Sunday, August 15, 2010
A better approach to social service delivery
For some odd reason I couldn't comment on this article in the Newspaper, so I'll do it here:
DHHS Commissioner Nicholas Toumpas speak's about implementing and consolidation of substance abuse and treatment programs throughout the state of NH. So what does this mean to the parent's of children already stolen by DCYF, due to substance abuse issues? What does this mean to the parent's who were forced out of their substance abuse treatment in order to regain custody of their children, which was a DISCRIMINATORY tactic used by both DCYF and the Nashua Court's? What does this mean to the parent's who were court-ordered out of their substance abuse treatment and court-ordered medical detox? Medical detox which did NOT exist in the state of NH, but was recommended to the court by DCYF and used against the parent to regain custody of the child? Shouldn't Judges know which programs exist before making a court-order for anyone to follow? Should a parent lose a lifetime with her child because she was court-ordered into a program which didn't even exist?
A mother given less than a month to detox on her own off methadone treatment is nearly impossible. Throw in a major illness and it gives the mother an even lower chance of detox.
What will happen to the parent's who have already lost their children because they were court-ordered out of substance abuse treatment? Will they ever get their children back? Will DCYF and the court's be held accountable for their discriminatory practices? Will DCYF and the court's ever re-unite families without discriminating against them?
Substance abuse treatment CAN be a good thing, as long as DCYF and the Court's keep their noses out of it! Substance abuse is hard enough to deal with, without having to stress out and fight for stolen children! Fighting DCYF and the court's is a LOSE, LOSE situation! Has DCYF FINALLY changed their mind's about substance abuse treatment being a good thing, or will the child stealing of parent's in treatment keep happening?
unhappygrammy
Key Points
BACKGROUND: The state Department of Health and Human Services recently announced consolidation of drug and alcohol abuse programs throughout the state.
CONCLUSION: We hope the creation of these “community prevention coalitions” is just the first step in consolidation of social service agenices statewide.
When Nick Toumpas became Commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services in 2008, he knew what he was getting into. He was previously assistant and then interim commissioner, inheriting the issues that faced his predecessor and now gubernatorial candidate John Stephen.
DHHS consumes the largest portion of the state budget, and manages the largest volume of federal money coming into the state for programs like Medicaid, mental health and long-term care. If the state is going to achieve any fiscal sanity in the years ahead, Toumpas knows that DHHS will have to lead the charge through cost cutting and greater efficiencies.
Almost from Day One on the job, Toumpas has been championing a change in the way social services are delivered in New Hampshire, arguing that there are far too many agencies with DHHS contracts, many delivering duplicate services. These profit and non-profit groups need to be reduced, and consolidated, to achieve a more streamlined delivery system.
On its face, the rationale is undeniable. But implementation is another thing altogether. Hundreds of agencies scattered throughout the state, each with its own board of directors and paid staff, constitute a signficant lobbying block. Consolidating agencies, some of which have been in existence for decades, into a smaller number of regional units isn’t going to be easy.
So it was an encouraging sign last week when DHHS announced that the state would consolidate drug and alcohol abuse programs under the auspices of 10 “Community Prevention Coalitions” – one for each region of the state.
The regional network is the result of several years of work by the Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Services “to create a sustainable state and community prevention infrastructure for the delivery of drug and alcohol services,” according to the DHHS press release.
The 10 centers forming the statewide network will get assistance from the new Center for Excellence, a public-private venture funded by the Governor’s Commission on Alcohol and Drug Prevention, Intervention and Treatment; and the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation.
“This project has resulted in a huge change in New Hampshire,” said Anne Crawford, Program Specialist at BDAS. “We have moved from smaller pockets of prevention scattered throughout the state to a more cohesive system, creating greater collaboration among stakeholders that better serves citizens and more evenly covers all regions. This will result in better prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery services.”
This is the model of federal, state and charitable collaboration, managed through a consolidated statewide network, that will be applied to many other areas of social services, if Toumpas has his way.
And he should. The current system is too fragmented and costly, with redundancies in paid staff, executive directors, facilities, board expenses and administrative overhead.
Just Google “social services in New Hampshire” for an overview of the patchwork quilt that exists. Child and Family Services of New Hampshire, Southern New Hampshire Services, Community Services Council of NH, Southwestern Community Services in Keene, Northern Human Services in the North Country, Home Health Care and Hospice Community Service, are among the largest.
Each provides valuable services, and each caters to a special clientelle. But there are areas in which these agencies are essentially engaged in the same activity, and some consolidation is not only necessary, but inevitable.
If it can be done for drug and alcohol prevention and treatment, it should be possible for elderly services and home health care, childhood and parenting services, housing support, energy and fuel assistance – you name it.
In each case where two different agencies are involved with delivery of the same service, an opportunity for savings exists. It’s an opportunity that should have been realized long ago, but is now more important than ever. Good luck, Mr. Toumpas.
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/opinion/editorials/824753-263/a-better-approach-tosocial-service-delivery.html
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