Policy & Practice | Spring 2024

IBM andTogetherNow: A Unified Vision Rochester, NY, exemplifies these challenges, with significant poverty rates that sparked the Rochester/ Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative (RMAPI). While collaborating with IBM in its Smarter Cities Challenge, 1 RMAPI identified a fragmented service delivery system in Rochester as a critical barrier. This insight led to the Monroe County Systems Integration Project (SIP) and eventually evolved into TogetherNow®, a collaborative of more than 150 partners working to implement a common vision of system transformation and aiming to create a cohesive service ecosystem through the MyWayfinder® platform. The MyWayfinder initiative represents a shared mission between IBM and TogetherNow—to enable easy access to services across education, health, and human services, driven by a commit ment to agile, human-centered design. Empowering Communities Through Collaboration In the heart of every thriving com munity lies a network of support that champions the well-being of its children and families. This support

Our partnership is not just about building a system; it is about weaving a fabric of support that holds our community together, ensuring every family and individual can thrive in a caring, responsive environment. The TogetherNow and IBM partnership is a win-win for communities of care seeking to empower families and work upstream—before families find them selves in a crisis situation. Innovative Data Sharing for Enhanced Connectivity Central to our collaborative efforts is the innovative sharing of data. With MyWayfinder, individuals and families maintain control over their personal information. MyWayfinder enables individuals to manage a secure and personalized connection with service providers. They decide who can access their MyWayfinder dashboard. Service providers can maintain connections with individuals and families who have added them to their care team within the tool. When services are deliv ered, all of the individual’s care team members can see that the individual received the help they were seeking and can even see how the individual grated with the local 211/LIFE LINE Community Resource Directory, indi viduals and families can more easily find and connect with a vast network of service providers. MyWayfinder has even been used to integrate the 211 Resource Directory with one local health system’s Electronic Health Record (EHR) platform. Sharing data across sectors by leveraging existing community assets like 211/LIFE LINE has been integral to TogetherNow’s col laborative data sharing efforts. rated their service experience. Because MyWayfinder is inte

preventing them from happening in the first place by addressing challenges early, fostering resilience, and building a foundation of support that empowers families to create and nurture a safe, loving environment for their children. TogetherNow and IBM, through our partnership, are a testament to the power of collaboration in creating communities of care. We empower families, offering them the tools and support they need long before a crisis emerges. Understanding the maze of agencies and available resources can be daunting for families seeking help. That is where TogetherNow comes in, offering insights into how referral services can be optimized to provide families with necessary resources while navigating the complex regula tions around data sharing. MyWayfinder shared information platform, a website where people seeking services could find and col laborate with providers from any sector in one secure place, and where those providers could coordinate with each other in delivering care. IBM reflects the organization’s principles and approach by collaborating with diverse community stakeholders in the human-centered design and devel opment of MyWayfinder. IBM brings its expertise in human services and its technical prowess in developing the MyWayfinder platform—a game changer in connecting care. With agile processes, TogetherNow and IBM can rapidly implement ongoing commu nity feedback to build a solution that continually incorporates the commu nity’s needs and desires. MyWayfinder’s dashboard gives service providers a complete view of an individual’s needs, simplifying support and enabling providers to remove repetitive services and address essential gaps. Users can search for local resources, get care sugges tions, request services, rate their experience, and choose and securely message providers. Additionally, 211/ LIFE LINE Community Connectors use MyWayfinder to direct individuals to appropriate resources, providing broad and easy access to services when they are needed. In 2021, IBM signed on with TogetherNow to help build the

network is about more than just responding to crises; it is about

Nikisha S. Johnson is Assistant Director at TogetherNow.

Building Brighter Futures: Greece Central School District Community Schools

Leah Pewitt is Associate Partner, Child Welfare and Social Services Industry Lead, at IBM Consulting.

In the heart of New York’s Monroe County, the Greece Central School District (GCSD) and MyWayfinder are making a real difference. Greece is a busy suburb currently facing some hidden challenges. Many of its residents are struggling with suburban poverty,

12

Policy & Practice Spring 2024