Health and human services integration: Phase II technical assistance
Integrating health and human services (HHS) has been shown to improve person-centered service delivery and presents an opportunity to advance racial equity, social and economic mobility, and the social determinants of health (upstream factors such as housing, employment, and education that are known to impact health and wellbeing). However, integration initiatives face significant challenges. The Kresge Foundation developed a funding opportunity to support national leaders working to advance integration at the community level. In the first phase of this contract, CHRT worked with the Kresge Foundation to identify applicants, select grantees, put together an advisory committee, and design a technical assistance strategy.
In Phase II of this multi-year project for The Kresge Foundation, CHRT will build a learning community of health and human services integration grantees, provide technical assistance to these grantees, and document and share grantee stories. Specifically, CHRT will:
–Organize virtual learning community sessions to ensure that grantees are able to share knowledge and support each other.
–Facilitate small group discussions between grantees with similar roles and challenges.
–Analyze and aggregate data on the baseline technical assistance needs of grantees.
–Develop two tiers of technical assistance: General assistance based on common needs and assistance individualized for each grantee.
–Document the progress of grantees and publish stories to educate and inspire others working to integrate health and human services.
CHRT will also help with the evaluation of the first cohort of grantees to identify areas of the program that should be improved in the future.
Grantees include:
–Alameda County Public Health Department, California;
–Arlington County Department of Human Services, Virginia;
–Hennepin County Human Services and Public Health Department, Minnesota;
–Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, Maryland; and
–Solano County Department of Health and Social Services, California.