The annual Medicaid Enterprise Systems Conference is always a great place to share ideas, learn about new initiatives and technologies, network with federal and state officials and engage with industry leaders from across the country. This year’s MESC – which took place in Chicago last week – was no exception. I’m gratified to say that […]
Read More »Every day, state governments make decisions that affect their citizens’ lives. They determine which policies to enact and which problems to address. They establish how programs should be run and where budget dollars are best spent, as well as who qualifies for government assistance. To effectively serve the public, officials at every level of state […]
Read More »Support for any nonprofit organization, at its core, is about belief. Belief that the organization has the right vision, the right approach, the right people to get the job done. So when we learned this week that the Kresge Foundation is awarding a new, two-year grant to Stewards of Change Institute (SOCI), we were obviously […]
Read More »Navigating government programs is difficult. I had been trying to support my father as he aged and his needs increased. He lived in another state, so I spent an incredible amount of time online and on the phone trying to understand what services were available and what was required for him to access them. It […]
Read More »There are countless ways to demonstrate the horror of our nation’s opioid crisis, from raw numbers (over 47,600 opioid-related deaths in 2017) to records set (fatal overdoses now exceed vehicular deaths) to OMG descriptions of the drugs’ toxicity. A couple of recent examples: During a routine traffic stop last April, state troopers in Nebraska seized […]
Read More »There are lots of reasons I’m grateful for what I get to do for a living, from the smart, passionate and compassionate people I’m honored to work with; to the promise (and reality) of advancing knowledge that can improve entire systems; and, most of all, to the deep belief that Stewards of Change Institute (SOCI) […]
Read More »Even as there becomes greater acceptance of the need for interoperability across domains and disciplines in order to address serious social problems such as the opioid epidemic, cultural challenges remain as major obstacles to the practical implementation of this concept. One clear case study revealing the obstacles to interoperability can be found in the debate […]
Read More »Cross-program data-sharing has been one of the most popular topics at Health and Human Services conferences this year. Many states and counties are exploring different models of collaboration and integration, some focused on improving the client’s ability to engage with government, others on improving the agency’s ability to engage holistically with the client. Both approaches […]
Read More »All across the country, health and human services programs are making connections to provide more coordinated approaches to improving health and well-being in their communities. Many of these efforts involve information-sharing about the people being served – whether through public health clinics and school systems or with government cash and food assistance. While there are many benefits […]
Read More »One of the underpinnings of our work at the National Interoperability Collaborative (NIC) is the understanding that “people constantly navigate multiple, interconnected systems — from education, transportation and employment to health, housing and human services — that shape their opportunities.” There are quote marks around the truism above because I didn’t write it. Rather, it […]
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