Case Study 7: The Future of the Crossroads Center Read theCrossroads Center case and answer the following question: 1)Howwould you design a future search conference, strategic planningsession, or scenario planning engagement for the client?

The Crossroads Center was founded 16 years ago as a nonprofitdrug and alcohol treatment center for adults and adolescents. Thecenter is located in a quiet rural area about an hour from a majorurban center. It consists of six separate cream-colored buildingsthat encircle a large park, walking paths, and a duck pond.Exceptfor a small, almost hidden sign on the main building, mostcommunity members cannot distinguish the center from any other setof office buildings or detached apartment units located in thesleepy town.The center has two segments that operate differentlydepending on the patient’sage. The first is an adult treatmentfacility, where treatment primarily consists on support provided bypsychologists and licensed therapists. Adults who enroll at thecenter usually find out about it through their health insuranceprovider, which pays 100 percent of the center’s fees for up to 30days of inpatient treatment and 30 outpatient visits. The center’sstaff can support up to 120 adults at any given time.The secondpart of the center is an adolescent residential treatmentfacility,where patients live together in the facility and aresupported by a network of clinical psychologists, physicians,nurses, addiction counselors, and therapists. The center alsoprovides staff teachers who give educational assistance while thepatients live at the center, which can last for up to 8 weeksdepending on a patient’s needs. The residential center is much moreexpensive to operate, given the additional staff and housing needs,so there are typically just 30 to 40 patients living at the centerat any point in time. The funding sources for the adolescentreatment facility include insurance as well, but also grants andfoundations as well as federal and state programs.Darrin Spoldi wasappointed director of the center almost 3 years ago. During hisshort tenure, the center received three new grants from nationalfoundations and increased by one third the number of patients thatthe center has reached. Darrin called Lisa Rodriguez last week withan urgent request. The center was at risk duet o a new law, and heneeded some advice to avoid the worst-case scenario.“I’m reallyglad that you’re here,” Darrin said, as he and Lisa walked alongthe sidewalk path outside the center. “We’re in a desperatesituation, and if we don’t do something soon, we may not be able tokeep the center open.”“You sounded very concerned when we spokelast week,” Lisa admitted. “But I had thought when we spoke a fewmonths ago that things were going so well.”“Exactly,” Darrin saidquietly, looking down at the weeds on the edge of the sidewalk. “Ihad just gotten a major grant and our funding seemed more solidthanat any point during my time here. Ironic, as it turns out.Things were sailing smoothly until just recently. In fact, just afew weeks ago we concluded our yearlong study on adolescentrecidivism since we hired the additional therapiststaff.”“Recidivism? What’s that?” Lisa asked.“It’s our return rate.We follow up with our patients after they leave the center to seehow they are doing and whether they are able to maintain the skillsthey lear during their time here or whether they need to return toa center for additional treatment. We found out that our patientshave the lowest rates of return to drug and alcohol abuse amongcenters like ours in this region. In fact, the rate has improved byabout 15 percent over a few years ago.”“To what do you attributethis result?” Lisa wondered.“There’s no question. It’s both ourteachers and our therapists,” Darrin said confidently. “Patientafter patient in the study we did reported that they had incrediblesupport from the therapists, and having the teachers here on staffkept them focused on their studies, so that when they returned toschool they had little difficulty assimilating. About a year and ahalf ago we added three new the rapiststo the staff, and the changewas incredible. I know how good our work is here. I’ve worked intreatment facilities like this throughout my career, and this isthe most successful model I’ve seen.”“Tell me about what’s causingyour concern for the center,” Lisa asked.“Don’t misunderstand. Imight sound calm now, but I suppose I’m just numb from thinkingabout this. It’s not just a ‘concern.’ This is the biggest crisisI’ve faced my career,” Darrin said. “You might have heard about thechanges that the state legislature just made to the social servicesbudget for this fiscal year. Well, the budget for social servicesincludes a set of regulations requiring that treatment facilitiesthat receive state funding have a certain percentage of their staffhold medical degrees from an accredited medical school. I guess theregulations were intended to address the large number of facilitiesthat are run primarily by lower skilled technicians, with fewmedical professionals actually administering services. Last year’scontroversy regarding abuse in nursing home facilities prompted anumber of community groups to call for additional regulations. Theresult, though, is that even facilities like ours face the samecriteria. In any case, the law was just recently signed by thegovernor, and facilities have just 6 months to comply with the lawor forfeit all state funding, retroactive to the signing date ofthe legislation.”“What does that mean for Crossroads?” Lisaasked.“In other words, the center will continue to receive statefunding for the next 6 months, but if we cannot comply with the lawin that time period, we need to retur 6 months’ worth of funding tothe state,” Darrin said.“What would it take to comply?”“Currently,the center’s staff of teachers and therapists put the staff belowthe required threshold to receive funding. Most of them haveadvanced academic degrees, but they are not medical practitionersaccording to the legal definition. We would have no problem if wejust let our teachers and therapists go,” Darrin said.“But they arecritical members of our staff, and as I said, our patients givethem a great deal of credit for their treatment. I just don’t thinkthat is an acceptable solution. Another possibility would be torefuse the state funding, but then trying to operate with ourremaining funds would be impossible. With money coming just fromthe federal government and from our grants, we would not only haveto have a layoff of staff, we’d have to reduce the number ofpatients we serve by about two thirds, and we would turn away a lotof people who need our help. I’ve done a lot of thinking about thisin the last several weeks, and I haven’t been able to come up witha solution that is acceptable to anyone.”“Does the communityunderstand what’s happening to the center and what might happen ifit closed?”“We have purposely maintained a low profile in thecommunity for the last several years. Before I arrived, it’s myunderstanding that there was a call among the county supervisorsfor the center to close or move, and we did not have a lot ofsupport. I don’t know what all of the issues are, but there is someanimosity among the board of directors toward the county board ofsupervisors. Nothing came of it,obviously, and the board ofdirectors recommended that I not spend a lot of time in thecommunity for a while until things settled down. I’m not sure howmany community leaders even know how we’ve contributed to thecommunity by own local adults and adolescents,” Darrinconcluded.“What have you done so far?” Lisa asked.“A few weeks agowe had a small meeting of the top administrators, about eight ofus. We just talked in circles, bouncing back and forth betweentrying to figure out how to continue to operate without statefunding or trying to meet the state’s requirements and maintain ourcurrent funding. We didn’t come to any conclusions, but we agreedto meet again this week. I do have to say, though, that the staffhas been great about this. Morale is high, and our administratorsare highly involved and motivated to find a solution. I’ve workedwith other groups that would have given up or quit, but this groupis participative, engaged, and smart. They’re keeping each othergoing,” Darrin said.“Let me summarize. A highly successful localcenter is going to close because oa state law that holds unintendedconsequences, and the closure will affect a large number ofpatients, staff, and community members. It seems to me that thereare a lot of groups who have a stake in this center beingsuccessful and continuing to operate. There are the patients andstaff, obviously, but also the patients’ families,the grants andfoundations that contribute to your success, the community, eventhe state legislature,” Lisa concluded.“You’ve got it,” Darrin saidquietly.Lisa continued, “You have a lot on your shoulders here. Ican see that it’s affecting you a great deal personally. What doyou think of bringing together a larger group to help you decidewhat to do? We could keep it to your staff, or we could invitemembers of these other groups.”“It sounds like a good idea,” Darrinagreed. “And at this point I’m at a loss about what to do next, soI’ll take any suggestions. Tell me more. Who would we invite?Howlong would it take, and how would it be structured?”“Let me thinkmore about that. I can get you a proposal quickly and we can getstarted as soon as possible,” Lisa said.“For the first time in afew weeks, I’m starting to feel hope,” Darrin smiled. “I’m lookingforward to your proposal.”