Appreciative Inquiry Model: A Positive Approach to Change

Organizations work best when:
 The "joint is jumping!" -vibrant and fun
 You sense the spirit of the organization is vital and healthy
 People feel pride in their work
 Everyone builds on each other's successes
 There is an infectious, positive can do attitude
 The glow of success is shared
 Positive energy is appreciated and celebrated so it deepens and lasts

In other words, organizations function less desirably missing one or more elements above. The organizational culture has great impact on productivity, employee satisfaction, workplace morale and other aspects. Appreciative Inquiry (AI) amplifies the pockets of excellence to create positive organizational culture.

Just a short list of the many organizations that have benefitted from the AI process includes GTE, Avon, the United Nations, the city of Chicago, multiple school districts and the U.S. Navy.

The differences between AI and the traditional problem solving process are outlined below:

Instead of starting out by identifying root causes of a certain problem, AI encourages the discovery and appreciation of strengths and unique attributes. Appreciating the best of what is lays the ground for envisioning intriguing possibilities in the future, followed by co-determining realistic objectives and practices. The ultimate purpose is to put the propositions into sustained action that will allow positive organizational change to occur. The following diagram depicts key steps in conducting AI.

4D Model

Five processes common to all AI models
1. Choose the positive as the focus of the inquiry
2. Inquire into stories of life-giving forces
3. Locate themes that appear in the stories and select topics for further inquiry
4. Create shared images of the future
5. Find innovative ways to create the future
Five Factors for Success
1. A clearly defined and important purpose
2. A relentless focus on the positive
3. A willingness to commit the time and resources needed to do what is necessary
4. Inclusiveness: all key stakeholders should be involved
5. Trust in, and commitment to the process

To learn more and read about AI in action internationally, check out The AI Commons at http://appreciativeinquiry.case.edu/

Partnership with Meta House

Meta House is an internationally-recognized treatment program for women struggling with drug and alcohol addiction and their children. Meta House’s services help women stop using alcohol and drugs, and also assist them in tackling a host of other challenges such as past trauma, parenting, poverty, unemployment, poor physical/mental health, etc. Their innovative and holistic treatment programs have been proven successful.

Meta House has three grants from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to provide substance abuse treatment to women and their children. Below is a brief outline of three ongoing programs funded by the grants.

Preserving and Reuniting Families in Recovery (PRFR) provides residential treatment to women with substance use and co-occurring mental health disorders who are pregnant or postpartum and to their children, while also serving children’s fathers, partners, and other family members.

Recovery and Health (R&H) provides outpatient treatment to women with substance use disorders who are at high risk of HIV infection/transmission and to their children.

Housed in Recovery (HIR) provides outpatient treatment and facilitates housing for homeless women and their children in early recovery from substance use and co-occurring mental health disorders.

The Planning Council has developed a long-term partnership with Meta House to help them evaluate the work that they do. We are currently collaborating with them to evaluate the abovementioned programs through pre-post analyses of extensive interview data collected from women at program intake, at discharge, and at six- and 12-month follow-ups.

To know more about Meta House and their services, please go to their website: http://metahouse.org/index.html

Planning Council at the 17th Annual Alzheimer's Memory Walk in Wisconsin

The nation's largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer care – the Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk – took place in Milwaukee at Mount Mary College on October 2nd, 2010. Team Planning Council participated to raise awareness and help support research to reduce and eliminate the risk of dementia.

Catie Uggeri, Lonna Kruse and Erin Malcolm represented the Planning Council at the walk, raising a total of $245 from co-workers, family and friends. Catie said, “The experience has helped me recognize people who need services. I am more motivated to raise awareness for seniors. I’m glad that we are part of the effort.”

According to Tom Hlavacek, Executive Director of the event, there were over 2,345 participants in total and so far almost $335,000 has been raised to help achieve the mission, which is to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through research, provide and enhance care and support for all affected and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health. He extended his gratitude on behalf of the Alzheimer's Association to everyone who supported the walk in Milwaukee County, "Your support will make a difference in many lives, including the 50,000 people living with Alzheimer’s disease in Southeastern Wisconsin."

Want to join the fight against this devastating disease? Check out the Alzheimer’s Association website: http://www.alz.org/index.asp

New Neighbor, New Cooperation, New Development

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) has decided to develop the historic Pabst brewery site into the new home for the new School of Public Health. We at the Planning Council for Health and Human Services are very pleased to welcome them to the neighborhood in the near future. By locating the School of Public Health downtown, UWM hopes to “connect their faculty and students with others dedicated to addressing the public health needs of the state”. Their mission of serving the community aligns with ours. We are interested in and looking forward to possible cooperation with them.

For starters, we are glad to help them spread the word about several interesting speeches that are going to be presented by candidates for the Community Behavioral Health Promotion/Health Disparities faculty positions. The next one is tomorrow (Friday, Sept. 24). Anyone who is interested is welcomed to join Dr. Joshua Garoon in Room 181, UWM Student Union from 9:30 – 10:30 am in the discussion of Health, Everyday Life, and the Art of Poaching: Comparing Community-Based Research Approaches in Rural Zambia and Urban Baltimore.

We have also been informed of future presentation dates (all at 9:30 am):

Oct 8
Oct 18
Oct 22
Oct 28

More details can be found here. We will keep you posted.

Your friends at the Planning Council are planning to attend the talks. We are curious about how the scholarly findings can translate into our projects. Hopefully, we will be able to take away something that might shed light on our work.

Planning Council Supports Mental Health Services for Youth

Did you know that...

• Research predicts that approximately 26,000 children living in Milwaukee currently have an unmet need for mental health treatment?
• In 2008, the Planning Council for Health and Human Services, Inc. facilitated an outcome-focused planning process to develop strategies to help students with emergent mental health needs achieve educational and life success?
• The Greater Milwaukee Foundation recently awarded $150,000 to the Planning Council to support a coalition in implementing a pilot program to improve youth mental health services?

Milwaukee's Youth Mental Health Initiative (MYMHI) is a pilot program that will allow community providers to deliver services in schools or other convenient locations, raise awareness about mental health among teachers and parents, and develop policy solutions to sustain funding for mental health services for youth over the long-term.

Partners include representatives from Pathfinders, Aurora Family Services, Rogers Memorial Hospital, Sebastian Family Psychology Practice, Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS), the City Health Department, Milwaukee County, Medical College of Wisconsin, and HMOs.

MYMHI will be implemented this fall in four diverse MPS schools (Hopkins Street Elementary School, Audubon Technology and Communications Center, Wedgewood Park International School, and O.W. Holmes Elementary School), and will focus on students who have needs that extend beyond what can be addressed in a traditional school setting, but are not yet at a crisis level.

Planning Council Supports Healthy Infants

Did you know that…

Milwaukee’s black infant mortality rate—13.85 per 1,000 live births—is higher than the infant mortality rate in 60 other countries, including Jamaica, Ukraine, Costa Rica and Malaysia?

The Milwaukee Lifecourse Initiative for Healthy Families (LIHF) was awarded a $250,000 grant from the Oversight and Advisory Committee of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, part of a $10 million overall commitment to address infant mortality among African-Americans in Wisconsin?

The Planning Council for Health and Human Services, Inc., and the Women’s Fund of Greater Milwaukee are facilitating an action planning process for the Milwaukee LIHF coalition?

The Milwaukee LIHF coalition includes more than 60 local organizations, and is being co-chaired by Dr. Earnestine Willis of the Medical College of Wisconsin and Dr. Patricia McManus of the Black Health Coalition of Wisconsin. The coalition will work to improve access to maternal and child health resources, strengthen African-American families, and create an action plan specific to Milwaukee. To achieve these goals the coalition will engage a wide variety of stakeholders, including African-American families across the generations, the faith community, funders and the general public. Once the plan is in place, the coalition will present that to the Wisconsin Partnership Program for potential implementation awards.

To learn more about the Milwaukee LIHF project, visit the project website at http://milwaukee-lihf.wikispaces.com/ .

Planning Council Supports Latino Older Adults

Did you know that…

· The prevalence of depression among elderly Latinos is higher than for the general population of older adults?
· Studies show that Latinos underutilize mental health services in general and often do not receive treatment for depression?
· Centro de la Communidad Unida / United Community Center (UCC) has established the Un Nuevo Amanecer / A New Dawn program, funded by SAMHSA’s Center for Mental Health Services, to provide services to elderly Latinos who are experiencing symptoms of depression?

The Planning Council is currently working in partnership with UCC to evaluate the Un Nuevo Amanecer program. The program uses an evidence-based model to assist participants who have symptoms of serious depression. Midway through the three year grant, 108 elderly Latinos have been served by the program. Preliminary findings comparing program participants’ emotional and physical status when they entered the program to their status six month later indicate that:
· Participants’ level of depression has decreased substantially,
· Participants’ level of physical functioning has increased, and
· Participants have felt more socially connected.

To learn more about Un Nuevo Amanecer program or other services provided by Centro de la Communidad Unida / United Community Center, visit their website at http://www.unitedcc.org.