An alarming number of the world\u2019s population is considered vulnerable in some way. This vulnerability may be due to factors such as poverty, food insecurity, disability, lack of access to healthcare, limited education or job opportunities, exposure to violence or conflict, or other forms of marginalization. And while public health and social services agencies endeavor to protect, enhance, and enrich the wellbeing of their communities, they struggle with intense programmatic demands: poverty, homelessness, refugee and migrant crises, aging demographics, vulnerable children, substance addictions, behavioral health disorders, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As part of our mission to empower every person on the planet to achieve more, Microsoft partners with public health and social service organizations<\/a> to enable aware, connected, and coordinated community care workers so they can deliver optimal outcomes for those struggling within their communities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While there are innumerable ways technology can help provide coordinated care for vulnerable populations, here we highlight three specific ways Microsoft customers are innovating to do so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Gartner\u00ae, \u201cGovernment employees are too often battling with friction in antiquated citizen-facing and back-office systems and increasing cycle completion times, leaving them frustrated and sometimes cynical.\u201d1<\/sup> Community care workers are often under more strain than the average government employee given the emotional demands of their roles. They chose this line of work to help those in need, and every manual or inefficient process means less time they can spend making a difference. Automating processes and reducing administrative burdens can lead to better community outcomes and better employee retention. Per IDC, \u201cby 2024, 60 percent of agencies will deploy no-code or low-code platforms to aid IT and non-IT staff and swiftly roll out digital programs and constituent services.\u201d2<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n Samhall AB, a Swedish social services organization, helps people with disabilities find work<\/a>, providing them with the skills and confidence needed to build a future career. And while Samhall AB experienced success, they faced internal challenges due to the inefficiency of legacy applications and technology. Performing credit checks for new clients was a particularly laborious and inefficient process that caused confusion between departments, long response times, and additional work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Using Microsoft Power Platform<\/a>, Samhall AB automated its manual credit check process, reducing the credit team\u2019s email workflow from 30 minutes to five, and cutting the typical lead time from five days to two. Since Samhall AB already had the Microsoft Power Platform and Dynamics 365 Sales<\/a>, the project only took six weeks to complete from conception through testing, demonstrating the speed and power of low-code technology. Their amazing results motivated other teams to modernize processes as well, and they now have almost twenty Power Apps<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been able to empower our employees to achieve more with less and focus on what matters most\u2014helping people with disabilities find gainful employment,\u201d shares Osvaldo Filliettaz, who is responsible for delivery, sales applications, and Microsoft Power Platform at Samhall AB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A vulnerable member of the community may receive assistance from and interact with various agencies and organizations. But unfortunately, due to data silos across organizations and disparate, yet related systems, information is often not shared across groups, and actions do not progress in real time with proper coordination. This can result in compounding, even catastrophic, incidents involving vulnerable people that trigger unintended consequences and costly measures to correct. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While the ultimate vision is full integration among related social care entities, that requires wide scale policy change. In the meantime, agencies around the world are using a variety of tools to enable multidisciplinary teams of people to collaborate for the sake of vulnerable people. For instance, when law enforcement, social services, education, healthcare, benefits, and the legal system are aware and working together, better outcomes prevail. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A blockchain service<\/a> can help government agencies create a shared, highly secure digital record for individuals. Anybody who has access can add a block of data, but once a new block is added to the chain, nobody can remove or change it. In a social services scenario, this could serve as a way for multiple parties involved in a person\u2019s care to share information and see what care has been administered in the past. Instead of hospitals, municipalities, specialist health providers, addiction-treatment facilities, and other organizations keeping their own records, everyone is working with the same set of case notes\u2014so past mistakes don\u2019t get repeated, and the individual gets a better standard of care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another way technology can help break down silos is via modern collaboration tools, like Microsoft Teams<\/a>. For example, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) works to keep children safe by strengthening and supporting families. When children enter the system, they must reestablish safety, permanence, and well-being. The DCFS recognized a need to maintain the connection between children, families, and caseworkers, and partnered with Microsoft<\/a> to develop the Microsoft Teams Youth App. <\/p>\n\n\n\n1. Improve internal processes using automation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
2. Break down organizational silos with blockchain and collaboration tools<\/h2>\n\n\n\n