ONE CITY/ ONE COMMUNITY
A Bedford-Stuyvesant Case Conferencing Project

Why Neighborhood Service Integration?

• To improve service delivery and coordination of assistance for clients
• To create an institutional response to addressing unintentional bureaucratic barriers
• To maximize the effectiveness of the City’s resources
• To promote client self-sufficiency and responsibility

Operating Principles

• Individuals and families deserve to have their issues resolved in a timely manner with minimal logistical, policy and communication barriers
• City-funded community-based services should be provided in the most efficient and cost-effective manner possible
• Lessons learned from the community should inform system-wide policy changes to improve how families receive services

The Model

Systems-Change. This project was designed with the premise that systems level change can be achieved through bottom-up work. This is achieved through an Oversight Board comprised of City agency Commissioners and their designees who will act to resolve system wide service delivery obstacles identified by the One City staff.

Case Conferencing. The cornerstone of the model is Case Conferencing. The goals of case conferencing and the criteria for making referrals are described below:

• Creating an environment in which problem-solving can occur
• Creating incentives for service providers to participate and produce
• Keeping the families’ goals at the forefront
• Ensuring adherence to an action-oriented/decision-making approach
• Creating a context in which service providers can think about how their behavior may influence families’ goals
• Ensuring that service providers are not working in isolation of one another
• Effectively engaging families and service providers
  

Referral Criteria

• Individual or family involved with three or more City agencies
• Individual or family is a resident of Bedford-Stuyvesant or has strong ties to the community
  
• Workers are experiencing persistent challenges resolving the case, which could be minimized by having a conference with each other and the individual/family

Governance Structure & Participating Agencies

The oversight board, comprised of participating City commissioners and their designees has and will continue to articulate the direction of the project, including making final policy and program decisions. The commissioners have designated agency staff to serve on a local management team, charged with managing the project in the community. The local management team will serve as a liaison between the project staff and the oversight board. Oversight member agencies include:

• Administration for Children’s Services
• Department for the Aging
• Department of Education
• Department of Juvenile Justice
• Department of Homeless Services
• Department of Housing Preservation and Development
• Department of Probation
• Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
• Department of Small Business Services
• Department of Youth and Community Development
• Housing Authority
• Human Resources Administration

The project staff receives its mandates from the Local Advisory Team, which will meet with the project director, responsible for the daily operations of the project, on a monthly basis to discuss any key issues and review data regarding project outcomes. ACT provides supervisory and coaching support to the project staff.

Staffing Structure

The project operates out of the Agenda for Children Tomorrow and is supported by private foundation dollars. Staff  occupy office space in Bedford-Stuyvesant and when fully staffed, the Project will be comprised of the following:

• Project Director
• Case Conferencing Coordinators (3)
• Policy Associate
• Community Coordinators (2)
• Director of Training
• Administrative Assistant

Funders

• The Annie E. Casey Foundation
• Booth Ferris Foundation
• Independence Community Foundation
• The Rockefeller Foundation
• The Sirus Fund
• United Way of New York City

Staff

• Dale Joseph - Project Director
• Winette Saunders-Halyard - Director of Case Conferencing
• Maritza Villa - Administrative Assistant
• Molly Noble - Intern