Alternative Facts

Cruising over the Atlantic, en route to Vegas, relaxing with films and food and enjoying an alternative Monday morning to the usual jugggernaut of meetings, emails and rapidly growing to do lists.

I'll shortly land in Las Vegas, in an America where a new political dawn is breaking. Where record crowds turned out for the new presidents inaguration, where millions of women lined the streets to show solidarity and where healthcare is the top of the political agenda.

That's how you use alternative facts Mr President- formally known as spin, it at least had an element of truth. The record crowds, groundbreaking for their low numbers in memorable recent history, the millions of women's lining the streets, but to protest at the new Presidents misogynistic rhetoric, and healthcare topping the agenda, because Mr Trump, billionaire businessman considers the provision of safe state care for millions of Americans abhorrent.

I'm about to land in an alternative America, alternative potentially to the relatively progressive, safe and stable democracy that was maintained throughout my lifetime (to a measurable extent). Alternative because Foreign policy is conducted over Twitter at 2am, diplomacy now deemed irrelevant. Alternative because the media, for all their faults are now being roundly routed and ridiculed by the President (although straight back at ya Mr President). And alternative because there is a very real fear of this 'alternative' approach  amongst much of the wider world, all bar Russia, who have just won big at the metaphorical Krapps table.

Las Vegas is known to be a magical place full of wonder, where reality is suspended and the world can be whatever you make it. Today Vegas makes a suitable allegory for this alternative America, where reality is suspended but where wonder is woefully absent.

The title of this blog post is getting FIT,  I've cleverly duped your hard wired January brains! This isn't a blog about detoxing, doing a dry ish January or finding happiness untold in daily gym sessions. Sorry, although I'm sure there are plenty.

Getting FIT stands for having a 'f**k it moment' (please excuse the language) I considered alternatives, but a 'just do it' moment didn't have the same impact and nor would Nike approve!

This blog is about my f**k it moment, and where it leads to. It might be the biggest adventure, the silliest decision, or just a journey otherwise not taken, who knows.

I applied for a Churchill fellowship last year, without any real confidence that I would be selected for interview let alone selected as a fellow. I thought it would be worth a punt, I spent a few afternoons in Starbucks, that well known spot for research and essay writing. I had a look at the categories, read reports from others and cobbled together a reasonable application called 'Daring to care', in the category on early years, largely powered by too much caffeine from the free filter coffee refills.

A few months later I was called to an interview in London, that was a great experience in itself and when I actually believed my proposal was a good one. A few weeks later I sat on my stairs having opened what I presumed to be a letter of rejection, staring at the words congratulations. I'd got the fellowship, one of only six lucky people in Wales. Now I had to make my research idea an international reality, to pack my bags, sharpen my brain and determine who and what could teach me about improving outcomes for looked after children.

My background is in public service improvement, I love it, I truly believe that through politics, policy and legislation we have the tools to shape and re shape our public services. I've worked as a policy officer at the Welsh LGA, headed up an improvement agency for social care, and was latterly a Director of a large children's charity. I've seen the problem from all angles, I've probably been part of the problem, but also I'm sure, part of the solution.

For some reason in the UK children in care tend not to have a nice life experience in care or when they become adults. The system is often fractured, services silo'd and an ability to support individual needs and hopes not always there.

That's not to say that politicians, policy makers and the professionals aren't tirelessly working to improve things, they are. In Wales I've always felt and enjoyed a real sense that people want to work together to bring around change and improvement. We have made lots of progress, we have new legislation, huge new improvement programmes funded by the government and delivered collaboratively by local government and the voluntary sector, we even have something called the 'wellbeing of future generations' Act and a commissioner to bring it to life.

After a decade of working in Wales and completing a PhD in policy making (please don't all ask for it at once) I wanted to experience a different environment and a change of culture. Churchill provided this opportunity for me. I made contact with some key American counterparts in Government, Academia and Evidence based research.

Next week I will walk into work at the California department for social services, for an 8 week stint working alongside the Director and his team.

People learn in different ways, I enjoy being immersed in learning and thrown in at the deep end, and so I negotiated an 8 week arrangement where I will bring expertise into the team as they develop their policy and legislative programme which focuses on looked after children, and implementing a children's bill of rights.

Last night in between watching Ipswich lose to Lincoln in the magic of the Fa cup, and sipping hot lemon for my January induced cold, I had my first FaceTime with my American counterpart. The reality of the opportunity that Churchill offers embedded itself very firmly in my stomach between nerves and complete excitement.

Their language, their structure and their culture are fascinatingly different. So to their politics, but I'll leave the T word out for now, I've already sworn enough. Yet their problems will be the same, how do we protect, nurture and support the vulnerable children who need state care? I don't know yet but watch this space.