic impact on children and families.

2.03 Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect: Understands the statutory responsibility for mandated reporting of suspected child abuse and neglect.

2.04 Effects of Violence on Developmental Stages: Understands and is able to identify the effects violence has on the human growth and developmental stages, and the commonalties between child abuse and woman abuse.

2.05 Children's Perspective, Understanding and Experience of Domestic Violence: Understands and recognizes children's perspective and experiences of violence, trauma, separation, and safety are different from the adult experience, and recognizes the dynamics and impact of adult privilege.

2.06 Empowering Children and Advocacy for Children: Understands empowerment of children and develops and utilizes supportive listening, crisis counseling intervention, and advocacy skills when working with children who have experienced domestic violence.

2.07 Teen Dating Violence: Understands, recognizes and addresses the indicators and dynamics of teen dating violence.

3.00 Intersection of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault/Marital Rape/Incest/Sexual Harassment

3.01 Definition of Terms: Understands statutes, definitions, dynamics and victim's rights in cases of sexual assault, marital rape, incest, and sexual harassment.

3.02 Rape Trauma Syndrome and Marital Rape: Understands the dynamics, symptoms, reactions and phases of rape trauma syndrome and marital rape.

3.03 Effects of Sexual Violence and Response: Knows how to recognize the effects of and responses to sexual violence, including the social attitudes and functions of sexual assault, and can provide support and appropriate interventions to the victim.

3.04 Effects of Incest and Response: Knows how to recognize the dynamics, indicators, and effects of incest and can provide appropriate response to the adult incest survivor.

3.05 Similarities of Survivors: Understands the commonalties of victims of various forms of sexual abuse as well as the similarities and differences for lesbian and gay victims of sexual assault.

3.06 Stages of Healing from Sexual Assault: Understands the multiple stages of healing from sexual assault, and can facilitate the individualized healing process for victims within the range of stages.

3.07 Referral Resources: Understands and utilizes the range of both community and statewide systems of resources available to victims of sexual assault and domestic violence.

4.00 Intersection of Domestic Violence and Substance Abuse and Mental Illness

4.01 Substance Abuse: Understands and is able to identify substance abuse, its implications and treatment options, and populations "at risk" for substance abuse.

4.02 Substance Abuse and Domestic Violence: Distinguishes between the two separate systems of substance abuse and battering, understands the differences and parallels of the two systems, and understands and recognizes the role and impact of substance abuse on domestic violence.

4.03 Women and Addiction: Understands and is able to identify dynamics of working with women who are in recovery, whose abusive partner is in recovery, or has been affected by substance abuse in some other way.

4.04 Mental Illness: Understands and is able to identify different types of depression and mental illness and treatment resources.

4.05: Suicide: Understands the myths and realities of suicide, the role of battering in suicide and attempted suicide, and suicide assessment and intervention guidelines.

4.06 Mental Health, Addiction and Domestic Violence: Understands how the intersections among addiction, mental illness and domestic violence affect both victims of domestic violence and the ability to provide services in the empowerment/self-help program models.

5.00 Community Response and Legal Services

5.01 Domestic Abuse Laws: Understands and utilizes the state Domestic Abuse Laws.

5.02 Protection from Abuse Order: Understands the purpose and composition of a Protection from Abuse Order (PFA), and is able to assist abuse victims with drafting and obtaining a PFA.

5.03 Criminal Proceedings: Understands the purpose of a criminal complaint and prosecution, and is able to assist abuse victims with making a criminal complaint, the steps of criminal prosecution, and the criminal system requirements to pursue criminal relief.

5.04 Domestic Violence and the Courts: Understands the difference between civil and criminal proceedings and victim's options within each, and can instruct and support the victim in making appropriate choices, filing a PFA, a criminal complaint, and Protection from Harassment orders.

5.05 Legal Services: Understands and is able to guide victims to Victim Witness Advocate services, District Attorney and lawyer services, victim compensation services, and/or pro se divorce and custody work.

5.06 Criminal Justice Services: Understands the roles of police, probation officers, court personnel, including victim witness advocates, and prosecutors as they impact the life of the abused woman; and understands bail conditions as currently applied to misdemeanor and felony crimes.

5.07 Community Response Services: Understands and utilizes the range of Community Response services available to victims and their children and to communities working to eliminate domestic violence; the need to determine for each individual victim what their appropriate response, intervention, and assessment needs to be; and promotes effective community response in their own community.

5.08 Systems Advocacy: Understands the definition of systems advocacy, its philosophical basis, and the role of Community Response Services in affecting systems change to end domestic violence.

5.09 Batterer Intervention Programs: Understands the dynamics of batterer intervention programs as education (not therapy) focused, and is aware of, and makes referrals to, certified programs.

6.00 Shelter and Crisis Counseling Services

6.01 Crisis Intervention and Counseling: Understands and is able to utilize effective crisis intervention and counseling skills, and identifies the goals of counseling and the ethical and confidentiality issues involved in domestic violence counseling.

6.02 Listening Skills and Women's Voices: Understands and utilizes effective active listening skills, works through blocks to listening, and respects and is directed by the "voices" of the women with whom you are working.

6.03 Role of Advocates: Understands and is able to implement the principles and practice of being an advocate for women's needs (individual and collective) rather than a "case worker" for women and their children.

6.04 Shelter Services: Understands and is able to provide the full complement of shelter services available within the self-help, safe, and confidential shelter program available.

6.05 Role-modeling: Incorporates and demonstrates personal/professional empowerment principles and behaviors such as conflict management, assertive communication, respect, acknowledgment of biases, etc.

6.06 Education and Support Group Services: Understands and is able to assist victims in utilizing the full range of educational and support group services available directly by the shelter or through referral to other community services.

6.07 Individual Advocacy and Safety Planning: Understands the philosophical and practical need for victims to develop advocacy skills for themselves so that they can request and receive the services and protection needed to live safely outside a domestic violence shelter.

6.08 Rural and Urban Differences: Understands, respects, and incorporates the differing geographical, cultural, and safety issues which accompany rural and city living and how the different environments affect the type and format of services a community can provide to victims.

III. Substance Abuse

1.0 Definitions

1.01 Definitions of Substance Abuse and Dependence: Understands definitions of substance abuse and substance dependence and their corresponding levels of involvement.

1.02 Use-Abuse-Dependence Continuum: Understands and recognizes the substance use continuum from use to unhealthy drinking to problem use to substance abuse to dependence.

1.03 Signs and Symptoms: Understands and recognizes the dynamics and indicators of substance problems.

1.04 DSM-IV Definitions of Abuse and Dependence: Understands the medical definitions and implications of the DSM-IV categories of abuse and dependence as differentiated from each other, including substance dependence with physiological dependence and substance dependence without physiological dependence.

1.05 Dual Diagnosis: Understands the medical definitions and dynamics when substance abuse or dependence and mental illness co-occur.

2.0 Screening, Intake, and Assessment

2.01 Initial Screening of Substance Abuse: Understands and utilizes initial screening techniques for determination of use/problem use/abuse/dependence.

2.02 Historical/Background Intake: Understands and utilizes necessary intake techniques to develop an historical picture of the client, including client's and family members' past and present substance use.

2.03 Assessment Strategies: Utilizes a range of strength-based and innovative assessment tools to determine client's substance involvement level.

2.04 Client Education: Based on individual client's history and level of involvement, is able to provide information, support and assistance to client to understand her/his use/problem use/abuse/dependence.

3.0 Philosophical Approaches of Addiction

3.01 Disease Model: Understands the theoretical frameworks and dynamics of the disease model of understanding substance abuse or dependence.

3.02 Self-medication: Understands the dynamics of self-medication as a conceptual model of understanding substance abuse or dependence.

3.03 Biopsychosocial Disorder: Understands the theoretical frameworks and dynamics of biopsychosocial disorder as a model of understanding substance abuse or dependence.

3.04 Rational Recovery: Understands the dynamics and use of the rational recovery model of treatment for substance abuse or dependence.

3.05 Controlled or Low-Risk Drinking: Understands the dynamics and use of a controlled or low-risk drinking model of treatment for substance abuse or dependence without physiological dependence.

3.06 Spirituality: Understands the dynamics of spirituality as it intersects with and provides a foundation for treatment models and 12-Step Programs.

3.07 12-Step Programs: Understands the steps and traditions of 12-Step Programs as a self-help recovery model for substance abuse and dependence.

3.08 Diversity: Understands the dynamics and sensitivities of diversity issues, such as cultural background, sexual orientation, etc., as they affect and intersect with substance-related theory, conceptualizations, and treatment and recovery models.

4.0 Change and Recovery Process

4.01 Interventions: Has knowledge of and can implement therapeutic interventions when indicated for a specific client.

4.02 Counseling: Understands and is able to utilize appropriate individual, group, and/or family counseling modalities as a client may require.

4.03 Treatment Planning: Has ability to develop and implement a treatment plan specific to a client's individual history, needs, and situation.

4.04 Treatment Referral: Understands and is able to refer clients to appropriate resources when more intensive services are indicated for a specific client.

5.0 Family Systems

5.01 Enabling: Understands and is able to identify dynamics of enabling substance related problems.

5.02 Parenting: Understands and is able to identify the dynamics and relationship between problematic parenting and substance-related problems.

5.03 Family Violence: Understands and is able to identify the dynamics of family violence as it affects, is affected by, and intersects with substance-related problems.

5.04 Co-Affected: Understands and is able to identify the issues of co-affected family members when substance-related problems affect the family.

6.0 Human Development

6.01 Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Understands and is able to identify stages and processes of fetal alcohol syndrome and its immediate and long term effects on a fetus and child.

6.02 Fetal Alcohol Effects: Understands and is able to identify symptoms of fetal alcohol effect and its developmental impact.

6.03 Pre-natal Substance-related Involvement: Understands and is able to identify the symptoms and processes of substance-related problems during pregnancy and the immediate and long-term effects for a prenatally drug-exposed infant.

6.04 Neo-natal and Infant Complications: Is knowledgeable concerning the range of pediatric medical complications associated with prenatal substance abuse, such as neurological disturbances, failure to thrive, intrauterine growth retardation, central nervous system disorders, AIDS, etc.

6.05 Adolescent Substance Abuse: Understands impact of substance use/abuse/addiction on the specific developmental stages of adolescence as well as the cultural influences upon adolescent use & abuse of substances.

6.06 Substance Abuse and Mental Illness: Understands and is able to identify symptoms and dynamics of dual diagnosis and the need for collaborative efforts for better therapeutic outcomes for this population.

7.0 Treatment Services, Referral Procedures, and Prevention Services

7.01 Resilience: Understands and is able to utilize resilience-based concepts and strategies that create, focus on, and promote positive environments and conditions of health and well-being for individuals and families.

7.02 Relapse Prevention: Understands and utilizes relapse prevention strategies that develop, support, and promote health and well-being in family and community systems.

7.03 Risk and Protection Factors: Understands and utilizes risk and protection factors for assuring safety and for prevention of substance-related problems.

7.04 Prevention Strategies/Services: Has knowledge of, utilizes, and makes referral to community based prevention programs and initiatives whose focus is the prevention of substance-related problems.

7.05 Peer Groups/Self-Help: Has knowledge of and is able to access available peer and self-help groups to which a client and co-affected persons can be referred.

7.06 Professional Consultations: Has knowledge of and makes referral to appropriate and/or registered/licensed substance abuse professionals as indicated by the client's history, needs, and level of use/abuse/dependence.

7.07 Outpatient, Inpatient and Residential Facilities: Has knowledge of and is able to access the services of community based outpatient services and treatment programs, inpatient detox centers, residential treatment centers, shelters, half-way houses, etc.

7.08 Record Keeping and Confidentiality: Understands the statutory restrictions concerning case management, record keeping, confidentiality, and reporting as reflected in federal and state laws governing substance-related treatment information.

IV. Mental Health

1.0 Definitions

1.01 Definition of Mental Illness: Has a basic understanding of the mental illness disorders as listed within the DSM - IV.

1.02 Multiaxes: Has a basic understanding of the multiaxial assessment systems used within the DSM - IV manual.

1.03 Diagnosis: Understands the major diagnostic codes used within the
DSM - IV manual.

1.04 Major Mental Health Disorders: Has a working knowledge and an understanding of the major mental health disorders: anxiety, mood, psychotic, cognitive, dissociate, eating and sleeping, adjustment and personality.

1.05 Signs and Symptoms: Understand and recognize the many signs, symptoms and indicators associated with mental illness.

1.06 Mental Health Definition: Understand the definition of mental health, within a continuum of mental health and health issues.

1.07 Dual Diagnosis: Understand and is able to identify symptoms and dynamics of psychiatric comorbidity with substance abuse disorders.

2.0 Screening, Intake, and Assessments

2.01 Initial Screening: Understands and uses appropriate screening techniques for mental health issues.

2.02 Intake - Historical and Background: Understands and utilizes appropriate techniques to develop an accurate historical picture of the client and other significant members of the "family."

2.03 Assessment of Seriousness of the Presenting Issues: Understands and is able to identify the level of seriousness presented by the client, especially suicide issues.

2.04 Assessment Tools: Is able to utilize a wide range of strength-based, family-centered assessment tools to determine the client's level of involvement.

2.05 Client Education: Based on the individual's history and level of involvement, is able to provide appropriate information, support and assistance.

2.06 Appreciates Fear: Has an appreciation for the emotional fears associated with mental health issues, both for the client and the family.

3.0 Approaches to Mental Health Issues

3.01 Medical Model: Understand the theoretical framework and dynamics of the medical model's approach to mental health.

3.02 Family Systems Model: Understand the theoretical framework and dynamics of the family systems approach to mental health issues.

3.03 Cognitive and Behavioral Model: Has a working knowledge and understanding of the cognitive and behavioral model approach to mental illness.

3.04 New Practice Models: Has an understanding of new approaches to mental illness, for example the "story telling" model.

3.05 Spirituality: Understand the dynamics of spiritually issues as it relates to the support of mental health issues.

3.06 Role-Modeling: Actively incorporates and demonstrates personal and professional empowerment principles such as conflict management, assertive communication, respect and acknowledgment of biases.

3.08 Medications: Has a working understanding and knowledge of the varied medications provided to clients with mental health issues. Understanding the issues associated with not taking medications, that not all issues have an effective medication, issues associated with changing medications and the impact of combining medications without adequate medical supervision.

4.0 Supporting Change

4.01 Interventions: Has knowledge of and can use as appropriate a wide variety of intervention strategies that support the client's efforts to grow and change.

4.02 Treatment Planning: Knows how to develop and implement a family-centered, community driven treatment plan specifically developed for the clients individuals strengths, needs and situation.

4.03 Counseling: Understands and is able to use appropriate informal counseling techniques.

4.04 Advocacy: Understands the importance and has knowledge of the philosophical needs for advocacy skill development with the client.

4.05 Multi-Dimensional: Understands the relationship among mental health issues, substance abuse issues, educational issues, justice (public safety) issues and how they interact to support the client and family as well as pose the potential for conflict.

5.0 Community Services

5.01 Mental Health Rights: Has an understanding and knowledge the rights of recipients of mental health services within Maine's Public Laws.

5.02 Legal Supports: Understands and has a working knowledge of the "class action" issues associated with mental health services within Maine.

5.03 Community Based Supports and Services: Has a working knowledge of the community based service agencies and supports available to assist mental health clients and their families.

5.04 Residential - Out of Home Services: Has a working knowledge and understanding of the residential and hospital based services available to assist the clients and their family.

6.0 Values

6.01 Respect: Regards people with significant mental health issues as persons with dignity and competence, engaging then as full partners.

6.02 Inclusive: Includes family members and other community care providers in all aspects of service planning.

6.03 On- going Evaluation: Understands the importance of constant evaluation of the needs of the client, the strengths of the family and the appropriateness of change.

6.04 Seeking Support: Understands the critical importance of obtaining supportive supervision and consultation while working with mental health clients.

6.04 Collaborative Community: Understands the principles of a collaborative community, constantly working to improve and enhance the area's collaborative, community-based system of care for the client.

6.05 Professionalism: Conducts all activities in a professional and ethical manor.

Appendix: Bibliography and Background Reading

Bernotavicz, Freda. "A New Paradigm for Competency-Based Training." Journal of Continuing Social Work Education. Albany, NY: Continuing Education Program, School of Social Welfare, State University of New York, 1994.

Bernotavicz, Freda. A Competency Model for Child Welfare Caseworkers. Portland, ME: University of Southern Maine, Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Affairs, 1994.

Bernotavicz, Freda & Dorothy Bartley. A Competency Model for Child Welfare Supervisors. Portland, ME: University of Southern Maine, Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service, 1996.

Covey, Stephen. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. New York: Simon & Shuster, 1989

Delbecq, Andre L., Andrew Van de Ven, and David H. Gustafson. Group Techniques for Program Planning. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foreman and Company, 1975.

Devoe, L., et al. Caring for the Abuse Affected Child. Portland, ME: Muskie School of Public Service, University of Southern Maine, 1996.

Fine, Sidney A. Functional Job Analysis Scales: A Desk Aid. Milwaukee, WI: Fine Associates, 1989.

Knapp, et al. "Preparing Educators for Collaborative Practice: One University's Contribution to the Integration of Education and Human Services." Paper presented to University Council of Educational Administrators, Houston, TX, November 1993.

Lawson, H. and K. Hooper-Briar. Expanding Partnerships: Involving Colleges and Universities in Interprofessional Collaboration and Service Integration. Oxford, OH: The Danforth Foundation and The Institute for Educational Renewal at Miami University, 1994.

Moxley, D. P. The Practice of Case Management. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publication, 1989.

Schon, Donald A. Educating the Reflective Practitioner. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass, 1987.

Senge, Peter M. The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization. New York: Doubleday Currency, 1990.

Spenser, Lyle and Signe Spenser. Competence at Work. Boston, MA: McBer and Company, 1993.

Wilson, James Q. What Government Agencies Do and Why They Do It. New York: Basic Books, 1989.

Institute Of Public Sector Innovation

The University of Maine System Board of Trustees approved the Institute for Public Sector Innovation (IPSI) as one of the three institutes that make up the Research Programs of the Muskie School in January 1996. IPSI grew out of two major collaborations with the Maine Department of Human Services under the State/University Partnership agreement: the Child Welfare Training Institute (CWTI) (established in 1989) and the Department of Human Services Training Institute (DHSTI) (established in 1992). These projects continue to be major components of the Institute, along with expanded projects in collaboration with other state and federal agencies such as the Departments of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services; Juvenile Justice and Corrections; Education; and Maine's Judiciary. Institute activities now include areas such as: strategic planning, organizational development, applied research, computer-based technology, information systems, cross-system collaboration, and performance management.

IPSI has a vision of competent and caring people in high performance organizations creatively working together to promote the public good. Recognizing the potential of people and organizations, IPSI serves the public good by promoting individual and organizational effectiveness and responsiveness in a climate of change. As a learning organization, IPSI functions within a set of core competencies which include flexibility, collaboration, independence, and commitment.

IPSI models and fosters a set of common values and action principles built on six unifying themes including fostering self-responsibility, striving for excellence, valuing diverse perspectives, systems thinking, team learning, and modeling positive behavior.