KIDS Center 2023-25 Strategic Plan

Strategic Plan

Why do we need a strategic plan?

In our rapidly-growing region, a strategic plan helps us meet the need.

KIDS Center was founded in 1994 to lead our community’s response to child abuse. Over the years, KIDS Center has evolved and grown, adding services and expanding our reach across Central Oregon. Today, KIDS Center is a leading children’s advocacy center with one of the largest geographic footprints in the nation.

Central Oregon continues to experience profound changes, driven in large part by an influx of new residents, a dramatically-increased cost of living, a housing shortage, and a greater demand for community services and resources. Families across Central Oregon have been impacted by these changes. As a result, KIDS Center has seen an increased need for our services.

A strategic plan is a valuable road map for how we can meet the needs of our region and also keep our organization strong, supportive and financially sound. THE

How was the plan developed?

We sought input from our partners, clients, staff, and board of directors...and enlisted a consultant.

We began by gathering input from a wide range of voices—including our community partners in child welfare, law enforcement, other human services professionals, county representatives, parents and caregivers of former clients, donors and supporters, KIDS Center staff, and our Board of Directors. We enlisted a planning consultant to guide our work and established a Strategic Planning Committee comprised of board and staff. Over the course of this 10-month process, the Board of Directors provided significant input and approved the plan on July 26, 2022. The resulting plan is a fully-realized strategy which brings our key initiatives into focus and will guide KIDS Center over the next three years.

We are extremely grateful to everyone who gave their time to the development of our strategic plan.

Strategic Planning Committee: Sandy Cummings, Leslie Neugebauer, Talena Barker, Lois Vallerga, Dave DeRose, Ginger Theis-Stevens, Gabrielle Allender, Gil Levy

Mission, Vision, Values Work Group: Jill Hartley, Rachel Visser, Dawn Boone, Lois Vallerga, Gil Levy

Service Access & Excellence Work Group: Terra Tyger, Carla Grinuck-Wood, Lois Day, Gabrielle Allender, Gil Levy

Organizational Capacity & Sustainability Work Group: Jason Nunez-Mooney, Ali Dietz, Talena Barker, Ginger Theis-Stevens, Gil Levy

Partners and Collaborators: Rebekah Lambert of Range2Basin Strategic Deschutes County Child Abuse Multidisciplinary Team Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office

Crook County District Attorney’s Office Oregon Department of Human Services Child Welfare–Central Oregon District Management (Bend Office, Redmond Office, Jefferson County Office, Crook County Office)

Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Bend Police Department Redmond Police Department Sunriver Police Department Crook County School District KIDS Center Staff Parents/Caregivers of former KIDS Center Clients Donors/Supporters

How will the plan work?

We’ll implement our plan and measure our success through continual consideration and review.

Staff and board will consistently use the Strategic Plan to guide our work and treat it as a living document. Relevant staff teams will be assigned to work on specific aspects of the plan, and the staff leadership team will regularly review our progress and adjust our areas of focus to support consistent progress towards our objectives.

We will use monthly staff meetings to provide updates on the Strategic Plan and discuss accomplishments. The Executive Committee of the Board will review our progress and updates to the Strategic Plan at least twice yearly and report back to the full Board of Directors.

Elements of the

AT THE HEART OF KIDS CENTER

Mission, Vision & Values

OUR MISSION

We lead our region’s response to child abuse.

• KIDS Center serves as a hub and provides comprehensive services for children and families impacted by abuse.

• We help our community partners be more effective.

• We help front-line workers better understand and respond to abuse.

• We make our region safer for children.

• We embrace our role as a leader in our state.

OUR VISION

All children will be safe from abuse.

• We will protect more children by changing how our communities think about abuse.

• We will help more children experiencing abuse— in every corner of our region.

OUR CORE VALUES

EXCELLENCE

Find new ways to make things better.

EQUITY Strive to meet people’s real needs.

CARE

Support each other so we can show up for the people who need us.

IMPACT

Make a difference. Make it happen. TEAMWORK Embrace collaboration.

INTEGRITY

Do the right thing.

TRUST Be open. Be honest. Assume good intentions.

EMPATHY Be curious. Seek to understand.

HUMILITY

Build upon your strengths and recognize your weaknesses.

STRATEGIC FOCUS Service Access & Excellence

Service Access & Excellence

2023-25 Initiatives

1. Increase our capacity to conduct 8-10 child abuse evaluations per week by summer 2022.

2. Strengthen partner relationships and increase our partners’ utilization of training programs.

3. Ensure therapy services have the capacity to meet client needs.

4. Enhance service access for children in Crook and Jefferson Counties and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. Explore options for providing services to children in Harney, Sherman, and Wheeler Counties.

Desired Outcomes

Children, families, and partners will have easier access and shorter wait times for KIDS Center services.

Client and partner satisfaction will trend even stronger.

Partners will increasingly turn to KIDS Center for resources and trainings, and refer more cases.

We will serve a greater number of children throughout our tri-county area, and we will have a plan for serving children in rural counties.

Service Access & Excellence

INITIATIVE #1

Strategies:

a. Maintain full staff in core positions, including Forensic Interviewer and Medical Examiner roles.

INITIATIVE #2

Strategies:

a. Schedule and conduct initial post-pandemic on-site visits in 2022.

b. Develop and implement partner communication plan around KIDS Center service capacity and wait times, including targeted outreach to our referral sources.

c. Identify key individuals in each county to cultivate and maintain relationships with over time and assign relationship management to appropriate KIDS Center staff.

d. Develop annual calendar to guide outreach, training, on-site visitation to each county.

e. Continue to provide quarterly newsletter to each county containing training opportunity information, KC referral information, and prevention resources.

Strengthen partner relationships and increase training utilization.

Increase our capacity to conduct 8-10 child abuse evaluations per week by summer 2022.

Strategies:

a. Build a case to support adding a third full-time therapist position.

b. Continue to provide KC therapists with high-quality training to advance their expertise in evidence-based treatment modalities for trauma.

c. Identify and plan to submit grant applications for funding to support therapy program following the expiration of our Federal grant in 2024.

INITIATIVE #3

Ensure therapy services have the capacity to meet client needs.

Service Access & Excellence

INITIATIVE #4

Enhance service access for children in Crook and Jefferson Counties and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.

Explore options for providing services to children in Harney, Sherman, and Wheeler Counties.

Strategies:

a. Assess local service options and unmet needs with partners in each county.

b. Identify lessons learned from past experiences with localized service delivery.

c. Develop plan for providing on-site or more closely located services across multiple counties.

d. Identify primary option for providing services in rural counties and pursue resources to support.

e. Strengthen Advisory Council model.

Organizational Capacity & Sustainability

Organizational Capacity & Sustainability

2023-35 Initiatives

1. Enhance staff recruitment and retention. 2. Strengthen connections with our donors and community. 3. Ensure our events remain current, vibrant and successful. 4. Explore our potential to serve a broader region.

Desired Outcomes

Fully support Service Access and Excellence Initiatives through people, systems and resources.

Organizational Capacity & Sustainability

INITIATIVE #1

Enhance staff recruitment and

Strategies:

retention.

a. Ensure compensation and benefits are competitive and clearly explained.

b. Expand training opportunities.

c. Nurture a supportive organizational culture.

d. Provide opportunities for Board/Staff Interaction.

INITIATIVE #2

Strengthen connections with our donors and community.

Strategies:

a. Rebuild volunteer program.

b. Review and revamp stewardship practices for existing donors (more touchpoints without asks).

c. Increase revenue through online giving.

d. Develop planned giving program.

e. Identify strategies to connect with new Central Oregon residents and inform about mission.

INITIATIVE #3

Strategies:

a. Research the growth potential of Cork & Barrel.

b. Determine whether our menu of events sufficiently meets current and projected fundraising needs.

INITIATIVE #4

Strategies:

a. Develop a business plan for our chosen expansion strategy (to provide on-site or more closely located services across multiple counties.)

b. Develop funding plan to support expansion plan.

Ensure our events remain current, vibrant and successful.

Explore our potential to serve a broader region.

Questions? Comments?

Please contact Gil Levy, Executive Director glevy@kidscenter.org 541.383.5958

Let’s end child abuse.