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The new process eases client frustra-
tion because they knowwhere to go and
can see where they are in the lineup.
With the new business model, case-
workers save 10–20 minutes per client.
Caseworkers that see five to six clients
per day are saving one to two hours
daily to spend processing their cases
and collecting necessary information,
documentation, and verifications to
process applications faster.
“That means that families have food
to eat and medical care. And those are
two things that are very important,”
said Pam Dubois, senior deputy county
manager.
Caseworkers are no longer spending
appointment time explaining long
lobby waits and dealing with frustrated
clients. By spending less time defusing
client frustrations, they can spend more
time helping them access services.
Improving Communication
Poor communication from manage-
ment left caseworkers feeling confused
about the processes they were
expected to follow.
In addition, information technology
(IT) is housed with the county, not the
department, so communication break-
downs between IT and the program
side were common.
The communication issues caused
several challenges:
Inconsistent processes: Workers devel-
oped disjointed, manual processes
to get their jobs done. Clients experi-
enced different processes depending
on which worker they worked with.
Poor communicationmethods: The
agency relied on email to communi-
cate changes that caseworkers often
missed. In addition, management
failed to explain why business pro-
cesses were changing so caseworkers
didn’t understand how it affected them
or how changes fit into the big picture.
Technology mismatched to business
needs: CCDHS fell into a familiar
pattern: the program side of the
department asked for IT help; IT
provided technology; the program
side didn’t use the technology
because it didn’t match business
needs; IT got frustrated because the
technology wasn’t being used.
To improve communication and
standardize business processes across
the agency, CCDHS adopted SOPs so
all workers understand the processes.
Clients now have a similar experience
every time they visit the department.
To bridge the communication gap
between IT and the program side,
IT dedicated a business analyst for
the project who understands the
technology, and is immersed in the
department’s processes to understand
how the technology will or won’t meet
the business needs. The business analyst
will also help with ongoing needs.
Internally, the department banned
one-size-fits all emails. Now a cross-
functional change management team
determines process changes, which
they take back to their teams through
one-on-one or department meetings.
Workers hear the same message.
Because the changes are explained by
their supervisors, workers understand
how new processes and software affect
their specific roles.
Business Model
of the Future
By modernizing business prac-
tices, Cabarrus County DHS is
progressing through the second
stage (Collaborative) of the Human
Services Value Curve, which APHSA
has further refined through its Health
and Human Services Integration
Maturity Model 2.0
1
and into the third
stage (Integrative) where agencies are
“addressing and solving the root causes
of program participants’ needs and
challenges by seamlessly coordinating
and integrating services.”
Lobby greeter Vessie Tenorio, Income Maintenance Caseworker I.
Policy&Practice
August 2016
20
GregTipping
is the
chief services officer
and vice president
of State Operations
at Northwoods.
See Cabbarus County on page 43
“We have a very short
period of time to develop
a rapport with people
and to interview and
get asmuch information
as we can to be able to
process the application.
When they
are in amore
relaxed state
it’s somuch
easier to talk
to them.”
—NATALIA YOUNG,
INCOME MAINTENANCE CASEWORKER II