Heller TCP Proposal. A Team Consulting Project to help Bay Cove Human Services determine the most efficient ways to meet growing needs

Transcription

1 Heller TCP Proposal Strategic Planning, Marketing, and Human Resources Studies to Shape Future Growth of an Agency Serving Young Adults with Social and Emotional Barriers to Success A Team Consulting Project to help Bay Cove Human Services determine the most efficient ways to meet growing needs Contact Information Bay Cove Human Services 66 Canal Street Boston, MA (617) TCP Contact: David Hirschberg Vice President of Development Bay Cove Human Services 66 Canal Street Boston, MA PH: (617) FX: (617) Background Bay Cove Human Services (Bay Cove) is a 501(c)3 non profit organization with a mission to: improve the quality of the lives of individuals and their families who face the challenges associated with addictions, aging, developmental disabilities, and/or mental illness.

2 It was founded in 1973 as a small program serving people with addictions and mental illness. Today the organization serves more than 16,000 people each year at more than 160 program sites in Greater Boston and Southeastern Massachusetts. Bay Cove is known for taking on some of the toughest cases in the Commonwealth finding the best way to help people when others can't or won't. Our broad range of services enables us to develop innovative programming for people who don't fit neatly into any one "category." For example, we developed the first group residence in Massachusetts specifically designed for men living with the triple diagnosis of addiction, mental illness, and developmental disabilities. Thanks to this stable living environment, our day programming and other supports, residents have been able to maintain jobs and a lot more independence than most thought possible. As Bay Cove has expanded over the years, it has stayed true to its founding principle that each person, no matter what his or her challenges may be, deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. While we now serve thousand of people, we still do so one person at a time helping the most vulnerable members of our community to pursue full, rich lives. Our competitive edge is that we have been doing this type of transition work for years. We are nationally recognized in our industry. We have specifically trained Rehabilitation counselors and LICSW s to provide this transition work. We can show success. Our students have achieved competitive employment--and maintained it--which is a current Department of Labor measure for grant funding. Management Challenges Bay Cove has an annual operating budget of approximately $88,000,000, with a complex array of funding sources. The majority of our revenue comes through contracts with state agencies (Department of Developmental Services, Department of Mental Health, Department of Public Health, etc). Our next largest, and rapidly growing, source of revenue is third party reimbursement for services (i.e. insurance), and we also receive some funding through city contracts, federal grants and private support. Bay Cove has a longstanding commitment to our high quality of care. We tend to direct the greatest share of agency resources to address programmatic needs, and as a consequence our operational and administrative resources operate at or near capacity much of the time. A number of external factors changes to payment models (including many related to the Affordable Care Act), new regulations, increased oversight by Federal and State entities, and evolving industry standards combined with the dramatic growth of our organization (which has nearly doubled in size over the past 5 years) have led to a significant management challenge in terms of ensuring that we have the right infrastructure in place to meet the many changes that are anticipated in the years ahead.

3 Given all of these changes, we need to engage in strategic planning and marketing studies to determine the best directions to direct our future growth in providing transition services. As we see it, we could be helped tremendously by a TCP project that carried out the following kinds of activities. Market analysis that could help us to answer questions like the following What are the other programs in the Greater Boston area are doing similar things? Who are we competing with? How do they get funding? What do they charge? Should we target our population more narrowly? We have experience with a range of disabilities. Should we focus on some populations like ADHD or Autism Spectrum Disorder that have high incidence rates? Should we offer different options to different cohorts? How should we consider ability-to-pay in our planning? Our target audience would probably come from more affluent suburbs near Brookline. Parents in this area tend to have higher education and resources that can pay out of pocket for our services, and have young adults who struggle with social/emotional issues and are not income eligible for the limited public resources available. Should we be emphasize relatively new approaches, such as providing parenting classes, or transition boot camps during typical school vacations? Marketing Plan How should we most productively try to reach and access our target population(s)? To what extent should we be focusing on web-based marketing? To what extent should we rely on traditional modes such as paper pamphlet materials and how can they be most productively employed? Typically word of mouth from parents or school personnel has been most effective up to this point. How do we use this to our advantage? Another area of strength is that we earn the trust of the individuals and families that we work with over time. How do we market this? Business Plan How should we organize our efforts and structure our organization to maximize the likelihood of attaining the objectives of our strategic and marketing planning? Balancing space planning with market needs We are part of a larger agency that offers quality adult services. We could use our current physical space as a resource, but do we want to offer services later in the day or evening or weekends? What would work best for this population?

4 Human resources planning How can be determine the appropriate staffing patterns for our work and how can we ensure that staff have (and maintain) the specific skills needed to insure success? Training areas include theory of career development, individual counseling skills, current employment information and regional trends, knowledge of labor laws and disability laws, information about adult service agencies and services they provide and knowledge about postsecondary educational and training options. We can offer group based services and it will be more cost effective, but all individuals will require individual services as well. Proposed Project(s) As you can see, we have many needs, and we hope that one or more teams of students will choose to work with us on some of them. We look forward to the opportunity to define the specific scope of work for one or more such consulting engagements in strategic planning, marketing, and/or human resources. But pending our discussions with the students on these teams, we believe that the following steps could be included in any of the projects: Meeting with Bay Cove leaders and reviewing relevant Bay Cove documents to better understand the background of our agency, the challenges we face, our objectives, and the constraints that we face in achieving them; Reviewing the relevant management and program literature to look specifically at the lessons already learned about transition planning and transition activities for populations like ours; Identification of comparable organizations and determining how they have faced the kinds of challenges we are facing and the effectiveness of their responses; Understanding current and future trends in supply and demand for services such as the ones we offer; Identification of the leading alternatives for us to consider in each of the topic areas addressed above, and analysis of their costs, administrative requirements, and likely benefits in coming years. Developing oral and written briefings for our key staff and board members that outline the conclusions reached and factors that have led to these conclusions.

5 Additional Information Bay Cove Human Services is very familiar with the Heller MBA program and greatly appreciates the value that TCP teams bring to the organizations they work with. Specific connections between the Heller MBA program and Bay Cove include the fact that Bay Cove s Vice President of Development, David Hirschberg, holds an MBA from Heller (class of 2004). David has been a guest lecturer in Heller s Fundraising and Development class on a number of occasions, most recently in Through these connections and others, we understand the important role that the TCP plays in the overall educational experience of a Heller student, and that it often serves as a bridge to the next steps in his or her career. With this in mind, we welcome the opportunity to speak with teams considering our project to discuss ways in which we could potentially modify the scope of work and/or focus to align with their specific areas of interest. This proposed TCP is an opportunity for students to work on a critically important project that involves newly-instituted public policy, organizational strategy, and operational planning calling on them to use the array of skills that they have acquired through the Heller MBA program. We hope that it is a good match for one of this year s TCP teams and would welcome the opportunity to work with Heller M.B.A. students on this important project.

6 Attachment A OVERVIEW OF BAY COVE TRANSITION SERVICES Bay Cove s transition services include the following: Exposing students to a range of career options and helping them to develop a realistic career direction. Teaching students good work habits through job counseling, job coaching, class work and on-the-job training. Assessing each student s strengths and career interests, and then carefully matching him or her to an appropriate job, thereby gaining real work experience. Creating a formal transition plan designed to achieve short and long term goals. Identifying and developing independent support systems which may include family and community networks and resources. Teaching important social pragmatic skills and how they relate to the world of work. For example, planning what to say, thinking about what to say before speaking or choosing the right time and place to talk to others in the workplace. Regular meetings with a career counselor to develop and follow through on school-to-career transition goals. Classes in independent living skills, communications, and capstone project curriculum. Aid students to obtain referrals to appropriate adult-service agencies, when appropriate. A senior support group where students discuss the emotional and social issues that surround late adolescence and transition from high school. Aid in developing a community support network through a series of clientcentered meetings. Exposure to an array of transition opportunities. An annual college fair is held at the school during which students are able to spend individual time with college admissions staff asking and answering questions. Students also attend college fairs throughout the greater Boston area. A career fair is held yearly with employers from a range of career fields that are of interest to our students. Bay Cove also has an annual Job Shadow Day where students choose a field of interest and shadow an employer for the day to learn about all aspects of an industry. Formal transition assessments that include records review, student interview and/or observation, parent and/or staff questionnaire, aptitude testing, career interest testing, career values testing, situational work assessments and transition skills assessment. We provide a thorough look at the student s abilities, interests and values and provide an achievable plan with suggested goals and resources available.