5 part exercise to find the small fix to a massive problem

A Quick Recap of Mind the Gap

Every broken system has a gap where power leaks — a narrow space between what is expected and what actually happens when a person with no one watching has to act.

Gracie fell through one of those gaps. After her father grabbed her by the neck, a CPS (Child Protective Services) caseworker interviewed her, heard her account, and then wrote down a different word — “arm” instead of “neck” — in the official record. There was no recording, no witness, no way to ever check what she’d actually said. The case was closed. Custody proceeded unchanged.

That one word revealed a much bigger gap: nowhere in the country are initial CPS interviews recorded. Even though more than a third of American children are interviewed by CPS at some point (a whopping 37.4% of children), and even though the Department of Justice, most police departments, medical offices and 900+ Child Advocacy Centers now audio record as standard practice. The gate to foster care and child abuse screenings is shrouded in terrifying unnecessary secrecy and lack of accountability for children and their caregivers.

That gap became the GRACIE Act: legislation to incentivize CPS agencies to record initial interviews with children, closing the accountability hole that swallowed Gracie’s testimony. Moving it from an idea into law in nine state legislatures and Congress with just a few years followed a pattern that can be repeated:

• Make the gap visible. A statistic opens a door; a story walks people through it. Holding the Congressional Record up next to Gracie’s altered case file made an invisible double standard suddenly undeniable.

• Articulate a workable solution. The ask wasn’t radical — it was catching CPS up to a standard the DOJ, police, and hundreds of advocacy centers already met. Precedent is permission.

• Mitigate risk for supporters. Arizona went first, passing unanimously through committee. Virginia followed. Each early win lowered the risk for the legislator who came next.

• Build a coalition. On behalf of Ascend Consulting DC’s client Street Grace, we developed a coalition of child welfare groups, legal experts, and survivors to turn one advocate’s idea into a documented constituency.

The same four moves apply far beyond child welfare and legislatures. They apply to the internal complaint that never reaches an executive team, the safety report that gets softened on its way upward, the initiative that dies in a single department because not enough employees were asked to give their opinion.

Exercise: Find the Gap

This is an exercise you can run on your own, as a leader, or with a team — a productive way to surface the gaps people already sense and the solutions they may have been quietly carrying.

Step 1 — Name the gap. Fill in the blanks: The system is designed to ______________, but what actually happens is ______________. Many gaps have never been said out loud. Writing the sentence turns a big, diffuse problem into a small, specific one.

Step 2 — Trace the gap back to its source. Identify the specific moment of breakdown: who is in the room, what they are supposed to do, and what they actually do instead?

Step 3 — Ask the one critical question. What would have made this outcome different? Consider several options, and poll your team if you have one. Look for concrete, structural changes — a tool, a requirement, a transparency mechanism — that would shift the outcome or ease the burden going forward, rather than relying on people simply trying harder.

Step 4 — Find your champions. Identify three people whose existing concerns, personal history, or professional credibility naturally intersect with the gap you’ve named. The right champions are the ones whose problem your solution happens to solve. You’re not convincing them of something new, you’re handing them something they’ve been waiting for.

Step 5 — Build the bridge. Draft a single page that makes the gap visible with one story, names the solution in a sentence, anticipates the top objections, and lists three supporters whose endorsement would lower the perceived risk of saying yes. This is your map to hand someone before you ask them to say yes.

If you run this exercise, tell me what you find. The best gaps and the best fixes are often hiding in plain sight .