• About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
Tuesday, February 7, 2023
The Iowa Torch
  • Home
  • State Government
  • Federal Government
  • Local Government
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • State Government
  • Federal Government
  • Local Government
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Opinion
The Iowa Torch
The Iowa Torch
No Result
View All Result
Home State Government

Process of Aligning Iowa’s Public Health and Human Services Departments Begins

The Iowa Departments of Public Health and Human Services launched a website to update the public about a 9-month-long health and human services alignment assessment process.

Iowa TorchbyIowa Torch
May 26, 2021
in State Government
Reading Time: 3 mins read
Iowa Dept. of Public Health Says Schools Should Treat COVID-19 Like Other Childhood Diseases

Kelly Garcia serves as the interim director of the Iowa Department of Public Health and Director of the Iowa Department of Human Services.

DES MOINES, Iowa – The Iowa Departments of Public Health (IDPH) and Human Services (DHS) announced a new joint website that will provide the public, media, and stakeholders with information about the two departments’ “alignment” process. 

RELATED POSTS

Reynolds names Stephen Osborn Iowa’s new Adjutant General

State of Iowa invites feedback about where to spend broadband funding

Bird joins lawsuit against Biden Administration’s Parole Action

IDPH and DHS will begin a health and human services alignment assessment process with a contractor, Public Consulting Group (PCG) out of Boston, Mass, to identify shared program goals and align and integrate programs, practices, and policies to “improve delivery of services and most effectively leverage funding.” 

The assessment process will take nine months, wrapping up in January of 2022.

As part of the alignment process, IDPH and DHS will identify community-based stakeholders (organizations and community members) and other stakeholders to provide input and guidance on the departments’ programmatic and policy efforts. IDPH and DHS announced they would engage all levels of staff to inform the departments’ established goals and project plans, and create an organizational structure that optimizes the delivery of services, supports efficiency for staff, and integrates the departments’ programs and services with community and other available resources.

“My commitment to you to provide frequent updates remains as strong as ever,” Kelly Garcia, the director of the Iowa Department of Human Services and interim director of the Iowa Department of Public Health, said. “There’s a saying I hold close, particularly in this unique type of work: ‘Nothing about me, without me.’ You have my pledge that, indeed, nothing about you will happen without you. This work must be done together, but change is coming. The result will not be status quo. I am hopeful that together we will embrace this opportunity head on.”

Gov. Kim Reynolds appointed Garcia to head DHS in September of 2019 shortly after asking the former director, Jerry Foxhoven, to resign. She was appointed the interim director of IDPH on August 1, 2020. 

ADVERTISEMENT

Reynolds stated that when she announced Garcia as the interim director, she wanted “to increase cooperation and collaboration between these two agencies to better serve Iowans.”

The original RFP for the contract that PCG holds published by the Iowa Department of Administrative Services in October indicated that not every part of IDPH would align with the DHS. Not included in this realignment are Professional Licensure Boards, Medical Cannabidiol, Infectious Disease, Acute Disease Prevention, Emergency Response, and Environmental Health. 

In particular, Iowa’s State Epidemiologist, Dr. Caitlin Pedati, and her team, who dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic, would not fall under this “Health and Human Services” alignment. 

The alignment announcement stated that the connections between the two departments “are numerous,” and families who access similar services don’t have a clear pathway to connect those services that reach across both departments. One goal in the alignment process is “to wrap services around a family to ensure better outcomes.” 

Other goals include opportunities to better leverage funding sources and the ability to identify the potential for expanded funding sources; break down siloes to create a unified, integrated behavioral health system; and better access to services and easier navigation of the system for the Iowans they serve.

Tags: Iowa Department of Human ServicesIowa Department of Public HealthKelly GarciaKim ReynoldsPublic Consulting Group
ShareTweetShare
ADVERTISEMENT
Previous Post

Burkhardt, Haar Advance in Johnston’s City Council Special Election

Next Post

Iowa’s Republican Members of Congress Urge Biden to Support Biofuels

Iowa Torch

Iowa Torch

The Iowa Torch​ is a for-profit, news organization that focuses on political news as it relates to Iowans.

Related Posts

Reynolds names Stephen Osborn Iowa’s new Adjutant General
State Government

Reynolds names Stephen Osborn Iowa’s new Adjutant General

February 6, 2023
State Government

State of Iowa invites feedback about where to spend broadband funding

February 6, 2023
Reynolds signs bill creating education savings accounts
Opinion

Ingstad & Hendrickson: Iowa education reforms point to what’s next

February 2, 2023
Reynolds signs bill creating education savings accounts
State Government

Reynolds signs bill creating education savings accounts

January 24, 2023
Study: $1,702 Collected in Property Taxes Per Capita in Iowa
Opinion

Hendrickson & Williams: To achieve meaningful property tax relief, right size government 

January 24, 2023
Reynolds Signs Charter School Expansion Bill Into Law
Opinion

Reynolds: An open letter to Iowans about school choice

January 23, 2023
Next Post
Iowa Republicans Respond to Biden’s Joint Address to Congress

Iowa's Republican Members of Congress Urge Biden to Support Biofuels

Haley Headed to Iowa to Speak at Iowa GOP Fundraiser

Reynolds Receives Early Endorsement from Nikki Haley

Sign-Up For Our Daily Updates

Get The Iowa Torch right in your inbox!

Please wait...

Thank you for signing up!

Recommended Articles

Iowa Dept. of Transportation Announces Millions of Dollars in Grant Funding

Iowa Dept. of Transportation Announces Millions of Dollars in Grant Funding

December 15, 2021
Schultz: The Amendment That Doesn’t Do Anything

Schultz: Working to Ease Iowans’ Tax Burden

May 8, 2021
House Passes Antitrust Whistleblower Protections Authored by Grassley, Leahy

Senate Unanimously Clears Grassley Bill to Save CFTC Whistleblower Program

June 2, 2021

Popular Stories

  • Hendrickson: Fiscal Conservatism Works

    Hendrickson: Placing Iowa’s income tax on the road to elimination

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Ingstad & Hendrickson: Iowa education reforms point to what’s next

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • State of Iowa invites feedback about where to spend broadband funding

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Ernst: Investigation proves group that funneled tax dollars into Chinese labs can’t be trusted.

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Iowa Dept. of Revenue Releases 2022 Individual Tax Brackets, Interest Rates, and Deductions

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

The Iowa Torch

The Iowa Torch​ is a for-profit, news organization that focuses on political news as it relates to Iowans

Categories

  • Education
  • Federal Government
  • Iowa History
  • Local Government
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • State Government
  • Uncategorized
  • Uncategorized

Newsletter

Please wait...

Thank you for signing up!

© 2022 The Iowa Torch, a publication of 4:15 Communications, LLC.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • State Government
  • Federal Government
  • Local Government
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Opinion

© 2022 The Iowa Torch, a publication of 4:15 Communications, LLC.