All good things must come to an end
Posted by Iahmed on December 28, 2010
They say all good things must come to an end and my tenure as DHS director is near its end.
I want you to know this has definitely been a “good thing” for me; I hope the past three years have been good for you, too.
That Michigan has seen an unprecedented increase for services and assistance in the past few years should come as no surprise.
I commend DHS employees and our agency and court partners throughout the state for their work to serve the state’s vulnerable children, adults and families. They met the need with rising caseloads, and limited resources.
That dedication ensured the state’s safety net remained strong.
As my tenure ends, I want to celebrate some of our accomplishments.
But, that first requires some context…
At the end of the 2010 fiscal year, the food assistance, Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, programs were at historic highs with nearly 2 million people receiving food and health care assistance.
The result? DHS field specialists were handling an average of 714 cases compared to 320 cases in fiscal year 2002.
These tough economic times also meant we had to think innovatively. In an effort to maximize efficiency, we used enhanced technology.
The Bridges eligibility system, which was cited by Government Technology magazine as an exemplary state system, helped DHS staff manage an estimated 200,000 applications each month and the nearly 250,000 that will come in this year on the online application. With more than 700 cases assigned to every assistance specialist, there’s no way we could have done this with the old systems.
We also announced a mobile application – the first in state government – this month to help partners and advocates across Michigan better help hard-working Michigan families. The application is available for free at the Android Market, and will allow DHS partner agencies and advocates to find the closest DHS office, information about applying for food and emergency energy assistance online, and up-to-the minute news about DHS programs and services. It will also be available on the iPhone platform in mid-January.
At the same time, we reduced the food assistance error rate and improved processing speed. We also met our objectives for Jobs, Education and Training-related job placement and we started the JET Plus program that offers literacy, subsidized employment and training for assistance clients.
In the child welfare system, we lowered the number of children in foster care; finalized more adoptions than ever before in 2009; created a new guardianship program for people who want to care for children; moved children from institutions to home-based care; moved almost all children in unlicensed relative care to appropriate settings; and added new family preservation programs.
Because of your efforts, there is no question Michigan’s child welfare system is better today than in 2008.
On both a personal and professional level, I am pleased we renewed public debate over the issue of poverty in America and Michigan beginning with the 2008 Poverty Summit and by starting the Voices 4 Action Network. This engages our citizens in the new war on poverty; one we can win with continued advocacy and encouragement.
We continue to see an unprecedented increase in demand for our services with nearly 3 million people coming to us for help. I have great pride knowing an army of DHS staff and our partners do so much to save our communities from desperation and hard times. You don’t get the praise you deserve and you deserve more.
Thank you for being my partner these past three years. I offer warm wishes for your holiday season. Goodbye and best wishes to you.
