The Human Services Extranet Project

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The Human Services Extranet Project

"This article is a summary of the "project background" outline provided by the Human Services Council through the Select Committee on Technology in Government." [this authorial note was added for clarification purposes on January 24, 2003]

UPDATE: On Tuesday, February 6, 2003, the New York City Council will hold a critical hearing on the proposed Human Services Extranet project. The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. at 250 Broadway on the 14th Floor hearing room.

Not only are all welcome, all are encouraged to attend.

Project Background
The Human Services (HS) Extranet is a joint project sponsored by the Human Services Council of New York City (HSC) and the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT). The plan is to pilot an online case management system that will allow private nonprofits and city agencies to share client information, as well as to transmit and receive RFPs, financial information and payments.

The HSExtranet has been proposed as a way to connect New York City's human service (HS) providers – allowing the city's nonprofits to share information with other HS providers, including government agencies, faith-based agencies, community-based organizations (CBOs) and for-profits – via an integrated, online network. This network would expedite referrals and track outcomes and clients as they access a variety of city services.

The HSExtranet Technology
One potential solution for building the Extranet that HSC and DoITT are considering is something along the lines of the Cúram framework approach. This allows for the development of a secure network enabling various proprietary case management applications and systems, currently in use by partner organizations, to transmit and share consumer data via a community data warehouse. The data warehouse would be web-enabled, allowing smaller organizations to access the warehouse via the web using a 128-bit encrypted browser GUI, thereby maintaining e-commerce standards and security.

HSExtranet Goals
The HSC has identified the goals of the proposed HSExtranet as follows:

Track and share information about clients and enable various end-users to communicate, share and warehouse common data in a centralized database.
Utilize standard Internet browser-based technology and/or thin-client* application to allow various legacy systems currently in use to communicate and share information on clients. (*Thin-client technology connects the user to a remote server and runs all applications from that point. Previously it required the installation of software on the user's desktop. Newer technology promises to eliminate this last step and the attendant staff training and software update concerns.)
Coordinate client services and client tracking.
Create a secure environment with password protection and user tracking, to ensure accessibility to information is on a "need to know" basis.
Collect unduplicated aggregate data for planning and reporting purposes. Produce management reports for the client, case manager and agency.
Capture and share information on demographics, chronological service history, consumer outcomes and resource consumption on each individual client.
Utilize a Benefit Eligibility & Referral tool that identifies all services available for the client in need, along with determining eligibility for those services.
Track costs and payments relative to each client and provide a platform for interactive RFP's and payment schedules to contracted service providers.
Provide e-Procurement capabilities that will denote the contractor, contract and approval stage. This would include names and contact information for the responsible parties so that providers can make provisions in the event their contract is not approved in a timely manner.
Adapt to policy shifts on benefit eligibility and service provision, while also being able to model current and future impact of proposed shifts on clients.
Scale for managing the extremely large client and user base that exists in the city.
Communicate with stand-alone proprietary systems, currently used by various city agencies, through the development of appropriate software bridges that facilitate the exchange of consumer information.

HSExtranet Expected Outcomes
The HSC anticipates that the Extranet would provide social service clients with quicker access to multiple services from a single location. They would also have access to real-time information sharing. Program Administrators would be able to capture information on client outcomes, demographics and organizational resource consumption. Frontline workers would have an easier time providing benefit counseling and case management services. They would also have ready access to statewide resource information.

Specifically, the HSC has identified the following benefits:

Reduce the cost of service provision while eliminating service duplication.
Save clients time spent traveling from location to location to repeat "their story" by realizing one-time document completion and information sharing.
"One Stop Shop" access to multiple services from one location, using eligibility and referral tools.
Expedite the development of an appropriate service plan as a function of the ability to view the chronological service history from the combined database of HSExtranet member agencies.
Enhance community planning and funding recommendations.

For further information on the proposed HSExtranet and the upcoming council hearing on February 6, 2003, please contact the following:

New York City Councilmember Gail Brewer, Chair of the Select Committee on Technology in Government, at gale.brewer@council.nyc.ny.us or Nicholas Noe, Policy Analyst for the Select Committee on Technology in Government, at infnoe@council.nyc.ny.us.

Melanie Hartzog, Public Policy Associate for the Human Services Council at hartzogm@ujafedny.org.

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