A National Imperative: Joining Forces to Strengthen Human Services in America (Jan 2018)

stability – and the cycle repeats. Moreover, CBOs are increasingly competing for talent with the health care industry, which is generally able to offer better pay and benefits, as well as better training and career development programs.

CHALLENGE #9 Technology

Outdated and incompatible IT systems and software greatly limit human services CBOs’ operational efficiency and effectiveness. In the National Imperative Survey, one-third of CBO respondents indicated that inefficiencies from outdated IT were a top challenge, and 44% indicated that high IT costs were a top challenge. The technology problems affect both human services CBOs’ internal systems and the external systems with which they interface. As a result, people often must enter the same data into multiple systems to be in compliance. More and more human services contracts require the ability to demonstrate measurable outcomes. Achieving those outcomes requires access to integrated systems and IT infrastructure that facilitates measurement and tracking. CBOs lacking up-to-date IT find it difficult to meet these requirements, and hence to obtain funding. Similarly, both human services CBOs and funders point to “big data” analysis of human services interventions and outcomes as critical to designing optimal, better coordinated, and integrated services, and to identifying and targeting upstreampoints of prevention and earlier intervention more effectively. Human services CBOs will not be able to realize these innovative approaches to service design and delivery, discussed further below, without the support of robust data analysis capabilities and integrated IT infrastructure. Many human services CBOs recognize the imperative to upgrade their technology capabilities: in the National Imperative survey, over 40% of human services CBOs picked technology-related investments for how they would spend additional funds if given the opportunity. Yet government contracts and other funders are reluctant to pay for IT investments that are considered non-program related expenses – even though they are crucial to realizing desired program outcomes.

“CEOs have to stop thinking that hand-me-down technology is okay. It undermines productivity and devalues work”

– Human Services CBO CEO, Indiana

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