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The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors
directed the Deputy County Executive for Human Services to
develop a human services reorganization and process redesign plan
that would better meet the human service needs of County
residents.The goal of Fairfax
County's Human Service Redesign effort was to develop an
integrated accountable human services system which increased
client self-sufficiency and yielded long term cost
savings.Developing an integrated community-based service delivery
system that responded to and anticipated the unique needs of
individuals and families within a specific geographic area was a
key component of the Redesign Plan adopted on April 19,
1993.
The Human Services System is driven by the
needs of clients and the community, rather than based on agency
organization. The system is guided by six overriding
principles:
To be
prevention-oriented — The system's major goal is to decrease client
dependency, address needs before they become crises, and reverse
the growth of long-term client needs. Success in this involves a
shift in thinking away from traditional programs that react to
problems toward those that are preventive in nature.
To be client and
family centered — The system must comprehensively
address the individual needs of our clients and their families
and not be hampered or limited by categorical boundaries or
agency-related barriers or priorities. Empowerment of clients
toward self-sufficiency is supported by strong case management
and coordination of services within a fully integrated and
seamless system.
To be community-based — The system provides services
to clients within their own communities and actively pursues the
development of partnerships that build on community strengths.
Community partners will include all public, private non-profit
entities, ecumenical groups and area residents within each of
five regional areas.
To be
results-oriented, collaborative, and team-based —
The team based approach requires system-wide commitment and
strategies that support service integration, collaboration and
yield long term cost savings.
To be
right-sized — System right-sizing utilizes
existing resources in ways to maximize productivity and
effectiveness, thereby enhancing service quality and lowering
costs.
The first milestone in the
redesign of human services was the designation of geographic
regions. The following criteria were used to develop geographic
regions:
- current human services caseload
distribution
- total population
distribution
- postal zip codes
- areas served by community-based
organizations
- natural boundaries and
communities
- school enrollment areas
- magisterial districts
- minority populations
- population income
Four geographic regions were
adopted to include:
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