“A challenge to do better for our youth”: OYA’s new IMPACT system strengthens accountability

In November and December, a few divisions began piloting a new performance management system. Over the past eight months, IMPACT (Insight, Measurement, Performance, Accountability, Continuous Improvement, and Transparency) has grown to cover the workplaces of most OYA employees:

Participants report that it’s already helping approach their work in new ways that can improve operations, strengthen accountability, and improve outcomes for youth and families.

IMPACT’s premise is simple: program leaders review and report data monthly. With support from OYA’s Research team, leaders identify data that can help strengthen the connection between information, decision-making, and action. Together, they look for trends, monitor progress, and develop action plans tied to measurable goals.

Director Mike Tessean’s envisions these conversations helping OYA “move beyond assumptions and focus on what is actually happening.” “When we understand our data,” he said, “we are better equipped to identify challenges early, support staff, and improve outcomes for youth and families.”

IMPACT is a continuous improvement cycle in which programs:

• Review monthly performance and operational data
• Identify areas where improvement is needed
• Develop action items connected to those findings
• Monitor progress over time and adjust strategies as needed

This process balances data’s objectivity with the experiences of those doing the work. “The people closest to the work often have the clearest understanding of what barriers exist,” Director Tessean said, “and what changes could make the biggest difference.”

For OYA’s foster care team, the process informed changes in how they support youth before they enter foster care. Robyn Marshall, OYA’s Foster Care Manager, said access to more consistent data helped her and her staff, “[take] a step back and deconstructed the whole process of placement into foster care.”

Through IMPACT dialogues, Robyn decided to try, “doing more of the heavy lifting up front prior to placement — identifying the resources youth need before they get there.” The results is not simply a reorientation to the work, Marshall said: it’s “a challenge to do better for our youth.”

IMPACT has also illuminated how workplaces intersect. Griselda Solano-Salinas, Director of OYA’s Office of Inclusion and Intercultural Relations (OIIR), has seen others “learning a lot from each other” during IMPACT sessions. She’s also seen people “realize how much we overlap on services” and “how we can collaborate.”

Solano-Salinas noted this “open communication and learning from each other” has contributed to removing barriers to youth success, including gaps in culturally responsive and bilingual services. During IMPACT sessions, she’s seen agency leaders ask deeper questions about disparities and youth access to services.

“Sometimes it is a language barrier, sometimes it is a cultural aspect,” Solano-Salinas said. “The more we understand the data, the more we can identify where improvements need to happen.”

For Tim Thrasher, Chief Investigator with OYA’s Professional Standards Office (PSO), IMPACT can strengthen accountability. He believes this process can “identify trends before they potentially become significant issues.” Thrasher said that kind of visibility supports stronger decision-making and a clearer understanding of agency performance.

“At the end of the day,” Thrasher said. “Everybody needs accountability, everybody needs structure, and everybody needs to be informed on the work they do — and IMPACT really helps with that.”

In this case, “everybody” means everybody. IMPACT presentations are publicly available on OYA’s website, and Director Tessean invites staff, partners, families, and community members to take a look.

“Organizations improve when they are willing to look honestly at their performance, learn from the data, and work together to solve problems,” Tessean said. “That is the culture we are continuing to build at OYA.”