Virginia No Wrong Door (NWD) hosted the NWD Summit: Think.Innovate.Activate on Wednesday, April 19th at Maymont Park in Richmond, VA. The NWD Summit focused on opportunities to learn about No Wrong Door from the federal, state and local levels. The Administration for Community Living (ACL) and ADvancing States presented the federal level viewpoint on the NWD initiative and framed how Virginia’s efforts impact the federal vision of a NWD system. 

Attendees had the opportunity to reflect on their individual impact of the No Wrong Door vision through an introspective activity called “What is Your Why?” and through a Person-Centered Thinking Activity (photo included) lead by No Wrong Door’s Trainer and Options Counseling Specialist. 

The second half of the NWD Summit focused on 4 workgroups aligning with the Four Core Pillars of a NWD System. The workgroups were: Consumer Voices and Accessibility, Data Analytics, Outreach and Marketing, and Person-Centered Options Counseling. Each workgroup spent 30 minutes discussing the topic. Some important themes that came out of the NWD Summit were:

• Consumer Voices and Accessibility: Ensuring that we are being person-centered through the use of everyday language, active listening, and building trust. This means that individuals are guiding the services and supports.
• Data Analytics: Data, particularly quantitative data, does not tell the full story. The outcomes and impact can be difficult to measure vs. the outputs. Some ideas generated by the groups were to host a peer sharing group, customizable data dashboards, and incentivize “data ambassadors.”
• Outreach and Marketing: No Wrong Door has great credibility across the state, but it is not strongly marketed. Buy-in and philosophy of a person-centered initiative is a strength, but assistance is needed to market No Wrong Door beyond providers and in varying communities (ie. Rural, urban, suburban)
• Person-Centered Options Counseling (PCOC): PCOC can be a great tool in creating efficiencies within organizations and empowers Virginians to create more self-determination. The use of the word “counseling” can be off-putting or have a negative connotation. 

A full report from the No Wrong Door Summit will be compiled with common themes and next steps. More information about the NWD Summit meeting materials, and follow-up will be posted on our Virginia Easy Access website: https://easyaccess.virginia.gov/nwd-summit.