Policy & Practice October 2017

president‘s memo By Tracy Wareing Evans

50 Years—A Special Celebration

T his year we are proud to celebrate the 50th anniversary of two of our affinity groups—IT Solutions Management for Human Services (ISM) and the American Association of Health and Human Services Attorneys (AAHHSA). Over the years, these two important and influential groups

to a fully integrated H/HS system that not only connects data across depart- ments but also across sister agencies and community partners. What’s to come in the next 50 years is anyone’s guess. Will 3-D printing enable more community-based solu- tions? Will home visits with children or

first ISM conference. At the time, the hottest things in IT included the first- ever demonstration of the computer mouse, the launch of a groundbreaking operating system called UNIX, the founding of Intel, and the first demon- stration of word processing. It is safe to say that the 1968 ISM attendees

older adults, especially those who live in remote areas, regularly occur through holograms or other virtual means? How will machine learning redirect when and how services are delivered? And what will it mean for the workforce? One thing we do know for certain: As IT continues to play a crucial role in the advancement of the H/HS system, APHSA, through the annual ISM conference and our

have contributed significantly to the advancement of health and human services delivery and our shared goal of building thriving communities in which all children and families can reach their full potential. It is fitting that ISM and AAHHSA share a common anniversary as both groups touch nearly every aspect of

growing peer community of IT leaders, will continue to highlight and promote the technological advancements and related business models that support a modern H/HS system. AAHHSA While the role of the health and human services attorney has not changed dramatically over the past 50 years, these professionals remain lynchpins of a strong and thriving H/HS system. Like ISM, many topics covered at the first AAHHSA (at the time known as the American Association of Public Welfare Attorneys, AAPWA) conference were

health and human services. Over the past 50 years, technology has provided time-saving tools for the workforce and modern customer interfaces, enabling greatly improved service delivery and the ability to measure outcomes. And, it would be nearly impossible to stay abreast of H/HS requirements without the devoted legal teams that interpret and implement the ever-changing local, state, and federal rules and regulations. As we celebrate this important mile- stone for ISM and AAHHSA, I thought it fitting to provide some historical context and a glimpse of what the future holds. ISM In 1968, a small group of IT profes- sionals gathered in Chicago for the

would not recognize many of the IT solutions of today (mobile, the Cloud), nor the language that accompanies it (such as agile, waterfall). At the same time, they might be surprised to see that several of the challenges facing today’s H/HS program administrators are similar to issues they faced back in Chicago, including the age-old chal- lenges of how to train the workforce or secure funding to upgrade systems. Over the ensuing 50 years, IT’s role in supporting efficient and effective service delivery has become increas- ingly important as H/HS agencies shifted from a focus on how to deliver a single program to an enterprise- wide approach for an entire agency connecting multiple systems through common platforms, and, most recently,

See President’s Memo on page 36

Illustration via Sutterstock

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October 2017 Policy&Practice