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West Virginia Income Maintenance Manual Chapter 18

West Virginia Income Maintenance Manual Page 49 Chapter 18 WV WORKS Activities/Requirements

Using the bridge as the program frame and engaging in one-on-one partnerships, coaching is a participant-directed process designed to improve decision making, persistence, and resilience over time. Through repeated practice, this process becomes internalized. 18.7.1.A THE WEST VIRGINIA BRIDGE MODEL The bridge is a framework that builds integrated, future-oriented decision-making, allows the participant to organize and achieve positive steps, and aids in the development of these skills, first as an adaptive device that supplements decision-making skill deficits and ultimately as a coaching tool for improving the participant’s executive functioning skills. Trauma and chronic stress negatively impact brain development and executive functioning. The basic executive functioning skills are working memory, impulse control, and mental flexibility. These are the primary decision-making skills for problem-solving, goal setting, and goal attainment necessary to achieve and sustain economic independence. Mobility Coaching requires use of the Bridge as both an assessment tool and a framework within which a participant can set goals and chart a path to economic mobility and independence. The West Virginia Bridge Model is designed to emphasize family stability, well-being, job development and job readiness, employment, job retention and stronger families. By using this model, it is a full family, holistic approach to eliminate challenges and barriers, while focusing on the family dynamic to promote job readiness and employment in order to lead to stronger families and self-sufficiency. To accomplish this, the Case Manager must assess the participant’s knowledge and skills, work with the participant and make informed recommendations about courses of action appropriate for each individual to develop a plan that is expected to lead to self-sufficiency. In addition, he must enter into an agreement with the participant concerning his involvement in the process of becoming self-sufficient, monitor the participant’s progress to determine changing needs and the need for support service payments and take appropriate follow-up action based on the participant’s actions. The goals for the WV WORKS Bridge Model Case Management process are: • Increase the number of WV WORKS Customers who overcome employment challenges. • Improve the Employability and Job Skills of WV WORKS Customers. • Improve WV WORKS family functioning and well-being. • Increase the Employment earning capacity of WV WORKS Participants. • Improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the WV WORKS Program.

The West Virginia Bridge Model uses the Bridge to Stronger Families, DFA-WVW-Bridge, for the participant to discuss pillars of family stability, well-being, job development and job readiness, employment, job retention and stronger families with his Case Manager. Each of these pillars has five levels the participant can self-identify as fitting into. Once the participant has selected the statement which best describes his current situation, the Case Manager will discuss with him the area he would most like to change. This would move the participant to the next step of Mobility Coaching, which is goal setting.