Build Meaningful Relationships with Human Services Providers This is funny given the discussions via email that went on at United for Funding, a group of non-profits who work together year round to work with elected officials around these very same issues. We weren’t invited. Not sure who was. Only United Way agencies, likely.
MADISON – Zach Brandon called for a new partnership between the Dane County Executive and local human services providers and advocates as he unveiled the third in his series of radical ideas.
“I’ve long been frustrated that discussions about human services seem only to occur at county budget time, and then only in the context of what cuts should or should not be made,” Brandon said. “The families and individuals served throughout our county, as well as the organizations that do such good work, deserve far better access and input.”
Putting his idea into action even before being elected, Brandon today held a roundtable discussion with a group of local human-services providers and advocates. Those invited included representatives from a wide array of organizations serving the elderly, those with disabilities, those with mental health and substance abuse challenges; and organizations that provide job training for low-income workers, operate youth programs, assist families in finding child care, and work with and advocate for communities of color. The meeting took place at the Dane County United Way.
“The discussion showed the power of taking the first step to build relationships, and demonstrated how eager local providers are to share their ideas and to engage in conversations with county leadership about how to improve outcomes for the families and clients they serve,”
Brandon said. “Innovation comes from exactly this type of honest exchange of ideas.”Radical Idea #3: Build Meaningful Partnerships between the County Executive and Human Services Providers
The primary conversations between Dane County’s leadership and human services providers occur only at budget time. There should be a regular series of discussions that would be held with as many human services providers and advocates as are interested.
The County Executive should: talk openly and regularly with service providers and advocates outside of the budget process to engage in a substantive and candid discussion about how human service delivery could be done better and differently. The County Executive should share candidly his or her ideas and views about human services and seek the honest input of those on the front-lines, who work daily with our community’s most vulnerable families and individuals.
“Delivering quality human services is a personal issue for me,” Brandon noted. “I was raised by a single mother on the edge of poverty, and one in ten Dane County children now live in poverty. As County Executive, I am dedicated to collecting better data on human services, rewarding agencies for their innovation, and changing the budget process in a way that challenges the imagination, not the budgets, of our over-burdened social service providers.”
Brandon concluded, “We should ask ourselves whether our programs and services are actually helping families escape poverty and whether those in need are getting what they need. The best way to answer those questions is to bring the key players to the table and to share ideas. Today’s roundtable was the start of a new way of doing business in Dane County when it comes to our vital human services.”
Brandon unveiled his first two radical ideas in December. On Dec. 20, he proposed streamlining regional planning so that land-use and transportation decisions are not made independently, and on Dec. 31 he revealed his idea to ‘budget for innovation’ to reward county staff and contracted agencies for creative, outcome-driven budgeting. Brandon has pledged to release at least two radical ideas each month of the campaign.
Is this radical, or a no-brainer.
