Policy & Practice | October 2021

5. Tell Your Stories Never let the wealth of data and technology minimize the importance of strong leadership, meaningful ques tions, data quality, and respectfully telling the story of the people you serve. The people being served have a story that began long before they became known to the agency. Candid and open conversations about these experiences will create a groundswell to disrupt the status quo and begin to reconsider innovative models for serving and sup porting our fellow humans equitably. A renewal of authentic engagement will lead toward a collaborative and trusted environment, providing a platform for much needed change. This vision and call to action has never been clearer than it is today. KPMG LLP has long recognized and supported its clients in their efforts to promote child and family well-being through primary prevention and early intervention. As the data, practices, and technology necessary to bring this vision to life in communities around the country are available and far more reliable and affordable than in the past, the time for change is now. Using past history to guide us and the opportunity that is before us, we can write a more optimistic story for the future—a journey toward economic mobility, self-sufficiencies, and thriving communities. (2021). Child welfare practice to address racial disproportionality and disparity. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children's Bureau. https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/ issue-briefs/racial-disproportionality 2. Uzzi, B. (2020). A simple tactic that could help reduce bias in AI. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2020/11/a-simple tactic-that-could-help-reduce-bias-in-ai 3. APM Research Lab. (2021, January 7). The color of coronavirus: Covid-19 deaths by race and ethnicity in the U.S. https://www.apmresearchlab.org/covid/ deaths-by-race 4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2021). Health equity considerations and racial and ethnic minority groups. https://www.cdc.gov/ coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/ health-equity/race-ethnicity.html Reference Notes 1. Child Welfare Information Gateway.

and practice perspective, as well as for clients, providers, community partners, and staff. Human-centered design (HCD) is an increasingly adopted practice to design technology solutions, programs, and client experiences to optimize delivery. Cornerstone practices of HCD are user research, whereby both qualitative and quantitative data are collected to inform processes, and prototyping, whereby concepts are turned into tangible simulations to spark creativity and iterate on ideas. Human services leaders learned long ago that moving upstream requires bridging silos. There is, however, much work to be done to serve clients more holistically and effectively. While standards for data sharing, such as the National Information Exchange Model for Human Services and the National Human Services Interoperability Architecture, exist to make efficient information exchange across diverse public and private health and human services organizations a reality, adoption is still lagging. And while confidentiality and privacy remain paramount considerations when sharing an individual’s data and must be addressed in any data-sharing scenario, the technology exists to address those concerns. 4. Elevate the Use of Data Once silos are connected, data tools allow us to elevate our use of data far beyond answering questions about our single agency interactions with the people we serve. With access to real-time data and solutions to bring together data from multiple sources, it is possible to gain a more holistic view of clients and the multiple programs with which they interact. If we then add community-level data and apply machine learning algorithms and pre dictive analytics, then data become useful because they allow workers to have that complete picture of which individuals might be more likely to need specific services and understand why they are needed. 3. Build Bridges to Connect Silos

At its start, there were 50 partner organizations; now there is a growing network of more than 200 community based organizations, health care facilities, and academic institutions that make up this large national network. The Future State We must consider the story of those we serve as we design the future journey in a system of care. The MSM collaboration is one example of this innovative upstream thinking, at a community level. MSM presents a future state envisioned by many in the field: a service delivery model that is equitable, human centered, and outcome focused. It is offered with dignity and without judgment and sup ported by processes and technology that are efficient and cost effective. Achieving a future state that allows individuals and families to access services and supports when the need first arises can be daunting. Nevertheless, agency leaders and staff can start taking meaningful steps today to build on upstream efforts by incorporating the five actions high lighted below. 1. Engage People with Lived Experience Give individuals with lived experi ence in the human services system a meaningful place at the table as you plan, design, develop, implement, and evaluate programs. When lived experience perspectives are included, and time is invested to engage in open and transparent communication, the quality, impact of services, and ability to develop innovative approaches are vastly improved. Your programs will not only be more focused, integrated, and culturally appropriate but also be more accepted and sustainable. 2. Design for Outcomes The meaningful involvement of people with lived experience is the first step in designing outcome focused programs and solutions rooted in equity. Designing for mean ingful and measurable outcomes involves defining target outcomes at the beginning. Outcomes should be contemplated from both the program

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October 2021 Policy&Practice