07/23/92 Agenda & Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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like us to meet with your agency or association, location with interagency agreements;single point of please call Jody Swanson at 291-6543 to schedule intake;common point of assessment;coordination of a date. programs,budgeting planning and administration at the city/state level; a system of lead agencies for Conference Notes: several categories; and comprehensive management Dr. Alfred J. Kahn Speaks of Service Integration at of information systems. At the case level, he Conference pointed out the need for determination of a lead agency for specific kinds of cases, case conferences Dr. Alfred J. Kahn, Professor Emeritus and Co- and review panels, case monitoring and assessment Director of the Cross-National Studies Research plans, treating the family as the service unit, and Program in the School of Social Work at Columbia providing flexible funds to the frontline worker University, was the keynote speaker at the dealing with complicated cases. conference held May 15, 1992 entitled "Systems Integration and Redesign: An Intergenerational Dr.Kahn believes that certain"clusters of services" Approach". The purpose of the conference was to should remain separate at the outset rather than explore the potential of systems integration and being integrated. These clusters are: programs redesign, especially across generations. Over 200 that provide access to money and resources on a persons attended to hear Dr. Kahn and the means-tested basis; services for adolescents; responses from a panel of local experts. services for the elderly; and services for families with children under the age of twelve. Dr. Kahn began his address by defining service integration as the "simultaneous and sequential In his final comments,Dr. Kahn observed that one delivery of services for individuals and families" of the biggest problems we will face in the near and noted that it affects the whole planning future is the influx of immigrants and refugees that process. However, he emphasized that service will not only be in need of services, but will be integration is not a substitute for social policies employed in the system as well. This requires and there remains a need to get at the root of recognition of the racial/ethnic configuration that social problems such as drug use, unwed mothers, will result, and will necessitate review of systems and the fragility of older people. Kahn stated, integration in light of the changes in the • "Service integration is not a cure for all social ills." population. He explained that services have developed over time in response to current needs and problems as Panelists Comment on Service Integration conceptualized by providers. This has resulted in overlapping,fragmented,and mismatched services. Dr.Nancy Eustis,Ph.D.,Professor at the Humphrey Therefore, when a family member needs services, Institute of Public Affairs and Gerontologist, it is often the case that a particular agency is identified one goal for the system as independent unable or unwilling to address the problems of the living for those with disabilities of all ages. She other family members. felt that many groups serve persons with disabilities and until now there have been Kahn recommended two major activities that disintegrative efforts at system integration in would facilitate meeting the needs of all family regards to the aged and disabilities. Dr. Eustis members and age groups in a more realistic way. noted that there needs to be an integrative effort The first activity is experimentation with to empower individuals and build their capacity to community-based integration rather than agency- remain independent as well as provide resources to based,and the second is the creation of a national individuals and families, particularly information consortium to study ways to share information and and experience of others in the same situation, to strategies between fields. do their own case management. Admitting that these proposals may be rather Linda Berglin, Chair of the Health and Human idealistic,and integration is"too big a bite to work Services Committee of the Minnesota State Senate, with," Dr. Kahn outlined several strategies for remarked that it is very important that we are taking service integration on in smaller ready when the opportunity presents itself to make components. The first set are management and a change because "sometimes our windows of administrative strategies such as interagency opportunity aren't very large." We must be ready • agreements; interagency councils/ committees; co- with a solution. Senator Berglin emphasized that Generations Project July 1992 Page 3