A thorough situational report and an in-depth analysis of strengths and weaknesses helps a court-appointed special advocates program for children in foster care navigate a changing environment.

As Child Advocates of Silicon Valley entered the final year of a three-year strategic plan, the agency knew it would need more information before the next planning effort. Management and board knew they faced both challenges and opportunities: external factors such as increasing competition for volunteers and grant dollars threatened, while other developments, such as a new presiding judge with an exciting vision for the courts and the agency's planned launch of an education advocacy program, presented opportunities Child Advocates was eager to take advantage of.

"One of my biggest concerns was preparing for the next plan," says Vickie Grove, Executive Director of Child Advocates. "But operating in a changing environment is a constant challenge-we thought a good look around could give us some context and help us prioritize next steps."

"Operating in a changing environment is a constant challenge-a good look around gives us some context and helps us prioritize next steps." Vickie Grove Executive Director Child Advocates of Silicon Valley

The pro bono team started with internal interviews with a wide range of Child Advocates staff and board members. The conversations uncovered needs and concerns throughout the organization, and proved incredibly valuable in bringing those internal stakeholders closer to the strategic planning process. "It's just not something you do on an everyday basis, not with everything you have going on," says Grove. "And the objectivity the external interviewers bring can be very important."

After a meeting with the Child Advocates team to evaluate findings and revisit research priorities, the pro bono team moved on to external interviews with a range of people across the court-appointed special advocates (CASA) system. The team spoke to presiding judges, managers at other CASA programs across the region and the country, and key funders to learn more about best practices and ways Child Advocates could deal with upcoming system changes.

The pro bono consultants also gathered feedback from volunteers, who are crucial to Child Advocates' success. Once matched with a child in the foster care system, a Child Advocates volunteer can remain a voice for that child for years. Volunteers thoroughly research every aspect of a child's case, including meeting teachers, social workers, and foster parents, and then provide reports to the court, so judges can make decisions with a more complete understanding of the child's situation. It's an atypical-and intense-volunteering experience.

"Capturing the volunteer perspective was very important to us," says Grove. "This wasn't about one organizational function, or management, or the board, telling us how things were working-it was the volunteers themselves telling an objective third party just how things were going, what they were concerned about, what was working or what we could improve."

The benefits of the project started with reaching out to volunteers, and continued with some immediate actions soon after, even before the project was completed. "We got a great deal of good ideas, things that Child Advocates hadn't yet considered, from those interviews," says Christopher Ireland, the pro bono team's account director. "A bunch of smaller, tactical ideas they can use even before that strategic plan is finished."

"The analysis identified key opportunities for our agency during a period of rapid change in our operating environment." Vickie Grove Executive Director Child Advocates of Silicon Valley

Reaching out to various system partners also proved fruitful, strengthening goodwill with peer organizations and raising opportunities for collaboration. Child Advocates is currently pursuing two of these potential partnerships.

The agency also gained insight into the challenges raised by a new opportunity. "Last year," explains Grove, "instead of serving only referred children, we were asked to review every case in the Dependency Court." This new responsibility gives Child Advocates access to a whole new group of needy children, but it also strains an already busy staff. Looking at how other advocates programs dealt with similar opportunities has given Child Advocates good ideas about how best to handle the new system.

Preparing for a new strategic plan, however, was Child Advocates' driving reason for engaging the team, and that planning process is now beginning. As they kick off the internal planning effort, a couple months after project completion, the Child Advocates team feels better informed and more prepared to make strategic decisions. "The team presented the data in the best way possible," says Ann Whyte, Child Advocates' Advocate Supervisor, "with summaries that were easy to understand. I was skeptical of this project at first, but we will really use this information."

"By using the skills and experience that I developed in my education and career, I feel like I can give back to the community in a way that is unique to me." Amy Ho Pro Bono Strategy Consultant Taproot Foundation

The pro bono consulting team included professionals with experience in management and strategy consulting, M&A, capital finance, product management, marketing, and nonprofit management with firms such as Cheskin, L.E.K. Consulting, Gap Inc., and ZS Associates. Team members Christopher Ireland, Amy Ho, Rose Rambo, Meredith Walters, and Whitney Barrett each gave an average of 3-5 hours each week to uncover and synthesize key information for Child Advocates.

Approximately 2,600 children who have been abused, neglected or abandoned are now in the Santa Clara County foster care system. Child Advocates has been providing essential services to this vulnerable population since 1986. The organization trains and supports Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteers to work one-on-one with children, helping to ensure that each child will live in a safe and loving environment and has the resources needed to grow up healthy and strong. Learn more about Child Advocates at http://www.cadvocates.org/.

Every year, hundreds of nonprofit organizations rely on the Taproot Foundation's award winning Service Grant program to provide millions of dollars worth of pro bono Strategy Management, Marketing, Leadership Development & Strategic HR, and IT consulting services that better equip them to tackle our society's toughest challenges.