1 / 12

Work Support Strategies

Olivia Golden Executive Director. Work Support Strategies. WFSN Conference Workshop: Improving Benefits Access in States. November 7, 2013. WSS National Team. FUNDERS. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. PROJECT MANAGEMENT & EVALUATION. What is WSS? .

miller
Download Presentation

Work Support Strategies

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Olivia Golden Executive Director Work Support Strategies WFSN Conference Workshop: Improving Benefits Access in States November 7, 2013

  2. WSS National Team FUNDERS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROJECT MANAGEMENT & EVALUATION

  3. What is WSS? Improve families’ wellbeing by increasing enrollment in the full package of work supports. Help states deliver benefits more effectively and efficiently Share lessons learned to inform state and federal policies.

  4. Why WSS? Work supports can help low-income families meet needs, improve outcomes, and stabilize work. Yet many families do not receive the full package of benefits. State policy, processes, systems are part of the barrier

  5. WSS Aims to Integrate and Modernize Delivery of…. Medicaid/ CHIP SNAP (nutrition assistance) Child Care Development Fund (child care subsidies) Others identified by the states (such as TANF and energy assistance)

  6. The States Colorado Idaho Illinois North Carolina South Carolina Rhode Island

  7. State Activities Technology & information systems Business processes Management & Communication Data Analysis &Use Policy

  8. Lesson #1: Commitment by Diverse States to WSS Goals The Puzzle • How can these states stay committed to improving work support programs? • What about political polarization, tight budgets, ongoing crises? The Answers • Pre-reform systems weren’t working. • Responsive government is a widely shared goal. • Fragmented systems frustrate counties. • States want wins for children/ families. • Once agencies improve, they don’t want to go back.

  9. The Wins So Far: 5 Common Themes Seize health reform as an opportunity for integration. Improve child care policy and practice. Improve local office processes to speed decision-making. Make policy decisions across programs. Fix “churn” as well as initial applications.

  10. The “How To’s” of State Reform Use data for decision-making, but understand it’s hard. Modernize technology—but don’t let it rule you. Building teams takes persistence but pays off. Leadership and management matter. A learning organization can meet challenge after challenge.

  11. Resources • http://www.urban.org/worksupport/ • Early Lessons from the Work Support Strategies Initiative • Cross-cutting report: http://www.urban.org/publications/412789.html • Nine state reports: http://www.urban.org/worksupport/Early-Lessons.cfm

  12. Resources (cont.) New Perspectives on Transforming States’ Health and Human Services, 2013. (Collection of commentaries). http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/412833-New-Perspectives-on-Transforming-States-Health-and-Human-Services.pdf Public Forum June 2013: http://www.urban.org/events/Transforming-States-Services-ACA.cfm

More Related