As another year comes to a close, it's time to recap our top blogs of 2021.
Below is a countdown of this year's posts that our readers found most insightful. Remember, you can subscribe any time to make sure you never miss out on future content.
(7) Finding the Way Forward: What's Next for Human Services?
How do you plan for the “new normal” when normalcy no longer exists? Yes, it’s a bold question and a tough concept to consider. But it’s reality as many of us are still struggling to keep both feet on the ground while figuring out what everything we’ve experienced over the past 18+ months means for the future.
It’s time to embrace the uncertainty to chart a better path forward. We may not have all the answers, but we’ve learned so many valuable lessons that will help guide us along the way.
(6) Connecting Caseworkers, Clients, and Service Providers to Speed Up Service Delivery
Human services caseworkers are constantly collaborating with people outside the agency yet lack the right tools to support the process. The good news? Technology is becoming available to help reduce friction.
Traverse® Connect, our new client engagement portal, is purpose-built for clients, providers, and anyone outside of the agency that has a stake in the case. It simplifies collaboration and reduces the time it takes to exchange information so that caseworkers can focus on planning and providing the right care for the people they serve.
(5) Build vs. Buy: Why COTS is the Smarter Choice for Human Services
Many agencies believe their technology needs are so unique to justify building their own custom solution. In the long run, however, this could be a very costly mistake.
A commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) product that can be configured to meet your needs and evolve over time can almost always do the job—with a considerably smaller strain on resources and faster time to value.
(4) Answering Your Commonly Asked Cloud Questions for Human Services
Human services is a a top candidate for cloud migration, but there are still a lot of counties and states in the process of wrapping their heads around what—if any—cloud-based technologies are right for their needs.
Have questions or concerns? Our post explores options and benefits, FAQs, additional resources, and more.
(3) Not Your Average Electronic Document Management System
Whether you’re still on paper or using a basic EDMS, there’s a good chance your current tools and processes have not kept pace with your needs.
Learn how to identify potential gaps or bottlenecks in your existing system, plus what features are built into more modern tools to make information more searchable, discoverable, and useable.
(2) When Eligibility Waivers Expire: 5 Steps to Prep Your Agency
When the public health emergency ends and Medicaid, SNAP, and TANF waivers expire, will your agency be ready?
We rounded up resources and guidance to help you prepare across five key areas: modernizing the lobby for clients, preparing the office for caseworkers, adhering to federal program changes, supporting remote work, and streamlining your systems and processes for document management and client engagement.
(1) 5 Must-Haves for Mobile Technology in Child Welfare
Now that working from anywhere has become the norm, human agencies must have the right technology in place to mobilize case and client information so that workers can both make sense of it and use it to help others.
Keep our five "must-haves" (think mobile-first and optimized to work from anywhere) in mind as you think about what mobile tools can have the greatest long-term impact on critical child welfare work.
Bonus reads!
Still want more content? Check out these chart toppers that our readers continue to view every year:
- What is the Most Challenging Thing About Social Work?
- 10 Inspiring Foster Care Success Stories
- 10 Tips on Self-Care for Social Workers
- Celebrating Social Work: A Roundup of Resources You Need to Succeed
- Dear Social Workers, Thank You for Showing Up.
As always, thanks for reading along with us in 2021. Have trends, topics, or challenges you're interested in learning more about in 2021? Reach out and share!
