CGI and HRA: The partnership that enables clients to achieve self-sufficiency

"CGI has been providing a wide array of technology and business consulting services to New York City's HRA since 1995. These services have evolved from systems design and implementation support for the workfare program to a range of other IT and business consulting services."

The Client
New York City's Human Resources Administration (HRA) is charged with the delivery of social services and public assistance benefits to roughly two million New York City residents. With nearly 13,000 employees and 50 field locations, the management of technology and business process improvement efforts is a complicated task-one made even more complex by new requirements of welfare reform and the challenges of implementing e-Government initiatives.

The Challenge
HRA's mission is to help every New Yorker on public assistance achieve employment by providing access to the services and resources that support their efforts towards economic independence. HRA also ensures that individuals who meet eligibility requirements obtain the assistance, counselling, and services they need. Since the introduction in 1996 of legislation limiting welfare support, HRA has spearheaded New York City's welfare reform initiatives, aggressively focusing its efforts on transitioning public assistance recipients from dependency to self-sufficiency. The strategic use of information technology (IT) plays an integral role in managing these responsibilities.

CGI has been providing a wide array of technology and business consulting services to New York City's HRA since 1995.

The Strategy
Systems Design, Implementation, and Management - In 1995, CGI provided initial design and implementation planning support for the New York City Work, Accountability, and You (NYCWAY) system. This system was critical to the implementation of the city's workfare program in tracking thousands of participants in work experience activities. CGI has provided design, user support, implementation services, and project management for all functional enhancements to the NYCWAY system, including analysis, design, and implementation support for HRA's first large-scale Internet application, a web-enabled NYCWAY. A key component of this effort has been the successful consolidation of HRA's multiple work-related tracking systems into one streamlined application. The system now manages all welfare-to work tracking for HRA, involving more than 3,000 users. Since January 2000, CGI has also provided project management, training, and implementation services for HRA users of the Automated Child Care Information System. This system streamlines childcare processing handled by HRA and the city's Administration for Children's Services.

Internet Application Design, Development, and Support - As HRA's welfare-to-work initiatives have broadened, CGI worked to design, develop, and implement various intranet-based applications designed to support the case management of specialized program areas. Prior to 2000, CGI supported the analysis, design, and implementation of various dial-up intranet applications designed to connect HRA to its service providers. These systems supported the management of participants in the job search and rehabilitation programs. Since early 2000, CGI and HRA have collaborated to develop and implement the web-based Substance Abuse Tracking and Reporting System (STARS). STARS promises to significantly improve the management of HRA's 15,000 cases requiring substance abuse treatment and facilitate interaction between HRA and hundreds of local substance abuse treatment centers. As a result, HRA will be able to monitor the progress of clients and track their compliance with rehabilitation plans. Further, STARS enables HRA to better understand the needs of their target population and assist them in their pursuit of employment and self-sufficiency.

Policy Analysis and Performance Reporting - Since 1998, CGI has worked with the Office of Policy and Program Analysis to reengineer HRA's major management reports. The project has included analysis, design, and implementation support for a new set of timely, accurate performance reports, enabling HRA to meet the city's goal of successfully engaging all public assistance participants in the welfare-to-work process by the end of 1999. CGI has also played a central role in the implementation of the JobStat and CenterStat performance management models currently used by HRA's job centers. Additionally, major improvements to required federal and state reports have been realized.

New Model for Technology Implementation and Planning - In 2000, HRA launched the Technology Integration Project (TIP), designed to provide a range of technology and business process improvement services, primarily for HRA's Family independence Administration (FIA). Since January 2000, CGI and HRA have successfully collaborated to better integrate technology into FIA's operations, develop data-driven management practices, and implement applications designed to connect HRA to its service providers.

Reorganization of the Office of Policy and Program Development Delivery Systems - In late 1999, HRA asked CGI to assist with the reorganization of FIA's Office of Policy and Program Development, including the development of new organizational structures and automated tools to support the delivery of procedures, policies, and training services. This project has also included the design and development of FIAweb, a portal that provides FIA staff with online access to news, policy documents, procedures, training tools, and management reports.

The Results
Since January 2000, CGI and HRA have collaborated to produce a range of improvements as part of the TIP effort:

Implementation of a web-based welfare-to-work tracking systems for more than 3,000 users across New York City - Each month, the web-enabled NYCWAY application tracks the referrals of thousands of clients to assessment, substance abuse, job placement, and training providers. With this system and its companion module, the Payment and Claiming System (PACS), HRA eliminates burdensome paper-based attendance tracking processes and sharply reduces the turnaround time for payment requests submitted by HRA's providers. This system also enables HRA's caseworkers and its contracted service providers to collaborate in the case management of public assistance recipients.

Implementation of the Substance Abuse Tracking and Reporting System (STARS) - STARS is a web-based application designed to connect HRA to the many substance abuse drug and alcohol treatment providers who enrol HRA clients.

Development support and implementation of the JobStat and CenterStat performance measurement and improvement models - These models represent new levels of accountability for HRA job centers and workers, and measure key processes from the aggregate city level to the individual worker. The implementation of these processes has already substantially improved the quality of available management information at all levels. When fully implemented, these performance improvement models will enable executive management to understand HRA at a much finer level of detail and will measure the contribution of each staff member in relation to HRA successes.

Development of management reporting methodologies and tools for key initiatives - These include the full engagement of all public assistance participants in employment activities and the tracking of job placements across the city.

Development and implementation of FIAweb, the Family Independence Administration's intranet-based Web portal for online policies, procedures, and management reports - FIAweb moves HRA closer to the goal of eliminating costly and troublesome maintenance and distribution of paper procedures.

Coordinated management of the rollout and support of more than 7,000 PCs in nearly 30 agency job centers