"What are you afraid to tell me?"
That is a question one agency's executive leader is asking their staff as they seek to better know and support their team. It became the standout moment of our second Workforce Cohort session under the Agency Capacity Builder, a program convening agencies funded by Milton Township's Mental Health Board (https://miltontownship.net/government/community-mental-health-board/), working together to strengthen our community's behavioral health workforce.
Agency leaders worked through staffing patterns surfacing across the cohort, the mission-driven overwork cycle, retention in emotionally demanding work, and the pull between niche expertise and broad organizational need. One agency brought a live challenge to the group centered on clinical recruiting and retention, and peers dug into what actually draws a candidate to an agency, how current staff represent the mission day to day, and new ways to source talent.
DuPage County Health Department (https://www.dupagehealth.org) hosted at their Crisis Recovery Center, a first in the State of Illinois space built to help residents find safety and stability, from youth and adult recovery wings to the 988 crisis line and mobile crisis team preparing to head into the community. Seeing that work up close gave real weight to a morning about what it takes to keep good people doing hard, human work.
This cohort, in partnership with Good Works Results LLC (https://www.goodworksresults.com), is building a stronger network of agencies and leadership at every level across DuPage County.
Proud to work alongside these agencies: DuPagePads (https://www.dupagepads.org), DuPage County Health Department (https://www.dupagehealth.org), DuPage Federation (https://www.dupagefederation.org), The Association for Individual Development (https://www.aidcares.org), Teen Parent Connection (https://www.teenparentconnection.org), SamaraCare (https://www.samaracarecounseling.org), ICNA Relief (https://www.icnarelief.org), and Outreach (https://www.weareoutreach.org). Thank you to the Milton Township Community Mental Health Board (https://miltontownship.net/government/community-mental-health-board/) for supporting this initiative.