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HCPF is so excited to share the project highlights from the FY 23-24 County Grant Program recipients. This group of counties did extraordinary work improving member health, customer service, and through employee satisfaction. Whether that was establishing a large county call center or expanding a network of translation experts or supporting eligibility staff through trauma-informed care, these counties brought true innovation to their grants this year!
The FY 23-24 County Year End Report Out meeting is now posted on HCPF's website. You will find the meeting recording and presentations.
Grand County - Integration of EDI into the Workplace
Grand County received funding approval to support HCPF’s strategic pillar to empower staff and improve equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility.
- Improved our employees’ professional development opportunities.
- Conducted surveys to assess employee satisfaction that helped us identify ways to improve recruitment and retention.
- Increased accessibility to our building and to the services we offer.
- Conducted EDI training and laid the groundwork for a departmental long-term EDI culture and commitment.
Grant Program contacts: Deb Ruttenberg, Deputy Director (deb.ruttenberg@state.co.us) and Karen Asato-Chrysler, Deputy Director (karen.asato-chrysler@state.co.us)
Lake County - Language Access Policy Implementation & Development of the Interpreter Network
Expansion grant to build upon the FY 22-23 grant-funded program, with focus on community outreach, data collection and strategic planning for the Interpreter Network.
- Community outreach, staff training and support on language access, Interpreter Network training and development.
- Hiring a full-time Interpreter Network Coordinator position.
- Translation of vital documents in Spanish, and strategic planning and sustainability initiatives with a Contractor.
- Community data revealed: Most respondents have Moderate/High Confidence in receiving services in their language; most are aware of the right to language access and that services are available; and some reliance on family and friends for language needs remains. Most importantly, the county learned it needs work on: having more bilingual staff available and more professional interactions.
- Strategic Planning & Sustainability initiatives: data revealed many organizations/counties are relying on bilingual staff.
- Five training sessions for staff and interpreters; Bridging the Gap and Community Interpreter training for new Interpreters joining the Interpreter Network.
- Three strategic goals for the Lake DHS Interpreter Network over the next 1-3 years:
- Provide access to qualified interpreters throughout Colorado.
- Catalyze the narrative about language access across Colorado.
- Ensure long-term sustainability for the Interpreter Network and its expansion.
- Key lessons learned: Spanish-speaking community is aware that language access is a right and bilingual staff are relied upon too heavily for client support.
Grant Program Contact: Christin Logan, Deputy Director of Funding and Program Development (christin.logan@state.co.us)
Lake County - Creation of Member Experience Advisory Council for Lake County
Gather feedback on the application process experience with Lake DHS.
- Required to pivot from a focus-group style feedback forum to virtual options, such as WhatsApp interviews and phone calls.
- Feedback takeaways: faster processing times, better communication from staff (explanation of services, processes for Medical Assistance), improved language supports, and more professional interactions requested.
- Key lesson learned: personal connections and health care providers are the main sources to learn about Medical Assistance.
- Hired contractor who specializes in Spanish language/Latino communications, marketing, focus groups based out of Denver.
- Number of Medical Assistance members who provided feedback (all Channels): lofty goal was 50+ Individuals and 38 individuals benefited from this grant.
Grant Program Contact: Christin Logan, Deputy Director of Funding and Program Development (christin.logan@state.co.us)
Lake County - Enhancing Trauma-Informed Work Culture Impacting Retention & Recruitment
Expansion grant from FY 22-23 program, with key deliverables of longitudinal study of public assistance staff, one-on-one coaching sessions, and a webinar to share with other Counties.
- Longitudinal survey found that staff recognize own stress responses, identify resilient activities that benefit their well-being at work, staff feel supported by leadership. Learned that there were existing concerns about physical safety in the workplace, and lack of feeling in control of the work environment.
- Two staff training sessions: Emotional Intelligence Training (January 2024), and Communication, Emotional Response & Stress Management Training (April 2024)
- 21 one-on-one sessions with contractor: topics ranged from job satisfaction levels, help with resiliency tools/ideas, and support and guidance.
- Key lessons learned: in-person trainings are best for this subject matter.
Grant Program Contact: Christin Logan, Deputy Director of Funding and Program Development (christin.logan@state.co.us)
Lake County - Outcomes for Vulnerable Medicaid Members
The goal was to improve member health outcomes for vulnerable Medicaid members in Lake County.
- Well-rounded care team approach: wraparound and Adult Protective Services case management.
- Eliminate obstacles to health services for Medical Assistance members.
- Referral process with public assistance and community agencies.
- Goal was to serve six vulnerable adult individuals and 27 clients were served by this grant.
- The project has confirmed the need for this overlooked population, especially in mountainous, rural areas.
- Key lesson learned: multiple ways to connect people to the Medical Assistance services they need, across-unit collaboration was an essential piece of the referral process.
Grant Program Contact: Christin Logan, Deputy Director of Funding and Program Development (christin.logan@state.co.us)
Mesa County - Economic Assistance Call Center
Mesa County received funding to implement an on-site call center, with the goal of creating a better experience for clients and increasing communication and trust within the community.
- Developed and implemented a Call Center and team from the ground up.
- In order to reach the goal of helping community members in the best way possible, trained technicians in all intricacies of SNAP and Medical Assistance.
- Improved staging times, processes, consistency, and effectiveness.
- Designed and implemented tools for the Call Center Team such as a processing queue, 100% time reporting production logs and data tracking.
- Key deliverables: increased client support and quality interactions, improved staff morale, increased number of Spanish speaking technicians on the team, and created efficient processes for staff and clients.
Grant Program Contact: Melissa Schierland, Economic Assistance Director (melissa.schierland@mesacounty.us)
Pitkin County - Trauma Informed Management Practice
Pitkin County Human Services contracted with Alia Innovations (trauma-informed workplace) to facilitate peer-learning with human services staff to increase capacity, improve departmental processes, and improve staff and customer experiences.
- Learned a lot through this process, particularly how this type of work can have significant impacts on staff and operations.
- Due to the nature of the work, the project was modified to include more in-person work with the entire team.
- Staff Survey Outcomes:
- Staff Engagement: Expected (20% increase); Actual (6.25% decrease)
- Institutional Trust: Expected (20% increase); Actual (1.62% decrease)
- Overall Employee Satisfaction: Expected (15% increase); Actual (3.69% decrease)
- Customer Survey Outcomes:
- Customer Engagement: Expected (20% increase); Actual (52.38% decrease)
- Customer Satisfaction: Expected (15% increase); Actual (4.71% increase)
- Suspect the reason staff experiences decreased in these areas is because of the nature of adopting this type of work, through clarifying roles/ responsibilities, and opening up staff feedback channels–the teams are ‘storming’ in further defining boundaries and expectations.
- Pitkin County will plan to do another year with expanded metrics to include the trauma competent workplace into the strategic plan as a central pillar to the work that’s done.
Grant Program Contact: Lindsay Maisch, Pitkin County Director (lindsay.maisch@pitkincounty.com)
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