Until recently, each individual health and human services agency had its own legacy case management system, unable to connect with any other. In 2008, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the establishment of the HHS-Connect program. Developed with the help of Accenture, HHS-Connect connects the dots between clients, agencies and providers—enabling the city to make better and quicker decisions resulting in better outcomes for citizens.
From child care to assistance for the aging, New York City’s nine health and human services agencies provide essential benefits and services, helping to protect the health and well being of the city’s 8 million residents, particularly those who are least able to help themselves.
Until recently, each individual health and human services agency had its own legacy case management system, unable to connect with any other—resulting in repetitive data entry, missed opportunities to collaborate and, often, a less-than-optimal array of services for families. Mayor Bloomberg made the development of an integrated system to support human services programs across agencies his priority.
Over 19 months, beginning in January 2008, Accenture worked with the city to develop and deploy five foundational projects to serve as enabling technologies for the overarching goals of improved accessibility, transparency and accountability of city government.
Worker Connect, a Web portal-based application, improves how caseworkers serve their common clients by providing access to client demographic and case/program-specific data from five city agencies: the Human Resources Administration, Administration for Children’s Services, Department of Homeless Services, Department for the Aging, and New York City Housing Authority.
The Client Portal initiative redesigned the front-end of ACCESS NYC and utilized content from New York City’s 311 website to provide more advanced features and functions for citizens. Transactions are directly integrated with the agency back-end systems, eliminating the need for worker data entry. The system’s electronic capabilities help reduce the number of in-person visits clients must make to agencies for assistance, as well as the number of phone calls or letters to agencies.
The HHS-Connect program is unprecedented in human services. It is allowing the largest city in the United States to dramatically transform how it operates, serves clients and measures performance by breaking down information barriers among its agencies. Its initial achievements are supporting the government of New York City’s vision of reshaping the way health and human services are delivered to New York City residents in need.
Specific benefits of the system include improved agency efficiency and decision making through the use of consistent client records across agencies; improved quality and timeliness in administering services and programs; reduced paperwork and duplication; and enhanced ability of agencies and providers to fulfill their missions.
Through improved access to data, information sharing and interagency collaboration, HHS-Connect delivers more holistic health and human services rather than only solving immediate, ad hoc needs. Ultimately, the true value of HHS-Connect is in helping families achieve self-sufficiency.
The National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) selected HHS-Connect Information Architecture and Development for a 2009 Best of NIEM Award. In its inaugural year, Best of NIEM honors programs that demonstrate best practices and innovative technology solutions within complex legacy environments to effectively achieve results.
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