NH: Peer Support Offered on Leadership Days: Seacoast District Office Peer Support Meetings
Once per month, all NH DCYF Supervisors from across the state meet for a daylong "Leadership" meeting. While all supervisors are out of the District Offices, business operations continue in each office with seasoned CPSW's taking on the role of "acting supervisor" for the day. In the Seacoast DO, these days are also used to hold a peer support meeting, where staff can come together to process a variety of topics. The meetings are voluntary, however, most staff attend on a monthly basis. The CPSW IV who is "acting supervisor" for that day is the facilitator of the meeting.
Typically the meeting begins by asking if anyone has anything that they would like to discuss. The facilitator then asks about work "successes" that anyone would like to share. Participants share things that have taken place that are positive and are "feel good" statements. The meeting then moves on to any challenges that anyone is having that are work related. The challenges discussed are typically case specific. As a team, supportand suggestions are offered that might help the CPSW. If the meeting appears to raise a scenario that was particularly difficult for a CPSW, someone will be designated to follow up with further with that peer to continue to process the situation and provide support.
The group also discusses topics such as challenges that might be present regarding office culture, relationships, and feeling overwhelmed with current caseloads/workloads. This part of the meeting becomes very important for many people. It is a time when the discussion turns to concerns and challenges, and the facilitator needs to stay on task and keep the conversation solution focused. The goal is to come up with specific tasks or actions that will help the current issue. The focus is on solutions to the problems that have come up. It is not intended to be an environment to "complain" without offering solutions. When it is believed that an issue is something that needs supervisory attention, the group as a team comes up with information that should be brought back to the supervisors.
There is no written document to guide the facilitator through the meeting, however the team came up with the general flow of the meetings together.There are times the meeting strays off topic, and several years ago the meetings became a place for CPSW's to complain. The team discussed how to make the time more productive and it was then that the use of the "facilitator" to drive the flow of the meeting was implemented. Having one person keep the group on track as opposed to a "free for all" was a lesson learned. Additionally, having the facilitator rotate based on which seasoned CPSW is acting supervisor for the day allows for a slightly different tone to each meeting since each of the seasoned CPSW's have different strengths and skills. The team also learned that starting with the positives sets a good tone for the meeting.
As a team, the Seacoast DO leans on one another to process the difficulties of this work. A safe environment has been created for people to share their struggles. The development and continuation of this peer support meeting has enabled the Seacoast DO to create and sustain a supportive culture.