The themes and accompanying illustrative quotes can be found in Table 2. A summary of the major findings are described as follows:
Table 2
Thematic Network Analysis Results with Illustrative Quotes from Qualitative Focus Groups with AOK Network Coordinators (N = 10)
Theme
|
Sub-themes
|
Example Quotes
|
Strengths
|
Passionate, faithful, and committed members
|
“[My Network is] passionate about helping families and they want our community to be the best place for families to continue to grow. They see the potential of what we can do together, it keeps them coming back.”
|
United goal
|
“When I go out to meet people to tell them about the network….I think they like to share with each other what’s going on in their organization, but also their ultimate goal is children and families and that’s everybody’s goal, so we’re working towards that together.”
|
Personal and professional benefit
|
“So, I like to be very informative in [my work], just to be ready and working with clients it’s always good to be resourceful that way. I love what I do and I love visiting my network and getting together with them and coming up with projects together and all that. It’s really cool.”
|
Real community-level impact
|
“Our collective impact work with getting every single child care center in our county to utilize the same curriculum, same assessment process, and now having the school district using the same release so that we can get all of that information from the school about what kids participated in what programs, to look at their reading scores aside that and see are we really having an effect on these specific children’s reading scores by what we’re doing with this project. I’m super proud of that.”
|
Strategic planning process
|
“[The strategic planning process] allows us to show what we’ve accomplished. Here’s where we started as an idea in our heads and put it on paper, but we actually were able to do it, and this is the reason why we did it because we have a good planning process.”
|
Challenges
|
Coordinator turnover and burnout
|
“In my community, because of the turnaround of the different coordinators, I just came about this year, I really had to build up the network from scratch.”
|
Bureaucratic obstacles
|
“Like AOK Connect and the bureaucratic way that the assessment process took place and then here there’s more bureaucratic layers at the [local] health department…It’s harder to do the same job because there are so many more layers that don’t necessarily feel like they’re beneficial.”
|
Network recruitment, management, and engagement
|
“My [AOK Network] members straight up last month told me that they just come for guest speakers and were not happy that was not going to be on the agenda every month and that we were actually going to work towards our initiatives. We’re currently working on restructuring our meetings and outcomes and working really hard.”
|
AOK’s Role within the Community
|
Identifying needs, connecting people and resources
|
“[AOK role is] to determine what the areas of need are and then plan around those areas of need, determine how we’re going to either add more services, or change policies, or mindsets, or whatever it is in the community to make whatever changes are need so whatever that issue happens to be addressed.”
|
Education and awareness
|
“We do a lot of conversations around the local priorities or issues that are happening in the area and also with AOK we’re able to bring information on the state level so they’re not just talking about what’s happening here locally, but we’re able to bring in that full picture which I think other networks or early childhood groups in our area really don’t always have that information.”
|
Voice of children and families
|
“I feel like in our community, I would say also that we’re seen as a collaborative group. That we’re passionate about representing kids and families.”
|
Strengths
The first theme to emerged was the strength of the AOK Networks. The benefits gained from AOK Network implementation and participation extended beyond the professional environment, as the participants wholeheartedly believed in AOK’s capacity to affect systems-level change as well as create real community-level impact within their local neighborhood and broader communities. AOK Network coordinators endorsed the passionate natures of their network members and praised their dedication to accomplishing the united goal, a significant strength noted across many counties. Having a shared agenda kept all AOK Networks united under a common purpose, and also provided a sense of direction for new and existing members by identifying unique county-level initiatives and goals.
Passionate, Faithful, and Committed Members
Considering the strengths of AOK Network participation and the implementation process, the coordinators all shared the passion and commitment of their AOK Network members, who represented cross-sector organizations, community organizers, parents, and families. One coordinator stated:
“[My network is] passionate about helping families and they want our community to be the best place for families to continue to grow. They see the potential of what we can do together, it keeps them coming back.”
United Goal
In addition, the coordinators also discussed how their network members have good a understanding of AOK’s mission and all work together toward the overarching goal to improve early childhood outcomes:
“When I go out to meet people to tell them about the network….I think they like to share with each other what’s going on in their organization, but also their ultimate goal is children and families and that’s everybody’s goal, so we’re working towards that together.”
Personal and Professional Benefit
Many of the AOK coordinators commented on the personal benefit and meaning that they found in their work. Particularly, they discussed how their AOK work aligned with their interests and values, and how it was especially meaningful to them to observe the immediate impact. For example, one coordinator said:
“So, I like to be very informative in [my work], just to be ready and working with clients it’s always good to be resourceful that way. I love what I do, and I love visiting my network and getting together with them and coming up with projects together and all that. It’s really cool.”
Furthermore, the coordinators also identified professional benefits, such as a deep learning curve on the job, where multiple skill sets were required compared to other types of community jobs. The coordinators mentioned the mentality of “sink or swim,” but also discussed how much they had learned, ranging from the strategic planning process to relationship building with local organizations and stakeholders. One of the coordinators mentioned:
“I found the skill wheel and there’s like 50 parts of that wheel and I was like, that’s what it takes to be an AOK coordinator, and I’ve used that as a tool to say you know what, I’m not so good with this data analytical piece, that’s somewhere where I really need to grow. Interpersonal skills got it. I need to learn more.”
Real Community-Level Impact
All of the coordinators described their work as meaningful and “making community impact.” Some stated that this was the reason they had applied to be AOK coordinators, because they could work directly with community members and organizations to create real system-level impact and immediate change. One coordinator stated:
“I’m in this because of the community and just helping out one family after the other because you know everything weighs on help and some people need it more than others.”
Another coordinator followed up with a comment about community-level impact:
“Our collective impact work with getting every single child care center in our county to utilize the same curriculum, same assessment process, and now having the school district using the same release so that we can get all of that information from the school about what kids participated in what programs, to look at their reading scores aside that and see are we really having an effect on these specific children’s reading scores by what we’re doing with this project. I’m super proud of that.”
Strategic Planning Process
Although the coordinators discussed difficulties in data collection, assessment, and report generation in the strategic planning process, they also mentioned how going through this process helped them to learn more about applying the framework to execution and implementation. One coordinator stated:
“[The strategic planning process] allows us to show what we’ve accomplished. Here’s where we started as an idea in our heads and put it on paper, but we actually were able to do it, and this is the reason why we did it because we have a good planning process.”
Another coordinator discussed how the strategic plan provided a good resource for their network members and community:
“I like the whole planning process AOK has. Some people don’t like the strategic plan, but I like everything that there is to it. ABLE is a good framework at times, so it’s a good resource. Just being able to translate that material to the network can sometimes be difficult, but at the same time I feel like I’m educating them, they’re learning how the process is going.”
Challenges
The second theme focused on the challenges of the AOK Network coordinators’ role in the implementation process. Among common challenges, the coordinators shared some practical obstacles stemming from coordinator turnover and burnout, including a continued need for training, technical support, and organizational assistance. The coordinators discussed the challenges of conducting and following bureaucratic procedures at both the local and state levels, which hindered their community work at times. Last, there was also an identified difficulty in network management, increased recruitment, and engagement of organizations and stakeholders.
Coordinator Turnover and Burnout
Consistently across all of the AOK counties, the coordinators resonated with the issue of quick turnover and burnout with their jobs. One coordinator mentioned that there was less consistent knowledge passed on from a previous hire to the current coordinator, so they often had to reinvent the wheel:
“In my community, because of the turnaround of the different coordinators, I just came about this year, I really had to build up the network from scratch.”
Burnout is another problem for the AOK coordinators because their work can be so demanding in terms of managing both local and state priorities in their network members meetings. One coordinator stated:
“I think that is why the last coordinator left because she catered her meetings to what makes made her members happy and then she tried to do all the work by herself and she burnt herself out.”
Bureaucratic Obstacles
The coordinators talked about how the strategic planning process was a strength, yet the steps needed to complete assessment and reporting often presented as bureaucratic obstacles. One coordinator described this process:
“So, out of the five days in a week, three of them were on paperwork and whatnot, pulling me out of the community…[My community partners] are feeling the state is pulling us instead…it coming from the local community.”
Additional comments indicated that bureaucratic barriers happen when state-level priorities increase the coordinators’ burden of work when they are implemented at the local level. One coordinator stated:
“Like AOK Connect and the bureaucratic way that the assessment process took place and then here there’s more bureaucratic layers at the [local] health department…It’s harder to do the same job because there are so many more layers that don’t necessarily feel like they’re beneficial.”
Network Recruitment, Management, and Engagement
Another major challenge for coordinators were issues related to network recruitment, management, and engagement. Within this theme, the coordinators talked about a consistent need to increase representation of diverse cross-sector organizations and parents’ voices. As one coordinator said:
“There are always things we can do to improve. There’s always partners still missing from the table that we need to get engaged. There are always opportunities to gain more community support. We definitely need more parental input into the programs and services, I think that’s a statewide issue. So, I think that’s something that we definitely could work toward.”
Although the coordinators recognized the need for recruitment, they also described the difficulties of managing their current networks and engaging their current members in a way that was beneficial for the AOK initiatives while maintaining interest from their cross-sector partners. This finding highlighted the challenges of coordinators’ job in balancing different parties’ interests and trying to improve local collaboration for successful implementation of state-level initiatives. A coordinator described this challenge:
“My [AOK Network] members straight up last month told me that they just come for guest speakers and were not happy that was not going to be on the agenda every month and that we were actually going to work towards our initiatives. We’re currently working on restructuring our meetings and outcomes and working really hard.”
AOK’s Role within the Community
The last theme was coordinators’ perceptions of AOK’s role within their communities. Participants describe AOK as the “voice of children and families,” as they work to educate the community about crucial early childhood issues. Through its efforts, AOK connects people to resources and promotes the importance of establishing positive health outcomes during early childhood.
Identifying Needs, Connecting People and Resources
All of the coordinators agreed that AOK’s role was to identify needs and connect people and resources at the community level to address issues related to early childhood development. For example, one coordinator said, “if we can’t get things done, we’re going to connect you to the person who can...AOK has the answers.” This theme was consistent across all counties. Another coordinator provided an additional explanation:
“[AOK’s role is] to determine what the areas of need are and then plan around those areas of need, determine how we’re going to either add more services, or change policies, or mindsets, or whatever it is in the community to make whatever changes are need so whatever that issue happens to be gets addressed.”
Education and Awareness
Another important role that AOK Networks had was to bring information and awareness about state and local issues to their community organizations and members. This was important for communities where access to accurate information was difficult. One coordinator stated:
“We do a lot of conversations around the local priorities or issues that are happening in the area and also with AOK we’re able to bring information on the state level so they’re not just talking about what’s happening here locally, but we’re able to bring in that full picture which I think other networks or early childhood groups in our area really don’t always have that information.”
Voice of Children and Families
Last, all of the AOK coordinators agreed that AOK was seen as a voice for families and children and an advocate for their needs. One coordinator said:
“I think in the Human Service field AOK is perceived as a voice of families with young kids.”
The coordinators often stated that they were drawn to this work because they were also passionate about improving early childhood outcomes and the well-being of families and young children in their communities. For example, one coordinator said: “I feel like in our community, I would say also that we’re seen as a collaborative group. That we’re passionate about representing kids and families.”