Improving Human Services
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A huge amount of money (in the region of $1 trillion) is spent on human services each year in America. From foster care to income assistance to education and training, human services offer a vital support system for those Americans most in need. The programs are in urgent need of modernization. Left unchanged, human services financing and delivery systems are on an unsustainable trajectory that could seriously hamper growth and innovation.
The way human services are financed has changed over the years, from grants to federal cost-reimbursement contracts and the increasing use of Medicaid to support human services. This human services financing approach has stretched service providers to the breaking point. As more and more families face hardship in the current economic crisis, providers are finding themselves in the same situation as many of their clients: reduced cash flow, decreased credit availability and difficulties in creating long-term financial well-being. The time is ripe to explore how federal, state and local governments can financially empower human service providers to increase capitalization and scale and sustain program innovation.
Another needed reform is service integration, especially using the tools that Web 2.0 provides. Twenty-first century citizens are already accustomed to incorporating the Internet into their daily lives — taking advantage of that to provide the same personalized, collaborative experiences that commercial businesses offer is critical to deliver human services in this day and age.
