Department of Social and Health Services

Creating a Virtual Community Services Office

The Online CSO (Community Services Office) is a DSHS Internet site (www.wa.gov/dshs or wws2.wa.gov/dshs/onlinecso/) that offers residents in Washington State unprecedented access to the agency and many of its services. The site includes the nation's first statewide web-based application for welfare benefits and social service supports. Before The Online CSO, most residents had to go to one of the 66 local Community Services Offices in the state during regular weekday hours to obtain many of the services. Now people can get information on DSHS services and apply for the assistance they need at any time, seven days a week, in their homes or anywhere where Internet access is available.

The Online CSO is part of a larger effort underway in DSHS to make its services more accessible and convenient for Washington residents. It is a key example of how technology can be used by government agencies to bring essential services to Washington's citizens in a convenient and cost-effective way.

Results:

• The website is accessed over 6,000 times a day.
• During the website's first three months, over 2,590 applications for assistance were filed online.
• The Online CSO has been selected by the WSA (formerly the Washington Software Alliance) as one of three state agency finalists for the 2001 Outstanding Contribution to Digital Government Award.

Ken Adney Karl Allison Greg Beck Tom Cleeves Sydney Dore Todd Feiring Dennis Gossler Billie Hartline Brian Hartline Shawn Hartline Mike Masten Luisa McEachern Paige Meier Dan Owens Leslie Patten Leo Ribas Eva Rooks Kathy Shober Roberta Tower Hoang Tran

Department of Social and Health Services

Assistive Technology and Treatment Center

Fircrest School, a resident and out-patient facility in the Division of Developmental Disability, provides support and assistance for developmentally disabled clients. Over the last seven years, the requests for service at Fircrest have increased 500%, making it increasingly difficult to provide effective and meaningful service to clients.

A quality improvement team developed and implemented a streamlined, collaborative system called the Assistive Technology and Treatment Center at Fircrest. The team organized equipment and therapy staff into one area and developed new assessment and treatment procedures to accomplish this collaborative system. The new system provides clients at Fircrest an efficient and convenient integration of services that include: Assistive Technology; Communication Therapy; Occupational Therapy; Audiology; Self-feeding/Nutritional assessment; Dental services; Physical Therapy; Vocational assessment; Leisure and other therapies.

Results:

• 200% increase in consultations completed per full time employee (from 184 to 557).
• Annualized savings of $36,400 over 5 years, due to vendor provision of equipment
• Increased collaboration with faculty from several universities, providing access to resources and information, as well as opportunities for graduate students and program designers to work with people with multiple disabilities.

Tim Cullinan Scott Healy Bill Riddle Asha Singh Kathy Smith Isabel Soley Kathy Swenson Mary Thomas Jerry Willette Cynthia Willman

Department of Retirement Systems

Electronic Document Imaging Speeds Response to Customers

By 2005, the number of employees retiring from public service will increase by 30 percent over Fiscal Year 2000 levels - posing the risk of a substantial increase in the turnaround time for customer service requests. The Department of Retirement Systems kept over 500,000 paper files containing member data that was reviewed when completing individual business transactions. Customers inquiring by phone or visiting the agency without prior notice waited half a day - often longer - if staff needed information from one of these files, which were stored away from headquarters. No duplicate files were maintained and the agency risked losing critical information if the paper files were destroyed as a result of a physical disaster.

The Department of Retirement Systems successfully implemented a state-of-the-art electronic document image management system, allowing staff to instantly respond to customer requests by accessing member files electronically. Workflows in the system automate forwarding and distribution steps in processes that were previously done manually. Electronic storage and retrieval of member file information prevents loss of data from physical disasters. This new system also positions the agency for future streamlining and automating of business processes.

Results:

• Immediate responses to customer inquiries are now possible.
• Customer files are electronically retrieved and updated with incoming documents.
• Work that requires access to a member's file by more than one staff person can be done simultaneously.
• Improves disaster recovery capability for agency data.
• Paper file storage costs will decrease when files are converted.

Jenny Abel Dave Alexander Cal Blackburn Nancy Borst Marc Bourgois Theresa Bradeen Diana Brown Jack Bryant Lucille Christenson Marla Corbin Kirk Deming Tom Dodson Marilyn Donaldson Mark Feldhausen Marcie Frost Jim Gunn Jackie Hanson Susan Harp Sharon Houseman Adam Jansen Debbie Jewell Zan Johnston Brian Kennedy Sis Koval

Pat Millar Dave Nelsen Hong Nguyen Sally Nichols Jean Oakland Denise Oster Dave Rakestraw Cathy Rodriguez Doug Rose Sue Rutledge Tami Schwender Selina Soto John Specht Karen Spoon Jim Stanton Donna Taylor Lesa Terry Jeff Wickman Leah Wilson Margaret Wimmer Vickie Worgum

Liquor Control Board

Resolution of Violation Notification Now Available On-Site

When a retail outlet (licensee) violates a state liquor-related law, the Liquor Control Board (LCB) staff issues an Administrative Violation Notice (AVN). Processing an AVN involved eight LCB staff and two Attorney General (AG) staff, and the 47 specific steps required could take three to six months. It was difficult to check the status of a violation because so many people were responsible for the process at different stages. The process was further complicated in that it was not linear, but actions often passed back and forth between the staff members and/or the AG's office.

The team improved the process to provide for notification to the licensee of their violation resolution options on-site at the time of AVN issuance. The customer will now know their case status immediately and in the case of a requested hearing, resolution processing should not exceed one month.

This theory for change was initially tested and implemented with first-time violators in July 1999. The theory is now being implemented with licensees who have multiple violations.

Results:

• Reduced the specific steps in the AVN process for violations from 47 to 29.
• Redirected 1140 FTE hours of AVN processing time annually.
• Reduced the average AVN processing time from four months to one month.
• Reduced number of staff involved in processing 684 of 760 violations annually, from 8 to 3. Reduced the number of staff involved in processing the remaining 76 of 760 violations that require a formal hearing from 8 to 6.
• Eliminated mailings that saved $6,147 in postage and associated materials.
• Saved $76,570 annually by eliminating 760 hours of AG processing charges.

Teresa Berntsen Michael Burke Sherry Frederick Pat McFerran Frances Munez-Carter Rex Prout Steve Reinmuth Jeanne Reschan Randy Reynolds Ted Taketa