Reporting To Environmental Scan Participants:
An executive summary of the plan, including the proposed community vision, agency mission, critical initiatives, and objectives is prepared for the environmental scan group. The group is then reconvened. Through a facilitated process similar to the original environmental scan process, the group responds to these questions:
· What do you like about the vision statement and what would make is better?
· What do you like about the mission statement and what would make it better?
· Are the critical initiatives appropriate and understandable?
· Will you personally help the agency achieve the strategic plan’s goals?
(a) If so, how will you help?
(b) If not, how would the plan need to be changed so you will want to help?
All data generated through this process is collected, analyzed, and given to the guiding group for its consideration during its four-month follow-up session.
The PCSAO has facilitated strategic planning in more than fifty public child protection agencies. If you were to lay the vision statements thus created side-by-side, you would observe that, although the wording changes, the primary themes from vision statement to vision statement are virtually identical. People want the same things:
· For their children, they want safety and opportunity.
· For their families, they want strength and stability.
· For their communities, they want an environment that is supportive and responsive to children and families.
If you were to similarly lay the mission statements developed through this process side-by-side, you would see that they, too, are practically identical. (For example, see the LCCS vision and mission statements in a later chapter.) They consistently emphasize and focus on:
· Increasing the safety and permanence for children.
· Increasing the stability of families.
· Providing high quality services.
· Developing effective community partnerships.