Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The Center for Research and Outreach (REACH Lab) at the University of Minnesota will develop and implement a national training model that will support the current and future Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) workforce. Through the development and provision of comprehensive resources around critical cultural competencies, proactive Peer Coaching (PC), and centralized Technical Assistance (TA), the WIC Technical Assistance and Peer Coaching (TA-PC) Center will utilize a holistic and innovative approach to develop replicablelearning opportunities for WIC professionals, leading to the retention of a highly trained WIC workforce that is attuned and responsive to the unique contexts of the families served. The proposed approach revolves around three high-level system priorities as follows:A supported, culturally responsive WIC workforce. A talented workforce should be hired from the populations WIC serves, but they must be supported by managers and supervisors skilled in workforce affirming practices for a culturally diverse workforce. The WIC TA-PC Center will research and create a comprehensive foundation of resources and learning opportunities that will support key WIC strategies that develop a more culturally resonant workforce. This approach will incorporate unique contextual knowledge from across the WIC network and assist in co-developing and fine-tuning competency-building learning resources, supports, and opportunities.Replicable Technical Assistance and Peer Coaching (TA-PC) model. Competencies and approaches to working with diverse cultural populations in service delivery fields are not traditionally included in academic degree programs or related continuing education. Therefore, staff at all levels need ongoing training and professional development to understand how culturally resonant approaches to service delivery more effectively support multicultural communities. Long-term learning that is not one size fits all, but unique to local contexts is essential. As part of a system of proactive TA and support to State and Local WIC agencies, peer coaches will serve as an invaluable resource and offer centralized TA support in key WIC priorities. The network of diverse peer coaches representing State and Local WIC agencies will receive continual professional development on TA topics and engage in regular action planning and reflection alongside site stakeholders. Well-trained peer coaches will support high-quality implementation, leading to positive impacts within the target populations of WIC sites. By reflecting on the progress towards implementing a more culturally resonant workforce, coaches and sites will continue to learn from and replicate the model across contexts.Sustainable long-term learning opportunities. Existing learning systems within WIC do not provide a clear path for professional development and advancement opportunities. It is unclear how critical cultural competencies, needed to successfully support diverse families, are evaluated, or considered when employees are hired, compensated, and/or promoted. The WIC TA-PC Center will serve as a centralized coordinating body that evaluates, manages, and supports the development and implementation of TA tools, learning opportunities, and the work of the WIC peer coaches. A centralized resource and data hub will support WIC sites in using best practices and cutting-edge research to design, implement, and evaluate efforts related to building a culturally responsive workforce. The WIC TA-PC Center, grounded in human-centered design theory and respect for the individuals who use WIC and who work for WIC, serves as an important support to increase the ability of WIC administrators and professionals to better identify policy, systems, and contextual factors and adapt methods to support recruitment and retention of a diverse, more culturally responsive WIC workforce. Harnessing the frontline, contextual knowledge of existing WIC professionals will work towards building a better system and stronger more reflective workforce. In addition, the need for demonstrated impact, in short- and long-term outcome areas, is a priority for stakeholders. The WIC TA-PC Center will provide the needed scaffolding for high-quality implementation of WIC programming using research-based methods that include individual process and outcome evaluation. WIC professionals will benefit from accessible and relevant support, coaching, and resources to support the development of a sustainable systems-wide, culturally responsive workforce across the WIC network.
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
The WIC Technical Assistance and Peer Coaching (TA-PC) Center is composted of three inter-related components: (1) a comprehensive foundation of resources and learning opportunities that will support key WIC strategies that develop a more culturally resonant workforce; 2) a network of diverse peer coaches representing State and Local WIC agencies who receive continual professional development on TA topics and engage in regular action planning and reflection alongside site stakeholders; and 3) a centralilzed coordinating body that evaluates, manages, and supports the development and implementation of TA tools, learning opportunities, and the work of the WIC peer coaches. The specific goals include:Goal 1 - Provide a comprehensive foundation of research and evidenced-based resources, information, and learning opportunities that will support the replicability and sustainability of key WIC priorities.Objective 1.1: Convene and coordinate an Advisory Committee including WIC National, State and Local representation. This advisory committee will reflect the aspired workforce (i.e., representative of the wide range of cultures WIC serves including racial, socioeconomic groups, etc.) and provide key connections and information regarding the overall WIC System. This Committee will offer essential expertise, knowledge, and diversity needed to develop competency-based resources and learning opportunities that will support key WIC priorities.Objective 1.2: Integrate expertise in key areas supporting WIC priorities with Subject Matter Experts (SME). SMEs will represent WIC participants, administration, and frontline staff, as well as experts from the Land-Grant University System, entities that support public health workforce development, Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP), Supplemental Nutrition Education Program (SNAP Ed.), and organizations aimed at improving cultural connections to target communities.Objective 1.3: Research topics related to cultural competencies and WIC priorities to augment the expertise of the Advisory Committee and SMEs.Objective 1.4: Develop comprehensive database of online and virtual WIC resources and tools to promote competency-building learning across the WIC network.Objective 1.5: Implement learning opportunities as suggested and developed by the Advisory Committee and SMEs to provide relevant content needed by the WIC Coaches and the WIC professionals.Goal 2 - Develop and implement an innovative Peer Coaching Model that leverages and improves upon related resources.Objective 2.1: Identify a pilot cohort of eight WIC Peer Coaches from state WIC agencies and other applicable organizations to provide proactive, solutions-focused TA to WIC sites. The pilot cohort of coaches will be recruited from diverse WIC contexts to learn from each other and to further develop the model for replication and sustainability. The coaches will be contracted, or their time will be bought out for their participation in the professional development and coaching.Objective 2.2: WIC peer coaches will participate in a yearlong professional development institute provided by the WIC TA-PC Center, informed by the analysis of evaluative data collected by the Center. Data will include process evaluation data assessing the effectiveness of the coach in delivering technical assistance and customized support to State Agencies. In addition, a set of common measures will be developed and collected to help inform States on their Local Agencies adoption and adaptation to culturally resonant care. WIC peer coaches will develop, be trained in, and offer expert guidance in specific WIC priorities, while also forming working relationships with various stakeholders at the site to inform the guidance to meet contextual needs. This institute will be a mix of monthly in-person and virtual training opportunities throughout the year.Objective 2.3: As part of a system of proactive technical assistance and support to State and Local WIC agencies, peer coaches will serve as the main contact to provide proactive technical assistance and support to the WIC sites. To provide consistency and contact, coaching will be ongoing and long-term. Coaches would serve as the main contact from the TA provider to the WIC site through a mixture of touchpoints such as ongoing site visits and regular calls.Objective 2.4: Through ongoing professional development, collaborative action planning, and continuous reflection, WIC coaches and sites will co-create and finetune strategies and tools to collect and learn from their efforts.Objective 2.5: Develop, coordinate, and implement a year-long coach institute to on-board and train coaches in the coaching model and culturally diverse technical assistance practices. The institute will support system-wide culture change and build a cadre of champions. Provide ongoing professional development opportunities and communication/coordination activities for all WIC Coaches and site contacts to share the knowledge, skills, and expertise needed to effectively serve their population.Goal 3 - Create a centralized coordinating body (TA-PC Center) that evaluates, manages, and supports the development and implementation of TA tools and WIC coaches.Objective 3.1: Identify strategies including collaborative action planning and ongoing reflection frameworks to evaluate key coaching competencies, as detailed by the International Association of Coaching and through a comprehensive literature review, and develop a set of tools that will support successful coaching towards the goals of a more culturally responsive workforce.Objective 3.2: Streamline all resources related to WIC workforce priorities related to developing approaches grounded in the cultures of the participants they serve onto cloud-based, web-based platform to ensure WIC coaches have online access to needed coaching tools and WIC program staff have access to professional development, training materials, and resources.Objective 3.3: Create and maintain evaluation systems for WIC Peer Coaches including process evaluation to measure the program's implementation and outcome evaluation to measure the effectiveness of the model in delivering short and long-term effects. These systems will reflect WIC reporting requirements and may include Coach/Site surveys, evaluation of materials on the web platform, and the site visit reports.
Project Methods
This project utilizes process and outcome evaluation methods to achieve the overarching goals of building a system of replicable technical assistance and peer coaching, developing sustainable long-term learning opportunities for the WIC workforce, and supporting a culturally resonant WIC workforce. Evaluative data will be collected by the center and the data will include process evaluation data assessing the effectiveness of coaches in delivering technical assistance and customized support to WIC State Agencies. In addition, common measures will be developed and collected to help inform States on their local agencies adoption and adaptation to culturally resonant care. Key coaching competencies as detailed by the International Association of Coaching will be evaluated to support the development of tools for coach utilization. Data related to program implementation and outcomes will also be gathered to measure the effectiveness of themodel in delivering short and long-term outcomes - and will reflect WIC reporting requirements.