P&P August 2016

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

Lobby greeter Vessie Tenorio, Income Maintenance Caseworker I.

“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

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.

are in amore relaxed state it’s somuch easier to talk to them.”

—NATALIA YOUNG, INCOME MAINTENANCE CASEWORKER II

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.”

GregTipping is the chief services officer and vice president of State Operations at Northwoods.

See Cabbarus County on page 43

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