Stewards of Change Consulting designed, developed and helped Connecticut’s Department of Social Services implement a strategic action plan, as required by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to qualify for federal funding to build a new state Medicaid Management Information System to better serve Connecticut’s 800,000 Medicaid recipients. (The plan was compliant with all federal requirements established under the state’s Medicaid Information Technology Architecture (MITA) Advanced Planning document.)
In addition to meeting federal funding requirements, the purpose of the year-long strategic action planning process was to help senior leadership in Connecticut to refine their vision and mission, as well as to develop overarching annual goals for the agency. These goals were then translated and integrated into actionable objectives, strategies, and tactics by all DSS divisions/programs to guide their strategic activities during 2018 and beyond. The process also provided DSS with a repeatable model and approach – based on SOC Consulting’s Human Services 2.0 methodology – that can be used to support strategic planning into the future.
In addition to the planning components, SOCC provided a structure and process to monitor, measure and report progress about objectives and action plans that fit into the department’s overarching goals. The planning process and subsequent monitoring and reporting efforts were designed to improve decision-making and inter-divisional communication, as well as to provide guidance for allocating scarce resources.
Our work accomplished more than just producing a valuable, actionable plan. The strategic manner in which SOCC guided the process in itself increased DSS employees’ understanding of and commitment to the department’s vision, mission, goals, values, and key priorities. Most importantly, the process provided an opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of what constitutes success, while helping participants recognize the opportunities and challenges they face in meeting the needs of the state’s customers and constituents.
Stewards of Change personnel continue to work with Connecticut on a variety of initiatives at all levels, including an innovative interoperability project in the city of Bridgeport designed to improve cross-domain information-sharing (among schools, hospitals and other relevant sectors) in order to improve the life prospects of children and families in the state’s poorest communities.