On the surface, then, the successful outcome of the proposal seems assured. The author must point out, however, that there is potentially a latent opposing force; it is an abstract one that may be difficult to understand, but it could have a compelling negative effect on the implementation of the plan. The negative force is the fact that despite their motivation, enthusiasm, willingness to work together, and their past history of successful collaboration, no one has taken the initiative before now to spearhead a joint initiative and to take the concrete steps that are necessary to realize such a project. This fact could hint at underlying resistance that is not immediately evident, and the author will continue to keep this possibility in mind as he prepares and implements the program. Another potential opposing force is high employee turnover. Employee attrition is a major problem in many social service agencies and often frustrates any long-term projects and initiatives, as continuity is disrupted when staff responsible for guarding knowledge or performing specific tasks leave their positions without training a replacement (Glisson, & Hemmelgarn, 1998; Kadushin & Harkness, 2000). Fortunately, the two agencies that would be involved in the workshop series have relatively low attrition rates; however, the possibility that attrition could impact the project negatively must be taken into account, especially since the project is envisioned as a year-long series designed for deep and rich sharing of best practices.

In order to mitigate the possibility of polluting effects from either of the opposing forces, the author would articulate these concerns to the manager liaisons at each agency as a means of assessing any underlying conflicts or sources of resistance that are not visible to him. He would also request that the manager liaisons inform him when any staff member has a plan to either withdraw from the workshop series or to terminate his or her employment with the agency so that a contingency plan can be made for the transfer of information and knowledge held by that person. The author would also establish and continually reaffirm with all participants how much they are valued as members of the sharing best practices process. As Knudsen, Johnson, and Roman (2003) have pointed out, the non-tangible rewards of praise and recognition can often make all the difference for keeping social service employees engaged, motivated, invested in, and committed to their work.

Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation

Building on the motivation and new program initiatives that are often instituted at the beginning of a new year, the author plans to hold the first workshop in the series in January, 2008. He has already initiated the planning stages, which have involved confirming the interest and securing the commitment of agency managers and determining the number and names of each of the agency’s participants. He has also made provisions for the meeting space; the agency that will be presenting each month will also serve as the host, and so each team of staff members will have opportunities to see the service sites of the other, will share responsibilities for hosting, and will have roughly the same commitments put upon them with respect to travel.

The goal of the project is to share best practices that can result in the implementation of a program—whether at each agency or in cooperation—that will serve substance using adults over the age of 50 with the best known practices to date in drug treatment and service provision to seniors. The objectives include the presentation of best practices material by each agency six times during the series; responsible parties include clinical staff and managers, working in cooperation with one another to determine themes, formats, and presenters for each meeting. The author will be available as a resource and support throughout the entire process. The success of the program must be evaluated throughout the entire series in order to identify, address, and correct any challenges or problems that arise that could compromise the achievement of the goal. The author believes that the best approach to program evaluation is to elicit stakeholder participation, as is suggested by the literature (Greene, 1988). To this end, the author is in the process of developing an evaluation instrument that will be distributed at the end of each workshop series so that he can determine what aspects of the meetings satisfy participants, how they feel the series is benefiting them, and what improvements they suggest for future workshops. The determination of the ultimate success of the project will be evidenced by the development of one or more treatment service programs for the target client population.

Reflection

Through the opportunity of this assignment, I learned that macro-level planning is complex because it must take a mind-boggling range of variables into account, especially in an area that has hitherto not been the target of a great deal of planning, organization and resources. I suppose that one of the reasons that many great ideas fail to evolve into actualized programs and projects is due to the challenges of these variables, which include but are by no means limited to determining who is responsible for implementation, how logistics are to be handled, and even how a goal is to be defined clearly. I know that I will learn even more through the direct experience of implementing the program fully and evaluating it as it unfolds, and I look forward to that learning experience.

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References

Glisson, C., & Hemmelgarn, A. (1998). The effects of organizational climate and

interorganizational coordination on the quality and outcomes of children’s service

systems. Child Abuse and Neglect, 22(5), 401-421.

Greene, J.G. (1988). Stakeholder participation and utilization in program evaluation. Evaluation

Review, 12(2), 91-116.

Kadushin, A., & Harkness, D. (2002). Supervision in social work. New York: Columbia

University Press.

Knudsen, H.K., Johnson, J.A., & Roman, P.M. (2003). Retaining counseling staff at substance

abuse treatment centers: Effects of management practices. Journal of Substance Abuse

Treatment, 24(2), 129-135.

Lewin, K. (1951). Field theory in social science. New York: Harper.