Indiana Creates One-Stop Social Services Program

Families who find themselves in a position to ask government for help to make ends meet face a double challenge. Not only is there a cumbersome process that requires producing mounds of paper-based information and the completing of often-duplicated forms, there is also a sense of personal humiliation as a client moves from one agency to the next and repeats a story of misfortune.

Although social services is essentially a people-based business in which there is no substitute for a kind and caring social worker, Indiana is making use of technology to improve service delivered to clients throughout the state. One in seven Indiana residents are served by FSSA that has a budget of approximately $13 billion. The new system -- HelpIndiana - will eventually revolutionize how those residents are served while creating savings and improving efficiencies.

The HelpIndiana project is a virtual Web-based one-stop that touches 20 programs across eight state and local agencies. The system eliminates the need for numerous intake interviews for a wide range of services from family benefits and emergency cash assistance to housing and legal assistance.

Introduced in January of this year by the Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA), HelpIndiana proved itself a tool that not only facilitates the delivery of social services while making the process more client-friendly but also promises to deliver a return on investment within three years.

The program was kicked off with a pilot project in three counties, according to Jeff Clancy, CIO of FSSA. "The purpose of the pilot is not about the technology," he said. "It's more about the processes in the office."

Clients meet with a caseworker who enters data into a HelpIndiana template. The system then searches criterion across agencies such as the division of Family and Children, Department of Health, the Office of Medicaid and the Department of Workforce Development, among others, and returns an eligibility list. It also produces a list of services for which the applicant is not qualified along with an explanation. Finally, the client receives a list of automated referrals with office locations and details about what documents will be needed at each point.

"One of the neat things about the program is that it doesn't matter if the case worker is new or very experienced, "Clancy said, "because the results don't depend on the knowledge of the person screening the client."

According to Clancy the usual reticence of agencies to share information was not a factor. "We are touching the same customer," he said. "It's about being able to screen a person and find all the programs they are likely to qualify for." Clancy added that he had tried to engage the family court system in the project but ran into typical "turf" issues that precluded the court's participation. Social service providers, on the other hand, were eager to sign-on.

The faster and more efficient process clearly benefits applicants. But, it also creates an environment in which social workers can do what they were trained to do -- help people in need instead of shuffling paperwork. State officials anticipate more positive outcomes for people who interact with the social services system, particularly when the project moves to the next phase with services being available on the accessIndiana Web portal.

The intent is to eliminate the need for a personal visit to a government office and interact with a caseworker. Applicants will be able to complete forms online using a Web browser, instantly receiving eligibility status and referrals.

Currently, HelpIndiana is accessed through a caseworker's Web browser using programming tools from Borland and Oracle. The system was built using industry standard technologies such as Microsoft Internet Information Server and Oracle database. Programming tools include Delphi, Oracle, PL/SQL, JavaScript, HTML and .Net.

Officials expect to recoup the initial investment of $3 million within three years because the program eliminated the need to contract for services to do client assessments.
HelpIndiana has already received accolades from the National Governors Association and Harvard's e-Government program.