Regional Director Practice Profile

The Regional Director’s goal is to strategically lead their regional team to ensure that service delivery and capacity objectives are successfully met. The Regional Director is dedicated to building regional, county, and community-level partnerships and supports for the OhioKAN program in their region. Our dedication is rooted in community and family engagement as partners, identifying challenges, and shaping solutions. 

As Regional Directors, we provide these supports to our regional team to facilitate their ability to assist kinship caregivers and adoptive parents with accessing the services, resources, and social support they need to care for themselves and the children in their homes. This practice profile reflects the core practice skills and behaviors for Regional Directors of OhioKAN. Key principles of leadership and management approaches from Dare to Lead (Brown, 2018) informed the development of this practice profile¹.

Core Practice Skills

Engagement	Engagement begins at first encounter and is established through an honest, respectful, and empathetic approach. We establish trusting relationships with our regional team, the kinship and adoptive families we serve, public agencies, and community-based organizations, and providers. Genuine engagement with children, families, community members, and our team involves building relationships that are founded on trust and respect. It requires intentional examination of our own practice and active listening to understand and honor each person’s unique experiences, perspectives, strengths, and challenges.
Assessment	We listen, gather, and make meaning of information families share with us to understand the individuals’ and family’s strengths, needs, perspectives, and wishes. We know families are experts of their own experiences and create opportunities for them to express their needs. We understand that the needs of families can change; therefore, this collaborative process is ongoing through formal and informal interaction with the family. We structure strengths-based, open-ended questions that focus on family’s strengths and aspirations using appreciative inquiry and motivational interviewing techniques. We use this same practice skill as we gather information related to the strengths and needs of communities where OhioKAN families reside. Throughout this process, we have regular discussions focused on being responsive to the unique circumstances and preferences of each family. Remaining curious about community needs and strengths assists us to identify gaps in services and drives our outreach and relationship-building efforts with human service organizations, community providers, and stakeholders across our respective regions.
Intervention	We ensure our team has the initial training and ongoing coaching needed to implement OhioKAN with consistency and actively assist kinship and adoptive families in obtaining support, that is individualized and intended to achieve their identified goals. Meeting the needs identified and driven by the family and community is our priority. We know that families are the experts on their strengths, needs, and experiences. We partner with families to achieve their goals and work with the community to identify the services and supports they ask for. We actively note when community services are not available or accessible and make efforts and advocate to increase the service array.
Collaboration	We collaborate with our OhioKAN colleagues to create an effective, cohesive team. We intentionally partner with Coaches and partnering sites to provide navigation services with the tailored support they need to implement the OhioKAN program with fidelity and to serve OhioKAN families. We work to build a collaborative coalition of stakeholders, including youth and families with lived experience, from a cross-section of our community that will help us connect families to the services and supports they ask for, identify service gaps, and develop new service capacity to support the identified needs of kinship and adoptive families. We listen to and gather practice knowledge from our teams to inform collaborations and coalition building to bridge service gaps and provide services for families. We actively manage the partnering site and Navigator selection process and closely collaborate with partnering sites to ensure that Navigators are effectively trained and supported in their ability to deliver the OhioKAN services the family has identified, in a strengths-based, trauma-responsive, and solution-focused manner. We advocate alongside kinship and adoptive families for access to services to achieve their goals. The needs of kinship and adoptive families will evolve in our community, and we will continue to search for new and innovative collaborations to meet their needs.
Active Learner	We recognize active learning is an ongoing and vital component of the work we do in our community and with individual families. We endeavor to improve our response and array of supports to highlight families’ strengths, and address their needs. We embrace this commitment through continuous quality improvement activities such as participating in learning collaboratives, reviewing data, actively reflecting on our practice, and ongoing training and coaching. We also work to continuously examine our own practice, participate in listening and learning from all communities and contribute new knowledge to the broader field of kinship and adoption navigator programs.
Active Listening	We actively listen to our regional team and community stakeholders as they share their experiences collaborating with kinship and adoptive families through the OhioKAN program and other services. We are committed to an active listening style that is grounded in the knowledge that team members, partners, and families are the experts of their own experiences. By actively and attentively listening, we improve our understanding of the team’s and community’s strengths, growth areas, and needs. This enables us to identify appropriate supports, training, and skill development opportunities together. Active listening includes asking open-ended questions, summarizing, affirming, checking for understanding, and asking for permission to support them in identifying solutions. Our commitment to an active listening style is grounded in our core value of believing families and our teams, and the knowledge that families, partners, and colleagues are the experts of their own experiences.
Observation	We monitor and observe program performance and outcome data to ensure consistent implementation of the OhioKAN program model, actively participate in the CQI process, and inform strategic decision-making. We monitor CQI dashboards, regional performance reports, and service episode data to build understanding of OhioKAN’s reach, service population, community strengths, needs and barriers, fidelity and quality of services provided, and outcomes. Observation is an important part of our sustained commitment as it allows us to reflect on how our work impacts children, youth, and families – providing us with the opportunity to grow and improve.
Goal Setting	We co-create professional development goals with our regional team that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based. We also collaborate with partnering supervisors to achieve site performance indicators and set performance expectations. We support Navigators with the goals they have set with their Coach. These goals facilitate our team’s performance and fidelity to the OhioKAN program. We support our team to monitor progress towards professional development goals and build their capacity and confidence over time. We coach our team through goals by segmenting larger goals, identifying next steps to achieve those goals through joint action planning, developing strategies to foster growth in individual practice, and guiding learning, skill adoption, and competency in role responsibilities. We facilitate identification of strategic objectives and implementation planning with Regional Advisory Councils. We support our Regional Advisory Councils with setting specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based goals and objectives to achieve positive community impact.
Feedback	We clearly provide structured, timely, and constructive feedback to our team about strengths and impact based on our observations and program expertise. We provide feedback in a way that accounts for and respects a difference in perspective, learning styles, and approaches to the work. We practice the courage to say what we mean and mean what we say with the belief that being clear is kind, while being unclear is unkind. We incorporate motivational interviewing techniques and principles to deliver feedback in a strengths-based and affirming manner. We encourage our team to also share feedback about our supervisory relationship and we respond to this feedback in a way that is appreciative and accepting which affirms our commitment to continuous learning. We value our team’s perspectives to strengthen the supervisory dynamic and believe it contributes to a trusting environment. We foster a learning culture with our partnering sites, community partners, and Regional Advisory Councils by welcoming their thoughts and feedback on OhioKAN implementation. We believe that bidirectional feedback between ourselves and team members, partnering sites, community partners, and Regional Advisory Councils effectively supports our collective learning, practice improvement, and service delivery ability.
Reflection	We intentionally cultivate a safe space that encourages, affirms, and models vulnerability so that our OhioKAN team feels safe discussing areas where they may be struggling and need additional support. We explicitly name and discuss the complexity of the network of relationships OhioKAN staff are establishing with families, communities, and each other. We support our team in building awareness of how their own background and experiences impact interactions with families, partners, and colleagues. We cultivate best practices for respectful customer service. We facilitate reflection with our team by actively listening and using appreciative inquiry to reflect on their practice and performance, consider how this relates to their goals and the OhioKAN theory of change. We model vulnerability when debriefing practice and performance experiences with OhioKAN team members, partnering sites, and Regional Advisory Councils to prompt self-reflections. We reflect in a way that is respectful of all involved, allowing reflection and discussion about topics that the team is interested in speaking about. We remind our team to share only as much as they are willing, able, and feel safe sharing. We are nonjudgmental and empathetic in these reflections. We demonstrate accountability for our decisions and actions and are vulnerable when confronting difficult situations. We share our own intentional strategies for addressing discord and concerns and encourage others to identify their own. Through active listening, we can support our team, partners, and Regional Advisory Councils to examine our own practice to improve service delivery of the OhioKAN program and achieve positive outcomes for kinship and adoptive families.

Our Core Practice Skills in Action for Team Leadership
When supporting and leading my regional team,

• Build trust within the regional team by creating opportunities to frame challenges in our own words, co-create solutions, and support each other in elevating areas of concern to the statewide OhioKAN team. (Engagement and Collaboration)
• Regularly share program updates and information with team members to ensure everyone is aware of the same realities. Be mindful of boundaries and pay attention to what information is shared with the team and when. Create space for the team to ask questions, clarify assumptions, and identify knowledge and/or skills to further develop. (Collaboration)
• Encourage regional team members to identify practice strengths and growth areas they have observed for themselves individually and for the team. Ensure your full understanding of team members’ strengths and needs by asking open-ended questions. (Engagement and Active Listening)
• Engage in tough conversations with yourself about practice and leadership skills by critically and constructively reflecting on decisions made, program contributions, interactions with team members and challenges experienced. Demonstrate vulnerability and accountability with yourself about areas to improve and strengths before doing so with team members. (Reflection)
• Demonstrate authenticity and accountability by welcoming feedback on your leadership skills and abilities. Dig deeper to understand how your behaviors can affect and/or hinder the team. Model courage and curiosity by asking team members to provide constructive criticism of behaviors and areas for you to improve. Confront the difficult conversations and co-create solutions for leadership improvement. (Feedback)
• Lead with empathy and acknowledge team members’ feelings and comfort levels, especially when implementing difficult decisions or confronting challenging situations. Model self-awareness and self-compassion as key values for the team. (Engagement)
• Inspire a shared sense of purpose by consistently celebrating individual, regional, and program successes, implementation progress, and impact of the regional team’s efforts. (Engagement)
• Engage with vulnerability when situations call for it by leaning into difficult conversations to build the team’s collective courage and comfort addressing difficulties and concerns. Be mindful of team members’ varying levels of ease participating in these conversations and provide targeted support to those that may need it. Create space for yourself and team members to acknowledge individual and collective challenges and reflect on how underpinning emotions can affect team dynamics and practice. (Reflection)

When supervising and coaching regional team members,

• Build authentic, productive relationships with team members through regular connection and communication. Practice empathy when team members express challenges or identify struggles. Recognize individual and collective contributions to OhioKAN’s success and ensure that all team members feel heard, seen, and respected to create an innovative and collaborative work environment. (Collaboration and Engagement)
• During individual supervisory meetings, facilitate reflections with regional team members on their performance, practice, and service delivery. Remind the team, supervisory sessions are also a learning environment for them to ask questions and feel safe sharing and discussing areas where they are struggling and need support. Demonstrate vulnerability by identifying your own areas for improvement and model strategies for addressing them. (Reflection)
• Set boundaries for what are appropriate work behaviors and activities within the OhioKAN team and with partnering sites. Clarify the communication, meeting participation, and teaming behaviors that are ok, which are not, and why to establish ground rules and performance expectations. (Engagement)
• Routinely use appreciative inquiry during individual supervisory meetings. Ask team members to share their thoughts and reflections on their practice strengths, growth areas, and challenges. Actively listen and practice empathy when they describe their experiences and any challenges they’ve encountered. Use guiding questions like the ones below to prompt reflections (Reflection and Active Listening)
  • Which aspects of your interactions with OhioKAN families, partnering sites, or community providers do you feel most confident about?  Which aspects of your interactions would you like to grow more confident in?
  • What is something you wish you had done differently/plan to do differently in the future? 
  • What is a challenge you are trying to solve? What solutions have you tried so far?
  • Based on the challenge(s) you identified, could it lead to meaningful learning on a specific skill set, behavior, or program knowledge?
• Listen for themes across the team’s reflections to inform how best to support them and whether challenges are community-based and could be experienced by more than one team member. Circle back to common themes related to the community that may be useful to bring to the Regional Advisory Council for further discussion. When we are interested in identifying or further addressing these challenges and shaping solutions, it is important that we actively seek perspectives of people and communities who will be impacted. (Active Listening)
• Assist team members to navigate complex team dynamics and challenging situations within the OhioKAN team and/or the partnering site. Build team members’ capacity to address conflicts directly, honestly, and empathetically through guided reflections on the situation, their behaviors, and strategies to resolve issues and cultivate a collaborative partnership. If issues persist, intervene as needed to provide additional support to the team member(s) and facilitate a resolution. (Engagement)

When providing individual feedback to regional team members,

• Recognize the potential of each team member and devote time and energy to developing each member’s abilities. Co-create professional development goals and clearly communicate the standards, expectations, deliverables, and deadlines. Use performance data and qualitative observations of practice to understand team members’ progress towards achieving goals, growing their capacity, and leveraging their potential. (Observation and Goal Setting)
• Regularly provide individual feedback to regional team members using a structured, strengths-based approach. When beginning feedback, establish feedback norms by asking team members what they need to feel safe in the conversation. Gently remind team members that you are available to provide additional guidance and support to reinforce their learning and understanding of the program and can connect them with a resource for further support (Feedback)
• Ensure that team members understand OhioKAN policies, strategies for engaging partnering sites, and approaches to leverage community resources and provide guidance for any procedural updates or program changes. Ask if there are any questions about the core elements of the OhioKAN program. (Feedback)
• Emphasize team members’ individual, positive contributions to OhioKAN program outcomes by identifying their performance and practice strengths. Discuss the positive behaviors and performance you observed and provide clear examples. Link the positive practices observed to team members’ respective professional development goals and progress towards achieving them. (Feedback)
• Lean into the tough conversations with team members about performance concerns. Share concerns by using a clear, empathetic, compassionate approach. Let team members know that you recognize their ability to execute their respective roles. Identify the growth areas you observed, provide specific examples of how they can improve and ask what they need from you as they grow. Ask for feedback on your observation(s) and affirm that they understand your reasons for identifying the growth areas. Remind team members that you are specifying growth areas to strengthen their ability to effectively implement the OhioKAN program and contribute to its positive outcomes for families. (Feedback)
• Suggest strategies and guidance on ways team members can address growth areas and improve performance. Provide additional training resources and learning materials that can aid their development. Ask if they have additional ideas on ways to improve. (Feedback)
• Check in with team members to see whether they have any challenges, concerns or unmet needs you can support them with as well as any feedback for ways to improve the supervisory relationship. (Active Listening, Feedback, and Engagement)
• Following feedback, jointly plan next steps and strategies to address identified concerns and growth areas with team members. (Collaboration)

When supporting the CQI process,

• Actively participate in each month’s Learning Collaborative session by sharing observations on how the program is implemented in your respective region and identify general growth areas to improve consistency of practice. (Observation and Engagement)
• Routinely check in with regional team members on progress towards benchmarks and targets for data collection and program fidelity. Through regular discussion with team members, emphasize the importance of the CQI process to our sustained commitment as it allows us to reflect on how our work impacts children, youth, and families – providing us all with the opportunity to grow and improve. Ensure benchmarks are grounded in this sustained commitment. (Observation and Engagement)
• Regularly follow up with team members during team meetings or supervisory sessions about progress implementing small tests of change identified in the Learning Collaborative. (Engagement and Active Learner)
• Champion evaluation and CQI practices for the region by exploring the team’s challenges and strengths with collecting and using CQI and evaluation data to support constructive learning and promote practice and performance improvements. (Active Learner)

When overseeing regional program performance and partnering site engagement,

• Review each month’s CQI information and partnering site performance data to become familiar with regional trends in service episode rates, identified needs on the BASICS, and referrals provided. (Assessment, Observation, and Intervention)
• Ensure the regional team members (including partnering site Navigators) are making progress towards their key performance indicators (KPIs), implementing the program with fidelity, and documenting their practice as required by regularly reviewing the CQI fidelity indicators and the monthly performance report. (Observation)
• Regularly meet with the regional team collectively and individually to understand individual and team-level strengths and performance challenges. (Observation)
• Encourage peer learning amongst the regional team by actively participating in Learning Collaborative sessions and prompting colleagues to share their best practice and lessons learned with each other. (Active Learner)
• Follow up individually with Coaches to understand observed region’s performance strengths and barriers and discuss collaboration with partnering sites and Navigators. (Assessment and Collaboration)
• Recognize the potential of each partnering site and clearly communicate engagement expectations and ground rules with them. Set performance goals with partnering sites at the start of the partnership. Regularly meet with partnering site leadership on performance to build rapport and adjust expectations as needed. (Assessment, Goal Setting, and Collaboration)
• Meet monthly with each site’s partnering supervisor to review performance benchmarks and outcome data. Celebrate success, inquire about challenges, and jointly identify areas for growth at the site or Navigator level. (Assessment and Collaboration)
• Demonstrate a willingness to have tough conversations with partnering sites about performance concerns or challenges. (Engagement) Create space for yourself and partnering sites to acknowledge any challenges and discord. Collectively reflect on how underpinning emotions and our own experiences can affect partnership dynamics and overall practice. (Collaboration, and Reflection)
• In partnership with Coaches, use performance benchmarks and outcome data to inform decision-making related to site partnerships. Address site performance barriers promptly in a clear, kind, understanding manner and co-create strategies with the partnering supervisor to address identified challenges. (Assessment and Active Learner)
• When challenging interpersonal or performance-based situations arise with partnering sites, clearly articulate concerns directly with partnering site leadership. Demonstrate patience and humility when discussing challenges by engaging partnering site leadership on performance reflections and open-ended questions to understand their perspectives and potential challenges that may be influencing site engagement. Create opportunities to problem solve in partnership with the partnering site and learn from these approaches. If challenges persist with a partnering site, elevate issues to the statewide OhioKAN Program Director and Program Manager for their support and further attention. (Collaboration, Engagement, and Active Listening)

Our Core Practice Skills in Action for Community Engagement
When leading and engaging with the Regional Advisory Council,

• Ensure that all members of your region’s Regional Advisory Council actively participate in meetings and that all voices are heard. (Engagement)
• Strategically and effectively guide the Regional Advisory Council in developing a regional implementation plan and continuously reviewing and modifying it as needed. In partnership with the Regional Advisory Council, identify and articulate key priorities and strategies for the regional implementation plan using data from the regional readiness assessment and programmatic data. (Collaboration and Assessment)
• Regularly ask for feedback from Regional Advisory Council members to identify new or revised priorities for capacity building and strategies to accomplish them in the regional implementation plan. Challenge them to test to their assumptions on why they think certain strategies will be effective. Emphasize the importance of using data and evidence to inform decision-making within the Regional Advisory Council. (Collaboration)
• Emphasize OhioKAN’s program successes, implementation progress, and impact of the Regional Advisory Council to inspire a shared sense of purpose. (Engagement) 
• Discuss trends in service needs, community providers available, and common themes across engagements with OhioKAN families with the Regional Advisory Council.
  Engage members in continuous discussion around common themes that may arise.(Engagement and Collaboration)
• Create space and opportunities for direct practice experts to frame challenges in their own words and support them in elevating areas of concern to the Regional Advisory Council in partnership with Coaches. (Engagement and Collaboration)

When building relationships and connections with the community,

• Explore and execute strategies for targeted outreach to key stakeholders to build, engage, and sustain the membership of your region’s Regional Advisory Council and achieve their buy-in for OhioKAN’s theory of change. Follow up on outreach using a variety of communication channels to build OhioKAN’s larger community network. (Engagement)
• Actively forge, cultivate, and maintain effective collaborative relationships with key regional, county, and local stakeholders to strengthen OhioKAN’s presence within the community by attending and participating in community events, reaching out to individuals and groups, and leveraging existing OhioKAN community relationships to further strengthen OhioKAN’s community presence. (Engagement)
• Regularly meet with and actively listen to all kinship caregivers, adoptive parents, and young people with lived experience youth to understand their experiences navigating social service systems within their communities and the services they participated in with OhioKAN. (Engagement)
• Attentively research regional, county, and community-level human service organizations to develop nuanced understanding of their organizational objectives, decision- making structures, areas of subject matter expertise, priority concerns, and opportunities for further collaboration and partnership to support kinship and adoptive families. (Engagement and Active Learner)
• Explore new opportunities as well as support and promote existing venues for community, kinship, and adoptive family stakeholders to collaborate, connect, and engage with each other to strengthen community-family relations. (Engagement and Collaboration)

Our Core Practice Skills in Action for Partnering with Families
When receiving an initial contact,

• During the initial contact, keep in mind this may be the caregiver/adoptive parent’s first interaction with OhioKAN. It is important that their experience with you is marked by professionalism, acceptance and humility. The caregiver/adoptive parent is exercising strength and courage by calling, and it is an honor to receive their call.  One of the objectives of this initial call is to determine if OhioKAN is the right program for the caregiver/adoptive parent (Engagement)
• During the initial contact, explain your role and create space for the caregiver/adoptive parent to tell you their story to gently lead the caregiver/adoptive parent to answer the screening questions (outlined in Ohio SACWIS). This connection with the caregiver/adoptive parent is a conversation, rather than a formal interview. It is likely that the answers to the screening will present themselves while they share their story. Do ask for clarity, be mindful to not make assumptions about what you are hearing. Ask the caregiver/adoptive parent for their contact information. (Engagement and Assessment)
• Approach the conversation through a trauma-responsive lens by understanding the trauma kinship and adoptive families may experience remaining empathic, and staying solution focused. (Engagement and Assessment)
• If the caregiver/adoptive parent does not meet the service criteria for OhioKAN, explain why and refer them to the appropriate service provider(s) or resource, if possible, to address their concerns. (Intervention)
• If the caregiver/adoptive parent meets OhioKAN criteria, explain how OhioKAN can support them. Ask the caregiver/adoptive parent if they would like to participate in the OhioKAN program and get their permission to gather a bit more information about their situation through the BASICS. (Assessment)

Our Core Practice Skills in Action for Families Screened into OhioKAN
When opening an OhioKAN service episode,

• After the caregiver/adoptive parent has been screened in to OhioKAN and given consent to participate in the program, complete the BASICS with the caregiver/adoptive parent to gain an initial understanding of the family’s strengths and needs. Through open, transparent, and nonjudgmental communication, you show the caregiver/adoptive parent you see them, respect them, and believe they know what is best for their family. Explain that the BASICS helps you learn about their needs so that you can provide them with tailored support. Let the caregiver/adoptive parent set the pace for the conversation while they share more details about why they called OhioKAN and what services and support they’re looking for (Engagement , Assessment and Active Learner)
• Based on the caregiver/adoptive parent’s responses to the BASICS and by practicing self-reflection on what you have learned from the family and their needs, determine whether you can respond to their needs with referral information. (Assessment and Reflection)
• If the caregiver/adoptive parent is receiving Connect Service Levels, provide the caregiver/adoptive parent with the appropriate referrals and information to community providers and resources. Ensure the caregiver/adoptive parent knows they can reach out to you at any time to address any needs or concerns that arise; provide the caregiver/adoptive parent with your email and phone number. (Engagement and Intervention).
• Let the caregiver/adoptive parent know that you would like to follow up with them to see how they are doing and check if they have any other needs you can help with. Ask the caregiver/adoptive parent if you may follow up with them within two weeks and ask if they have a preferred contact method (Engagement and Assessment)
• Ask the caregiver/adoptive parent if they are willing to participate in a satisfaction survey after the follow-up. (Active Learner)

Our Core Practice Skills in Action for Reflection
When I reflect,

• When you feel uncomfortable, get curious about it. Reach out to your peers or someone you trust to debrief. (Reflection and Collaboration)
• Create opportunities to collaboratively reflect with your Regional Team and/or peers on current practice and discuss ways to improve or change to develop a more positive experience for all. (Reflection and Collaboration)
• When you realize you may have hurt or offended someone by what you have done or not done, apologize and take steps to make amends and improve. (Reflection and Active Learner)
• When someone comes to you about how you may have hurt or offended them – listen and ask questions to make sure you understand, thank them for bringing this to your attention, take accountability and apologize. Reflect after the conversation on ways you can prevent a situation like this in the future. (Reflection, Active Learner, and Active Listening)
  Identify your own strengths, areas of growth, and places where you need to ask for support. (Reflection) 
• Reflect on how your experiances are similar and different than those of your Regional Team and/or peers. Even if you have shared experiences, differentiate your own experiences from the experiences of those on your Regional Team or colleagues. (Reflection)
• Questions to ask myself as I reflect (Reflection and Engagement). In what ways…
  • Did I support participation?
  • Did I create opportunities for my Regional Team or a team member to be vulnerable? 
  • Did I respond to vulnerability?

1. Brown, B. (2018). Dare to lead: Brave work, tough conversations, whole hearts. Random House. [↩]