Policy & Practice December 2018

our do’ers profile

In Our Do’ers Profile, we highlight some of the hardworking and talented individuals in health and human services. This issue features Belit Burke, Self-Sufficiency Program Design Administrator, Oregon Department of Human Services.

Name: Belit Burke Title: Self-Sufficiency Program Design Administrator Years of Service: 23 years Rewards of the Job: I am rewarded through the work I get to do with my team as part of policy and programs (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families [TANF], Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program [SNAP], Employment Related Day Care [ERDC], and others), we are able to make a difference for the population we serve in Oregon. Any time we make a policy better or receive a grant there is a positive impact. Accomplishments Most Proud Of: I am proud of the expansion of the Employment and Training program in Oregon. When we started working with the 50/50 funding stream, I did not know a great deal about it and how to best leverage the third-party match. Through great part- nerships we increased our funding from 3 million dollars to 30 million dollars. In Oregon we applied for a Summer Meals Electronic Benefit Transfer grant. This grant is very fast paced. It is difficult to set it up every year as it is not permanently funded. Oregon has been able to move this pilot from three counties to almost the entire state, including all of the rural areas. The funding made a huge difference for drought-affected counties in Oregon and helped reduce food insecurity in school-aged children during the summer months. This year Oregon served more than 70,000 children with this program.

Future Challenges for the Delivery of Public Human Services: One of the future chal- lenges is thinking beyond of our current funding streams. If we wait for federal funding streams to align, we will not be able to accomplish service integration and leverage funding streams. It is up to states to be creative and figure out how to best serve people with our available funding. There are many opportunities to provide better services to the families and individuals we serve. We need to be creative about how we look at them: from child welfare, to SNAP and TANF, these families are all part of our com- munity and we need to figure out how to serve them more effectively and to help change their lives. Little Known Facts About Me: I thrive on partnerships and collaborations and have worked with advocates in Oregon my entire career. I am not afraid to have difficult conversations and listen to other viewpoints. I believe we can only make services better by being open to everyone’s voice. One project I am very proud of is Oregon’s Secret Shopper Project, where advocate partners go into the branch offices and go through the upfront application process. This allows our organization to better understand how our operations are working for the most vulnerable Oregonians accessing our services. Outside Interests: I enjoy running marathons and investing in the journey to achieve them. I also enjoy spending time spoiling my grandchildren and I love to bake.

Policy&Practice December 2018 36