M2I Happening:

Praxis is a consulting firm that supports organizations with strategic change management and has been working with Congreso since the January 2018 TOC workshops. They have been working with leadership and will work with all staff throughout the M2I process, to help guide our communication and project development strategies for M2I to ensure that all staff and stakeholders are informed and able to contribute along each step of the way as we go through the M2I journey together. 

Praxis consultant Linshuang Liu was onsite in mid-January to support the VP Team with training on meeting facilitation to help leadership gain specific skills to conduct more dynamic meetings as we roll out more communication and committees with M2I!  Praxis will be working with additional levels of staff throughout the spring to engage with change management and culture building.

Committee Update: 

The Priority Schools Committee worked on an analysis this Fall and Winter, and shared the following facts about our current school-based work:

Currently, Congreso operates programs in over 42 distinct schools, ranging from highly resourced schools like Kensington Creative and Performing Arts High School (12 Congreso programs in operation) to schools with a single program serving a single client. The committee has been meeting since August in order to determine how to create an agency-wide approach to focus our resources on youth that both allows us to meet our contractual obligations while focusing on deepening the resources on clients in priority schools within our community. 

Frequently Asked Questions*:

How does targeting youth and people 0-30 impact the other clients receiving our services?

During the four-day theory of change workshop in January 2018, the core M2I group of leadership and staff as well as the Board decided to shift our target population to 0-30 to serve primarily youth and their families.  This shift highlights a focus on early childhood development and education, as well as a focus on serving family units rather than individuals in order to maximize our impact.

A main focus of M2I is to integrate our services and create better linkages across programs, recognizing that many youth, individuals and families often have multiple needs and could benefit from a variety of services.  This does not mean that individuals who do not fall within our target population will no longer be served by Congreso, but rather that we would like to focus and prioritize clients who are 0-30 with family members who could also benefit from receiving services. 

As we conduct design labs and discuss program migration as a principal element of M2I, there will be thoughtful discussions about the current target population of each program, its contractual requirements, and how to maintain or shift its focus to serving youth and young adults (0-30) as well as their family.

*A list of 16 frequently asked questions was compiled in December and we will continue to include responses in future updates.