Policy & Practice April 2015

technology speaks

By Lou Polzella

ConneCT Creates Modernized Health and Human Service Delivery

F or Connecticut’s Department of Social Services (DSS), navigating a “perfect storm” of obsolete systems and mounting enrollment means successfully tapping a host of new tech- nologies to bring the agency and its 950,000 enrollees closer together. DSS’s multi-faceted service modernization initiative–dubbed “ConneCT”–is a seismic shift for the $7 billion health and human service department. Contending with anti- quated work processes and high public demand for services, the agency moved forward to implement such reforms as: Š Š Online applications and hardcopy Š Š A toll-free, interactive voice- response line and online client accounts to offer 24/7 access and the option for self-service. Š Š Benefits centers staffed during business hours to succeed outdated and fragmented phone/voicemail systems. While ConneCT is still a work in progress, DSS has also embarked on another monumental systems ini- tiative–replacing its 1980s-vintage eligibility management system with a modern, fully integrated system through the Affordable Care Act’s funding opportunities for states. “It’s been a long haul to reach our success milestones to date, and a lot of dedicated state employees and partners have worked extremely hard to get us here,” DSS Commissioner Roderick L. Bremby said. “We’ve moved the agency quite a bit forward with overdue investments in key infra- structure. We still have work to do, but I believe we’re in a good position to complete this metamorphosis in document scanning to replace mounds of paper at field offices.

struggling to support the opera- tional needs of the organization. The department relied on case- worker interaction (both via phone and in-person) to service every client request ranging from general inquires to case-specific questions. The department also exclusively used paper along with a manual veri- fication process to service all cases. This required extensive manual

the next couple of years, given federal and state resources and the support of Governor [Dannel P.] Malloy and our legislature.” Here’s a snapshot of the problem Connecticut faced and how it took action. First, the initial landscape: Š Š DSS’s core Eligibility Management System (EMS), deployed in 1989, and 13 different phone systems were functionally obsolete and were

Illustration via Veer

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