Policy & Practice | October 2021

uman services agencies are grappling with chal lenges at an unprecedented level. With efforts to serve NOW The Time for Change Is H Letting the Story Drive the Solutions By Todd Ellis, Carole Hussey, and Rachel Pratt

families in the midst of a global health emergency, calls to address structural racism and bias, and implementation of new benefit programs in extraordinary timelines, the time for change of an outdated system of support is now. The national human services call to action is to move services and supports upstream, allowing individuals and families to access them when the need first arises, stemming later, more signif icant interventions, from downstream systems of care designed to respond to crisis. A client’s story and their journey shape who they are, how they would like to be engaged, and what services may be valuable to them.

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Policy&Practice October 2021