Thought Leadership

by Heather Korbulic, Stephanie Martin, Laura Rich, and Alissa Surges Reno. A place that evokes the sounds of slot machines, makes you sing Johnny Cash, or has you doing some new-boot goofin’. As an ISM attendee, you might be thinking your only food and drink options are bad fries and…

A little over two years ago, Oklahoma Human Services Adult and Family Services (AFS) began a program improvement initiative and, in doing so, took a significant step towards transforming their safety-net operations for the better. Since then, AFS has improved their completion, utilization, and employee attendance rates; reduced their average…

Optimizing State Workforce Agencies in an Uncertain Economy One of the key indicators of a nation’s economic health is its unemployment rate. As the economy naturally ebbs and flows, the demand for essential public services – including unemployment benefits – rises and falls in direct correlation. It’s no surprise that…

A recent empirical study analyzing data from 156 countries revealed that increasing government efficiency can “significantly improve health outcomes,” with the most dramatic benefits felt by those aged 0–4 and over 50. Today, a majority of the U.S. seems to agree that government systems are not as efficient as they…

Public service workers, including those in health, child services, social benefits, and more, are at an exceptionally high risk for burnout, but recent research indicates that the most powerful causes and remedies for this burnout might not be what many would expect. While it may appear that public service burnout…

Building on the success of last year’s event, the 2024 Human Services Summit at Harvard brought together more than 65 leaders from over 30 states for an enlightening and inspiring gathering at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in October. Themed “Leadership in Dynamic Times,” the summit explored strategies for leading with…

Reflections on the 2024 ISM + PHSA Education Conference and Expo  Each year, the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) hosts the nation’s largest human services technology and legal conference. This year, the conference was attended by an impressive number of county, state, and federal leaders of human services agencies…

Quality, affordable child care holds the key to improved lives for all – better futures for children, greater economic opportunity for families, and increased workforce capacity for local and state economies. Unfortunately, today in the U.S., many struggle with the far-reaching impacts of a looming child care crisis. Despite recent…

There are numerous challenges facing the child care industry today. Many of these challenges—such as limited staffing, lengthy licensing process, convoluted administrative processes, and outdated technology solutions—are not new. Despite this reality, we continue to tackle the challenges with traditional approaches that do not meet the needs of the modern,…

April has been designated as National Child Abuse Prevention Month to create awareness about the importance of strengthening families and preventing child abuse and neglect.

Reflections on the 2024 ISM + PHSA Education Conference and Expo  Each year, the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) hosts the nation’s largest human services technology and legal conference. This year, the conference was attended by an impressive number of county, state, and federal leaders of human services agencies…

Permanency for kids, is one of the most risky and critical decisions made in all of government and getting to the finish line is a laborious process with thousands of factors that will influence the time it takes to get there. But when we are there, our research shows we…

We can make a difference, if we only stay focused on the root of the problems.

What government does is noble and vital, but it can't deliver the value it should if we don't do a better job of making the work, work. The future of management is about more than technology and budgets.

When the press writes about failures in the child welfare system, the tragedies are unique, but the pattern is often all too familiar. A family has been involved with the agency multiple times, signs of risk were missed, and the result is significant harm or even death. It’s hard to…

We all agree child welfare in our world is not as healthy as we would like it to be. No one wants to see vulnerable children at risk, but it seems like every attempt to get healthier isn’t working, and we are all clinging to the hope that the next…

Sometimes when we make reforms, government jobs get better too.

If the work made passionate people act like Flo on the TV series “Alice,” then the work can bring them back.

Agencies’ tendency to add more rules (and thus work) every time something bad happens prevents child protection workers from doing everything they can to keep kids safe.

A text message conversation about how once management fads fade, the best concepts remain.

A recent empirical study analyzing data from 156 countries revealed that increasing government efficiency can “significantly improve health outcomes,” with the most dramatic benefits felt by those aged 0–4 and over 50. Today, a majority of the U.S. seems to agree that government systems are not as efficient as they…

The only way out of the capacity crisis is to serve our customers completely and immediately. And data can now help us do this, when used correctly and applied at the most opportune time.

Accountability systems rarely work as they affix blame instead of fix systems. They also produce devastating side effects including workers gaming the measurement system and increase fear. There is a better way.

It’s a little hard to remember what life was like before Amazon two-day shipping.

How the misuse of data impedes innovation

Management lessons from the teachers’ strike.

Ken Miller draws from his latest book to explain how management-by-fear accountability systems rarely work and produce devastating side effects.

Capacity is a central concern for Medicaid agencies across the country as they redetermine coverage. The first step towards addressing this is to reduce the workload through ex parte resolutions. However, to truly empower the agency's workforce, it is crucial to equip them with the right tools and eliminate the…

To effectively prepare for, navigate, and manage redetermination and associated program backlogs that will undoubtedly develop in the coming weeks and months as agencies unwind PHE, here are five critical steps agencies can take.

The only way out of the capacity crisis is to serve our customers completely and immediately. And data can now help us do this, when used correctly and applied at the most opportune time.

When the public health emergency (PHE) and pandemic waivers come to an end, agencies must renew all existing Medicaid recipients. For many agencies already struggling with staff capacity to meet existing demand, they will no doubt be overwhelmed. To help agencies prepare for and tackle the wave of renewal workload,…

Our child welfare systems can feel like we are in a game of Jenga. We are attempting to grow and expand our systems by moving pieces one by one - while stretching our limited capacity. But with each move, the entire system risks collapse, particularly with worker shortages.

Turnover is an unprecedented challenge that threatens the well-being of children. But staff is hard to find, harder to retain, and we are hiring back into the same systems that haven’t addressed fundamental challenges that have existed for decades. The only way to improve this reality to rethink our approach.