| dc.description.abstract | Every Child Oregon is an initiative of The Contingent, a non-profit which collaborates with government agencies, faith communities, and business partners to aid children and families impacted by foster care. Often in collaborative efforts, Every Child Oregon finds itself in the middle of organizations with very different values and practices, or “competing logics.” Most often, these conflicts arise when government policies that Every Child Oregon is required to follow, clash with beliefs held by faith-based organizations and values held by various cultural communities. This project seeks to answer the question, “How does The Contingent as a backbone organization identify and address competing logics between organizations that are a part of the Every Child Oregon initiative?”
To generate findings, we conducted a qualitative analysis of focus group and interview data, triangulated with document analysis. Our findings include the following:
1. Partners lack clarity on the desired outcomes of the initiative, the measures used to determine success, and how their work collectively solves the system’s problems.
2. When logics come compete, power dynamics tilt toward the state, which has the legal authority to enforce its perspective.
3. Value generation is limited through the failure of the governance and structure of initiative to address power asymmetries—especially as they relate to church vs. state and racial equity.
We recommend Every Child Oregon create a partner-facing communication process that provides information about its goals and processes, as well as inviting participation with its partners. Additionally, we recommend they address equity concerns by creating a task force comprised of members of the communities most impacted by the foster care system in Oregon. Considering these findings and the relevant literature, we offered specific recommendations.
1. Provide existing partners with the Every Child Handbook outlining the program’s goals, outcomes, activities, and data.
2. Create an online partner dashboard with shared performance measures.
3. Generate channels for continuous communication with partners.
4. Establish a task force that includes representatives from the communities most impacted by Oregon’s foster care system to inform program design and implementation.
5. Organize a forum with ODHS & faith-based partners that allow both “sides” to articulate concerns and seek common ground. | |
