Improving How Behavioral Health FSP Programs Provide Responsive Services3 Lessons For Technical Assistance Providers From Work With Ventura County Behavioral Health FSP Programs
In 2020, Ventura County Behavioral Health’s (VCBH) involvement in the Multi-County Full Service Partnership (FSP) Innovation Project with Third Sector marked an important turning point for the agency. It was the first time VCBH committed substantial time and resources toward clarifying and improving its FSP programs to improve its services and outcomes for Ventura’s communities most in need.
Almost four years later, changes to Ventura County’s behavioral health system are showing positive signs for the community stemming from this investment. Specifically, VCBH’s work with Third Sector has resulted in the improvement and standardization of FSP service delivery and reporting, stronger relationships within and between key stakeholders operating in the behavioral health system, and transformation in how county staff and leaders think about and serve community members with severe mental health needs.
Ventura County’s FSP improvement work highlights three best practices that behavioral health agencies and their partners can use to provide responsive services to community members who need them most.
1. Provide standardization that meets diverse needs when possible
Over the course of its work with VCBH, Third Sector successfully navigated the complex challenge of creating generalized, standard tools that are flexible enough to address diverse needs and can apply to a variety of contexts. For example, during the Multi-County FSP Innovation Project, Third Sector designed recommendations that could meet state and local needs. Third Sector identified factors that could be standardized (e.g., population definitions and outcome measures) and add value to multiple counties while helping develop a uniform language and metrics. A Third Sector staff member shared
Changing Systems, Changes Lives
“I think it’s important to understand that each county really did have unique needs, and Full Service Partnership programs are not a one-size-fits-all…The populations are different, and so it’s a delicate balance between finding the things that make sense to standardize and finding the things that make sense to standardize and finding the things that actually need to stay unique to serve the needs of the local community.”
Similarly, in its extended work with VCBH, Third Sector was challenged to develop standard operational guidelines that could effectively address the needs of the agency’s wide range of FSP programs. The new operational guidelines address the greatest unmet challenge of FSP programs—their breadth and ambiguity—head-on and establish standards that should remain consistent throughout programs. Third Sector guided the agency toward effective standardization of a program that is centered around flexibility and individualized support. Both the state recommendations (six population definitions and five outcomes) and the VCBH operational guidelines represent best practice models for developing standardized tools that can work for a range of contexts and programs.
2. Bring in Community Voices and Include Diverse Perspectives
One of the most impactful features of Third Sector’s approach to Ventura County FSP program improvement was incorporating intensive stakeholder engagement to ensure solutions and strategies were rooted in the community and staff members’ needs. Community feedback was not only used to make operational decisions but also reinvigorated VCBH staff to ensure they were serving their clients as best as possible. By grounding conversations and planning in the authentic needs and experiences of clients, Third Sector fostered a deeper sense of purpose and collective buy-in among team members and stakeholders. This approach helped Third Sector focus the group on implementing shared goals, dismantling silos, and reminded all participants of the core mission that drives their work. Centering discussions on client needs created a unifying perspective that helped bridge gaps and motivated everyone to work toward meaningful, client-focused outcomes. Further, by including frontline staff members in the planning and development of the operational guidelines, they were more invested in using those guidelines.
3. Provide Dedicated Training to Bring Strategies to Life
Providing dedicated staff training is a critical component in effective change management that should always be included in operational improvement efforts. A major accomplishment for both Third Sector and VCBH was the development of the comprehensive “Operational Guidelines” manual that outlined core aspects of the implementation of FSPs at VCBH. However, simply creating the manual was not enough. It was crucial to invest in thorough training for VCBH staff to ensure they understood how to apply these guidelines in their daily work. By providing dedicated staff training and implementing the guidelines on the ground, Third Sector helped ensure strong implementation and uptake of this new resource.
Internal and external relationships and process management help service providers stay responsive to the communities they serve. Standardization, stakeholder engagement, and dedicated training are all key tools that technical assistance partners can implement to help government partners and agencies unlock possibilities for all people regardless of race, background, or circumstances.
