You will have two options to choose from for your essay. Pick one and write a 4 to 6 page double spaced essay on the topic. This assignment is due April 7; it is worth 15 points. Submit your essay in Word format; no pdfs.
1. You are Brooks. The case ends with the two paragraphs after "What's Next." What would you do to salvage the mess you find your self in? Clearly, you can get ideas from your own and your fellow students' discussion posts this week.
2. How would you deal with the religious objections to LGBTQ people as expressed by some of the staff?
Feel free to use any of the few materials I placed in e-courseware or others you find. Listed references do not count towards the page requirement for the essay.
Fostering Success? An Equity Initiative Goes Sideways Case A Fostering Success Launches an Equity Initiative Alice Brooks set an aspirational goal: in five years, youth in foster care in the surrounding county would graduate high school at the same rate as their peers with a plan for their future. Brooks was Executive Director of Fostering Success, an organization dedicated to giving foster kids a childhood and a future. Setting this goal was a major turning point for Fostering Success. The organization went from providing foster kids with everyday essentials like clothing, tutoring, and funding for afterschool activities to an intentional strategy designed to close the achievement gap for foster youth. This strategy, Academic Success, provided academic coaching to build students’ self- determination and engagement at school. Setting this goal required Fostering Success to deeply examine barriers keeping youth in foster care from attaining successful outcomes such as high school graduation. At about 80 staff and a $10 Million operating budget, Fostering Success was a predominantly white, female organization led by three white gay women, including Brooks. Fostering Success’s Academic Success program in the surrounding county was made up of 30 Education Specialists serving over 450 middle and high school students in Foster Care. Equity played a large role in the disparate outcomes these students experienced. Across the United States, less than 50% of youth in foster care were graduating on-time, and youth of color were disproportionately represented in foster care.1 While African Americans made up 6% of The surrounding county’s population, they accounted for 30% of Fostering Success youth, and Native Americans comprised less than 1% of the county yet 16% of Fostering Success youth.2 Race was just one factor affecting Fostering Success youth. Nearly 40% of Fostering Success students received Special Education services.3 And while Fostering Success didn’t 1“Fostering Success in Education: National Factsheet on the Educational Outcomes of Children in Foster Care” National Working Group on Foster Care and Education, 2014. http://www.fc2success.org/wp- content/uploads/2012/05/National-Fact-Sheet-on-the-Educational-Outcomes-of-Children-in-Foster-Care-Jan- 2014.pdf 2See Appendix I: Academic Success Progress Report 3See Appendix I: Academic Success Progress Report This case was prepared by Elana Stone, Executive MPA Candidate at the University of Washington Evans School, under the supervision of Associate Professor Stephen Page. The case is intended solely as a vehicle for classroom discussion, and is not intended to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of the situation described. The Electronic Hallway is administered by the University of Washington's Evans School of Public Policy & Governance. This material may not be altered or copied without written permission from The Electronic Hallway. For permission, email
[email protected]. Electronic Hallway members are granted copy permission for educational purposes per Member’s Agreement (www.hallway.org). Copyright 2017 The Electronic Hallway http://www.fc2success.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/National-Fact-Sheet-on-the-Educational-Outcomes-of-Children-in-Foster-Care-Jan-2014.pdf http://www.fc2success.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/National-Fact-Sheet-on-the-Educational-Outcomes-of-Children-in-Foster-Care-Jan-2014.pdf http://www.fc2success.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/National-Fact-Sheet-on-the-Educational-Outcomes-of-Children-in-Foster-Care-Jan-2014.pdf mailto:
[email protected] collect information on sexual and gender minorities, national research indicated that more than 20% of youth in care identified as LGBTQ compared to 10% of the total population.4 Education Specialists at Fostering Success had requested more resources to support the marginalized youth on their caseloads, including youth of color and LGBTQ youth, especially as many were placed with white caregivers and in predominantly white schools or with caregivers who were religiously opposed to being gay or transgender. One staff person reflected, “Nearly half of my caseload is LGBTQ, and every single kid I’ve worked with who has attempted suicide is transgender.” Brooks understood that in order to influence graduation rates for youth in care, Fostering Success needed an equity strategy. She explained: “We had the kids already and we needed to figure out what to do to do a better job for them. We made a decision that addressing our staff diversity and our capacity to work together through diversity was the place to start to address the youth needs.” Fostering Success had already gone through four equity initiatives during Brooks’ tenure. Previous iterations were individually driven, voluntary, and had no budget allocations. This time was different. Brooks said, “We had decided, at an executive level, that cultural competency had to be addressed to achieve our goal. We were willing to invest. We had the resources to do it. It was not a strain.” Within months, Brooks hired Marcus Andrews, a straight African-American man, as CFO. Andrews, an accountant by trade, also oversaw human resources (see Appendix II: Modified Organization Chart). At Brooks’ direction, Andrews, with the help of Human Resources Manager Mary Bennett, a straight white woman, accepted a proposal from a regional equity and race relations consultant, Dr. Sydney Howell, to lead the agency’s equity efforts. In 2013, the Executive Team, with approval from the board, agreed to invest $30,000 annually for mandatory all-staff trainings and consultation with Dr. Howell on equity. Journey Begins Right up until the moment the equity plan was announced to Fostering Success staff, the Executive Team went back and forth on whether to focus their work through the lens of race or speak about equity more broadly. Ultimately, they decided to focus on race, determining they could apply the knowledge to all forms of inequality. Brooks explained, “It's sort of what's in the water right now. If you're in a majority white organization, that's the place you need to start.” 4 “Out of the Shadows: Supporting LGBTQ Youth in Child Welfare through Cross-System Collaboration” Center for the Study of Social Policy, 2016. http://www.floridaschildrenfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Out-of-the- Shadows-Supporting-LGBTQ-youth-in-child-welfare-through-cross-system-collaboration-web.pdf http://www.floridaschildrenfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Out-of-the-Shadows-Supporting-LGBTQ-youth-in-child-welfare-through-cross-system-collaboration-web.pdf http://www.floridaschildrenfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Out-of-the-Shadows-Supporting-LGBTQ-youth-in-child-welfare-through-cross-system-collaboration-web.pdf Brooks emphasized measurement: “From the beginning, I asked, how are we going to measure what will be different. It is still on my mind because I want a measurable impact. The things we could easily measure at this point are staff of color turnover and longevity.” Dr. Howell led the agency through several mandatory all-day trainings. The first workshop centered on unpacking racial stereotypes and understanding white privilege. The work was deeply personal and staff reactions were mixed. Some were eager to learn and discuss, while others were frustrated and didn’t know why they were required to participate. Dr. Howell also supported Fostering Success in forming an Equity Team. She worked with Bennett and Andrews to build a team of 10 interested staff who committed to meeting on a monthly basis. The team quickly agreed to a charter and began fleshing out a scope of work (see Appendix III: Equity Team Charter). Brooks, beyond meeting occasionally with Dr. Howell, was confident in Andrews’ leadership of the equity work and focused her attention elsewhere. Andrews attended meetings and updated the Executive Team on occasion. Over the course of the next year, the Equity Team formed subcommittees to work on projects like developing a diversity statement5 and creating a staff survey to measure indicators of equity within the organization. Many within the organization remained unclear as to the Team’s purpose. The Equity Team co-chair, Tenisha Price, a black Christian woman, suggested the Team hold a retreat to set direction. Dr. Howell was invited to facilitate to review accomplishments and set new goals. Conflict Builds In an all-staff meeting after the first training, James Richardson, a gay Native American man on the education program staff, remarked, “I’m tired of talking about racism all the time. When are we going to talk about LGBT issues?” Karen Hawkins, a black woman on the Equity Team and Director of Programs, responded, “Shame on you. How dare you try to change the subject when we are finally talking about racism.” This flashpoint was an early sign of conflicts to come. Bennett, in her HR role, began hearing of other equity related conflicts amongst staff. One employee formally complained that they heard Price deny the Holocaust. Bennett’s response was to advise the complaining staff person to tell Price, “You can have your beliefs, but I don’t want to hear about them.” Meanwhile, individual departments took the initiative and added “equity” as an agenda item to their bi-weekly meetings. These conversations, while intended to foster individual learning, also unearthed personal conflicts. One such conversation on transgender issues at a Development team meeting in June of 2015 centered on Caitlyn Jenner, a transgender woman who had just been featured on the cover of Vanity Fair. Price, a Development Coordinator, asked her team to respect her decision to not participate in the conversation. As Price was usually outspoken on topics of equity and inclusion, her request piqued her teammates’ interest. A co-worker followed up with her after the meeting, and Price explained her belief that transgender people were an abomination. Their conversation was in public space, and nearby staff wondered how to react. Conflict Explodes The next day, the Equity Team held their retreat. Price and her Development co-worker Charlie Schwartz, both on the Equity Team, entered the retreat with an unresolved conflict. Schwartz, a white gay man, asked if they could have a ‘courageous conversation’ to work through their conflict, and Dr. Howell agreed to facilitate. Schwartz voiced his concern that Price was not willing to discuss equity issues beyond race. He remarked, “I’m afraid you won’t show up as an ally for me the way that I and other white folks are trying to around racism.” Price argued that Fostering Success’s equity focus was on race, and that her beliefs about LGBTQ people didn’t pertain to the discussion. Schwartz disagreed with Price’s framing of the agency’s commitment to equity and asked her to work to end all forms of oppression. Price defended her position, citing religious beliefs and stating, “I hate the sin, but love the sinner” – referring to LGBTQ people. At this point, Hawkins, a fellow Christian, defended Price, arguing that she shouldn’t be judged for her religious beliefs. Hawkins described the increased scrutiny she felt as a black woman in a predominantly white