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Episode One: Data Quality - Over the course of years, as we’ve closely followed the work of state and local performance auditors, a somewhat bleak thought is with us. These people, whose lives are dedicated to state and local government, find themselves repeating many of the same findings over and over again, as they tackle different agencies and different issues. It seems to us that they might well identify with the woes of the character from Greek mythology, Sisyphus, who was condemned by Hades to spend endless days rolling a rock up a hill to see it plummet down again, only to start the upward climb once again. From our selfish journalistic vantage point, however, the woes of the performance auditors have long provided fodder for our work, as we see opportunities for coverage in the drumbeat of common findings in a long-term series of audit reports. The list of issues we’ve seen in multiple audits in recent months just starts with those that refer to unprotected computer access, subpar training, unreliable documentation, incomplete or confusing policies and sloppy inventory controls. In this special feature, we’re going to focus in on one significant issue that seems to crop up over and over again: shortcomings in data quality. While we’ve seen major improvements in data governance in recent years, problems persist. A few examples: In December, a performance audit of the Department of Corrections in Vermont pointed to shortcomings in the basic information collected about the “number, type, status, or outcome of prisoner grievances”. A Minneapolis audit about internal investigation processes, cited data weaknesses, including problems in “data retention and destruction” guidelines. A King County audit found “Incomplete recordkeeping, a lack of verification, and unreliable data tools” contributing to the fact that a number of temporary employees had been shortchanged on benefits that were due to them. One common data issue has to do with the adequacy and reliability of information that comes from third party organizations such as nonprofits, community boards or private sector contractors that deliver state or local services. Data requirements are often written into performance contracts, but too often the promises are not delivered. Take Virginia’s December 2022 report about the behavioral health services delivered by its Community Service Boards (CSBs). While state law provides mechanisms to evaluate performance and hold these boards responsible for delivering behavioral health services, those mechanisms are “rarely used” according to the report from Virginia’s Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission. Why? Because the data emanating from the boards aren’t adequate to document consumer experience and the outcomes of the care they receive – problems that inhibit state oversight. As the report summary states, Virginia’s Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services “has no formal processes or data to understand critical aspects of CSBs’ service delivery and consumer outcomes, such as preadmission screening or discharge planning.” Anyone following the sorry state of mental health in this country can immediately see the significance of this finding. Virginia’s community service boards prioritize individuals with serious mental illness and those numbers were 20% higher in fiscal 2022 than a decade before. CSB work is particularly vital in rural areas, where other professional help is be limited. Another example. In December, the Minnesota Legislative auditor released an report about managed care companies that deliver personal care services. Although the companies generally met legal and contract requirements, “a number of instances of noncompliance” were cited in how they reported “encounter data”, which provides details on the actual visits to clients needing personal care services. That data is used for lots of things, such as how clients are served, rate setting and forecasting future needs. These are just a couple of examples of the multiple repeat findings that occur in performance audits regularly. That’s why we follow these documents so carefully and know that while they are of particular significance to the individual entities involved as they provide a often neglected view of broader management problems from coast to coast. This is the first in an occasional series of website features, which we’ll be dubbing “The Sisyphus Files.” Next up: Unprotected computer access. #Featured #BarrettandGreene #StateandLocalPerformanceAudit #StateandLocalPerformanceManagement #PerformanceAudit #StateandLocalGovernmentDataQuality #PublicSectorDataAnalysis #PublicSectorDataQuality #PublicSectorDataGovernance #StateandLocalPolicyImplementation #CommunityServiceBoards #ContractData #NonProfitData #UnprotectedComputerAccess #SisyfusFiles #RepeatAuditFindings #SubparTraining #UnreliableDocumentation #ConfusingPublicSectorPolicies #StateandLocalProcurement #GovernmentOversight #CommonwealthofVirginia #StateofVermont #VermontDepartmentofCorrections #CityofMinneapolis #MinneapolisAudit #KingCounty #KingCountyAudit #PerformanceContract #VirginiaJointLegislativeAuditandReviewCommission #VirginiaDepartmentofBehavioralHealthandDevelopmentalServices #MentalHealthServices #MinnesotaLegislativeAuditor #ManagedCareCompanies

​ ​by Thomas P. DiNapoli, Comptroller, New York State Across America, people are facing uncertainty in economic times, with rising inflation and interest rates, and the threat of a recession looming. As New York State Comptroller, I track how these economic forces impact New Yorkers’ financial well-being and our state and local economies. ​ During these difficult economic times, financial literacy is a critical tool to help individuals and families safeguard their money and build wealth through better management of their finances. That is why my office is focused on ensuring New Yorkers have access to the resources they need to strengthen their financial literacy. ​ Unfortunately, I’ve found New York has a lot of work to do. My office recently released a report on consumer debt that highlighted New Yorkers’ rising debt. A few of the alarming findings: ​ The average household in New York was carrying $53,830 in debt at the end of 2021; although less than the national average of $55,810, it is a new high for the state. While mortgages comprise the largest portion of this debt, my report found that New Yorkers’ student loan and credit card debt per capita were well above the national average. ​ New Yorkers’ per capita student loan debt of $6,180 was 11th in the nation in 2021 and marks an increase of 335% since 2003. While the rate of growth lags the national average (432%), the growth trajectory has been unrelenting and has been rising exponentially faster than personal income growth during this time. ​ Per capita credit card debt was $3,520 in 2021, putting New York as the 7th highest in the nation. Credit card balances comprised 7% of household debt, higher than the national average of 5.5%. Credit card debt can be a particular challenge to household finances. Because the interest rates on credit card debt are significantly higher than for other types of borrowing, it can create significant financial stress when credit cards are used for routine expenses. Though borrowing may be a necessity for some households struggling to make ends meet, when individuals go overboard it can become an unnecessary and painful burden. ​ One way to avoid such unfortunate decisions is heightened financial literacy, which can mean the difference between a wise decision with long-term benefits and an unsound decision that produces setbacks. In 2021, New York state enacted legislation that created a single repository of links to all state agency and authority financial literacy information and programs. Furthermore, all agencies and authorities are now required to provide relevant financial literacy-related education information to Department of Financial Services (DFS), which is responsible for posting the information on its website. ​ I recently conducted an audit that examined how New York state is living up to its goals for promoting and providing financial literacy educational tools to New Yorkers. The audit examined the financial literacy offerings of five agencies, with responsibility for programs that impact critical and vulnerable consumer groups including DFS. A comprehensive financial literacy program requires a coordinated effort among all applicable entities. For the agencies we audited, although we found that some collaboration exists, there does not appear to be a coherent strategy or overarching plan to coordinate these efforts statewide, nor is there a shared understanding or definition of “financial literacy.” Such a plan, if well-implemented, would likely provide a more comprehensive level of service to New Yorkers. Additionally, fewer than 15 of the state’s 100-plus eligible entities were represented on the clearinghouse website that was supposed to provide a one-stop location for New Yorkers to learn about financial literacy. Financial literacy is key to helping individuals and families safeguard their finances and build wealth, and state agencies should play a role in providing critical information to the clients they serve. For example, as New York’s senior population grows, the elderly are being targeted by criminals at an increasing rate. According to the FBI, over 92,000 victims over the age of 60 reported losses of $1.7 billion, a 74 percent increase in losses from 2020. However, in response to our request for information on their financial literacy programs, New York State Office for the Aging officials denied involvement with any efforts that fell within our definition of financial literacy, which we adopted from the U.S. Department of the Treasury and communicated to all five audited agencies. My report offers recommendations for improving not just agency collaboration but their efforts to enhance financial education and literacy. However, financial literacy does not erase economic and social inequities that can leave many struggling to pay rent and put food on the table. Efforts to increase financial literacy alone are not enough; they must go hand in hand with policies and initiatives to alleviate poverty. My office has been doing this by making New Yorkers in need a focus of our audits and reports. Through this lens, we are tracking poverty trends in our state and whether agencies are effectively and efficiently providing our most vulnerable neighbors with the services and resources they need to thrive. New York is not alone in having its work cut out for it when it comes to financial literacy. I remain committed to ensuring our government is doing all it can to help New Yorkers get the skills and tools they need to make financial decisions that empower themselves and their families. ​ The contents of this guest column reflect those of the authors and not necessarily those of Barrett and Greene, Inc

“Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have been called the gold standard for identifying the impacts of public service-delivery procedures,” write Harry Hatry and Batia Katz in a new report from the Urban Institute. But they can be very expensive and time consuming. This makes them “impractical for many public service agencies, especially small government agencies and most NPOS,” write Hatry and Katz, “These problems have deterred agencies in local, state, or federal governments and NPOS from using the procedures. Fortunately for some, there’s growing interest in a far simpler version of RCTs dubbed “Mini-RCTs,” which can be used for internal agency decision making (even if they don’t have sufficient rigor to be used as clear evidence for external use). In both RCTs and Mini-RCTs, the report explains: · Comparisons are made between service recipients who receive a new or modified service-delivery procedure and service recipients who did not receive the procedure. · The selection of clients into each group is done randomly · During the trial period, conditions are controlled so that none occur that could significantly affect the validity of the comparisons. Hatry and Katz write that Mini-RCTs can be used for a number of purposes that are particularly timely right now, including determining the value of emerging new technologies; ways to recruit customers or volunteers and approaches to raise program revenues. Some of the elements of Mini-RCTs include a willingness to get findings that fall short of ultimate outcomes but can use “intermediate outcomes that are somewhat easier and cheaper to measure . . .” and “indicate meaningful progress toward the end outcomes sought." In addition, they can abbreviate the length of the trial used and the number of participants involved. Of course, there are tradeoffs. As the report states, “The larger the number (of participants) the more accurate the findings will be, but the cost of data collection will be higher.” The report concludes that, “Mini-RCTs have the potential to yield many small-scale benefits that add up to major national improvements in the effectiveness, efficiency, and equity of public services—by providing more accurate information on what service-delivery practices work and do not work. A major additional benefit is that Mini-RCTs can stimulate innovation and creativity by giving decisionmakers at organizations the option of testing changes before fully implementing them. Ultimately, Mini-RCTs in public service program management could broadly benefit service delivery and help customers across all types of organizations.” #StateandLocalGovernmentPerformanceManagement #StateandLocalGovernmentPerformance #EvidenceBasedPolicyMaking #UrbanInstitute #HarryHatry #KatiaBatz #MiniRCT #StateandLocalGovernmentManagement #PublicSectorDataAnalysis #StateandLocalPerformanceMeasurement #PublicSectorProgramEvaluation #PublicSectorManagement #GovernmentInnovation #MiniRCTs

A couple of weeks ago, we were invited by the National Center for Public Performance to be the inaugural panelists in its series of webinars about performance management. We were fortunate enough to have Monica Croskey Chaparro, assistant city manager in Virginia Beach, Virginia with us to ask us questions, lead the conversation and add many pertinent points from her own experience. You can find the complete video under Special Videos on the home page of our website, but here are a handful of the thoughts upon which we expanded in the webinar: · * The words “performance-informed management” are preferable to “performance-based management.” The latter implies that there can be a formulaic approach to gathering data, with the assumption that it can drive government. But in the real world, that’s just not true, and the real goal of performance management is to gather information that will be helpful in making decisions. * It’s critical to win the trust of people in the data that’s being used – both in and out of government. There’s a tendency in some cities and states to cherry-pick data that shows only the bright side of government performance, but people who actually live in those places can compare the government’s reports to the world in which they live, and when there’s a significant difference between the two, they’ll believe their eyes and not the information the government is issuing. · * There’s an important distinction between having a performance management system, that exists only on paper, and actually having it utilized by public sector leaders and managers to make decisions. This can be particularly difficult when a new administration comes in, and the support of leadership declines. · * Many efforts – notably those that have been dubbed “stat” programs can run the risk of being perceived as ‘gotcha” exercises. When government employees fear accountability exercises, they’re disinclined to buy in and that stands in the way of progress and improvement. · * It’s important to bridge the gap in the world of performance management that can exist between important research done by academics and the day-to-day decisions that need to be made by practitioners. · * While incentives for good performance can be useful, they can also result in poor data quality when the incentives lead to fudging of data. · * When a state or local government sets up a performance management system it’s important to take the next step – providing enough resources to provide staff and research. · * As time has gone on, there have been challenges to the independence of performance management offices. But without non-partisan, independent efforts, politics can prevail over fair, honest reporting. #StateandLocalGovernmentPerformanceManagement #StateandLocalGovernmentPerformanceMeasurement #StateandLocalDataQuality #StateandLocalGovernmentManagement #StateandLocalAccountability #StateandLocalGovernmentPerformanceAudit #CityandCountyManagement #VirginiaBeach #MonicaCroskeyChaparro #PerformanceData #PerformanceInformedManagement #PerformanceBasedManagement #PerformanceMeasurement #PerformanceAudit #GovernmentStatSystems #NationalCenterforPublicPerformance #KatherineBarrettandRichardGreene #ThePromisesandPitfallsofPerformanceInformedManagement #SulfolkUniversity #CityStat #StateStat #StateandLocalGovernment #IndependentGovernmentOversight

After 23 years in government John Eller, the director of Social Services in Mecklenburg County, will leave his government job in mid-December. A lot of changes have occurred in his years in county government, and he has a wide variety of predictions, concerns and counsel for the changes that public health and human service agencies like his will face in future years. We talked with him this fall while we were researching our future of government jobs series for Route Fifty. The issues he raised included the following: The need to preserve the lessons learned during the pandemic about benefit program flexibility: Eller has watched the federal drive to unwind pandemic-era human service waivers with dismay. “It just baffles me that we’re talking about going back to the old way, versus looking for ways to continue to innovate what we started with the flexibilities we got during the pandemic,” he says. He cites a system that is audit heavy and risk adverse with confusing, inconsistent and repetitive requirements that rob clients of dignity and create numerous barriers to underemployed individuals who may lack transportation and time due to work schedules. The importance of emphasizing human interaction even as more technology options emerge: While digital skills will inevitably increase in value, he warns of the danger of losing the softer skills that are needed to work with human service customers. “The customer must remain at the heart of the mission and vision,” he says. “The shift into a technology-driven world will impact both our staff and our customers. We value a customer-centric scenario. We value interaction and the more online you go, the less interaction you have. As public human services agencies look to be more strategic, I think they’re going to have to figure out what can, and should, be done online and what doesn’t have to be. We’re going to see this tug of war, this push and pull between the need to be more technology driven, compared to the need to balance the needs of our customers and staff.” To increase the focus on more – and not less – human interaction, Mecklenburg County leadership has a philosophy dubbed “Bringing Mecklenburg to You,” which locates Community Resource Centers that combine public and private shared services “in a seamless way” in targeted geographic locations throughout the county. “Staff can be strategically placed in geographic locations to provide services instead of working from one stationary centralized building so that services are closer to each community” – a change that will also provide a stronger sense of trust with residents. The drive to alter past human resource practices that adversely affect hiring “In order to remain competitive, we’ve got to figure out what the needs of our staff are,” he says. “The decisions about telework and flexible work schedules will be critical to attract someone who can choose this agency or another.” Eller recognizes the complexities of dealing with a remote or hybrid workplace in which employees have multiple different preferences. At the same time, he knows that workplace flexibility is important to applicants and recognizes that a job candidate’s decision to accept or turn down a job offer is often contingent on this factor. “The first thing that job applicants ask is about that detail. How many days will I have to come in the office? That’s changed everything,” he says. Eller also sees a need to lower current minimum qualifications that prevent hiring community college or college graduates because they lack several years of experience. That’s led to Mecklenburg County partnering with local universities and community colleges to allow recent graduates to qualify for public human services programs without previously required years of experience. A focus on retention and building career supports for the staff Like many other individuals we interviewed for our future of government jobs series in Route Fifty, Eller sees a significant benefit in the establishment of career ladders that provide promotions and salary increases based on successfully completing training that broadens skills. In fact, he introduced a new career ladder approach in the Department of Social Services this fall, supported by county leadership. Promotion, in a career ladder system, doesn’t require employees to wait for a job to open or require staff to compete with each other for limited open positions. It depends instead on training and acquiring new knowledge. “The way we look at promoting people is going to change,” he says. #StateandLocalGovernmentManagement #PublicSectorHumanServices #HumanServices #CountyHumanServices #AmericanPublicHumanServicesAssociation #FutureGovernmentJobs #FutureofStateandLocalGovernmentJobs #HumanServicesManagement #HumanServicesWorkforce #StateandLocalGovernmentHumanResources #StateandLocalGovernmentWorkforce #StateandLocalGovernmentPerformanceManagement #StateandLocalGovernmentHiring #HumanServiceHiring #HumanServiceRetention #CountyEmployeeRetention #MecklenburgCountySocialServices #JohnEller #PublicSectorCareerLadder #HumanServiceWaivers #RouteFifty #RemoteWorkinthePublicSector #CountyGovernmentWorkforce

by Marty Benison, Industry Executive Director for State and Local Government, Oracle ​ ​While the move to "Software as a Service (SaaS) started prior to the pandemic, it accelerated when citizens needed to continue to do business with governments at all levels, but now they have to do so remotely. This digital transformation is now ingrained in the fabric of most government organizations and is here to stay. This is good news. Moving systems to SaaS subscription models, taking advantage of artificial intelligence, robotics and the Internet has allowed government organizations to remain productive and is now positioning all facets of the public sector to better deal with the loss of millions of workers through retirement that is underway. ​ While risk mitigation strategy discussions have long been a standard part of strategic processes for state and local governments, it is important to recognize that digital transformations bring with it new risks and require a fresh look at mitigation strategies. A recent Route Fifty column, (by Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene), documents not only the financial consequences of government fraud but the loss of trust. When I was comptroller of Massachusetts, I frequently cautioned my team that reputations in government are hard earned but quickly destroyed. As their article points out, this reputational damage can quickly spread beyond one individual to a government as a whole. ​ The good news is that with these new technologies comes the opportunity to implement an Enterprise Risk Management system (ERM) which can help offset the chances of a government’s suddenly being publicized as the victim of a fiscal fraud. But what is ERM and what are the benefits of ERM? What Is Enterprise Risk Management? Enterprise Risk Management is a process that helps an organization to achieve its mission or the strategic goals that make up the overall mission without being derailed by the negative impacts of risk events such as internal and external fraud, cybercrime, or natural disaster. Left unmanaged, these events can prevent the organization from achieving its strategic goals. Implementing an ERM system will help to better prepare for risk events and when they do occur, ERM can help to limit their impact on government services. Keys To a Successful ERM Implementation There are a number of factors that will impact the success of an ERM implementation. These include: ​ Ensuring that top leadership are fully behind the project Choosing a high-quality Enterprise Resource Planning system that has an embedded Enterprise Risk Management platform Ensuring that staff see the ERM as a program that is easy and aids success, not one that adds work or aims to apportion blame Creating a culture that encourages and rewards the identification of risks and a transparent and balanced approach to risk acceptance or mitigation Ensuring that these factors are in place before implementing an ERM framework will help to increase the success of the program. The Benefits of Enterprise Risk Management Implementing an ERM program can provide a wide range of benefits for state agencies, which can include both qualitative and/or quantitative benefits. ​ Creation of a more risk focused culture When management increases the focus on risk, it results in more discussion about risk at all levels of the agency. This in turn means that risks are identified more easily and managed more effectively. Staff become more open to sharing risk information, which leads to better decision making around risk at all levels of management. Security and compliance are improved Ensuring that the agency’s Enterprise Risk Management application is well designed and well maintained helps to future-proof the security of the agency. This is vital to helping ensure that state agency systems remain protected against rapidly evolving cyber-attacks and unauthorized financial transactions. Choosing an ERM framework with automated controls will allow state agency management to access real-time evidence, making the compliance and audit process more efficient. Efficient resource usage State agencies without an ERM system may need to employ large numbers of people to manage and report risk on a day-to-day basis. Implementing ERM doesn’t entirely replace the need for this, but it can improve the efficiency of state government services by allowing critical risk management functions to be carried out consistently. When the ERM system is embedded in an ERP system, monitoring of moderate risks can be mostly automated. Processes can be streamlined and eliminating redundant processes in this way allows resources to be used more efficiently. Audit samples can be replaced with 100% real time audit for risk transactions. Improved perspective on risk ERM systems provide key metrics and measurements that assist the monitoring of risk vulnerabilities as they develop. Being able to track changes in this way allows early identification of changes to the agency’s risk profile, providing an early warning system for potential risk events. The data generated by the Enterprise Risk Management tools also empowers state agencies to make better risk-aware decisions. Standardized risk analysis and ERM reporting ERM provides a variety of data including the status of key risk indicators, emerging risks, and mitigation strategies. ERM risk reporting is quick, flexible, and detailed, which allows state agency leadership to develop a better understanding of the agency’s risk profile, thresholds, and tolerances. This in turn gives a better framework for evaluating risk, allowing better decision making at all levels of management. It will also vastly simplify compliance and audit storing all the current risk and mitigations in a single up to date format. Implementing a state level ERM framework can lead to better management of risk, which has many clear benefits, including empowering employees to take a more positive and proactive attitude to risk identification and mitigation. Will any technology eliminate all risks? Or course not. But, as the old saying goes, “the perfect is the enemy of the good.” ​ The contents of this guest column reflect those of the authors and not necessarily those of Barrett and Greene, Inc. ​ #RiskManagment #StateandLocalGovernmentManagement #Cybercrime #StateandLocalGovernmentFraud #Oracle #Softwareasaservice #SaaS #PublicSectorEnterpriseRiskManagement #PublicSectorInformationTechnology #StateandLocalDigitalTransformation #ArtificialIntelligenceinStateandLocalGovernment #StateandLocalGovernmentWorkforce #PublicSectorRiskManagement #StateofMassachusetts #MartyBenison #StateandLocalGovernmentFraud #GovernmentTrust #RouteFifty #StateandLocalEmployeeTraining #StateandLocalGovernmentCulture #StateandLocalGovernmentPerformanceMeasurement

We’ve written columns for a variety of publications over the years ranging from the late, lamented Ladies’ Home Journal to Forbes to Government Finance Review. The problem in the column business has been that we’re always hopping from one topic to the next and can rarely even remember what ran last week or last month in which publication. That’s why we’ve been grateful that Route Fifty gave us the opportunity to devote a great deal of time over a few months to assembling a three-part series about the Future of Work in state and local government. That meant that we were able to read through hundreds of pages of reports and talk with dozens of individuals from private sector consultancies, membership associations, local and state human resource departments and other agencies to share their insights about the future of government jobs. The three pieces ran over the course of the last three days, and there are plans to convert them into a Route Fifty e-book later this month. Today’s B&G Report provides links to and brief descriptions of the three columns. We’re proud of them and have been getting many positive reviews from readers. Our friend and colleague Don Kettl particularly delighted us when he tweeted this about the second of the three: “Not only is this a supremely important article--a must-read for anyone who cares about the future of government. The state & local research gives great insight into the issues plaguing the federal government, too. You gotta read this!” Here are the three parts of the series: The Future of State and Local Government Jobs: Public sector workplaces are expected to look much different in the coming years with major implications for employees and agencies. In this column, we outlined the broad trends including the drive to artificial intelligence and automation, remote work, generational change and the ongoing difficulty in hiring and keeping a qualified workforce. Change Is Inevitable: How governments adapt to a transforming -- and potentially difficult -- future for employers and employees is critical if they are to effectively and efficiently deliver services. Here, we wrote about the need to reskill employees, alter the structure and focus of jobs, fix inefficient hiring practices, diversify the workforce and eliminate unnecessary silos. No Field Will be the Same: There’s no escaping from an evolving workforce, regardless of the department or agency. But the ways in which they adjust will be different depending on the field. We describe some of the clear signs of change that are already beginning to be visible in finance, technology, administration, human services and front-line jobs like those in police and fire. #FutureOfJobs #RouteFifty #StateAndLocalHumanResources #PublicSectorHumanSources #StateAndLocalJobs #PublicSectorWorkforce #DiversifyingGovernment #StateAndLocalHiringPractices #ArtificialIngelligence #CivilServiceReform

​ ​by Stephen B. Gordon, lead coordinator of the Continuity of Supply Initiative (CoSI) For the past two and a half years, times have not been good for state and local governments or the millions of the people they are -- or, once were -- responsible for serving. Since early 2020, more than a million people in the U.S. have died from the COVID-19 virus because, among other things, healthcare providers in the private, nonprofit, and sectors did not possess the vaccinations, the personal protective equipment (PPE), or the medicine early enough in the pandemic to respond to the needs of their patients or to protect their front-line and support staffs. ​ The unanticipated sudden arrival, the severity, and the rapid worldwide spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with resultant breakages in vulnerable supply chains, made the challenges facing states, localities, and other U.S. healthcare providers especially daunting. The longstanding, well-known desires of state and local governments and other consumers to pay prices that were as low as possible and the ways in which producers and providers of goods and services had aggressively cut costs in their supply chains to respond to the demand signal from consumers for low prices had set the stage for supply chain failures. ​ The institutions and public entities that had been substantial buyers of personal protective equipment prior to the pandemic were largely able to continue fulfilling their requirements. That was not true, however, for the hospitals, clinics, health departments, and the fire, rescue, and law enforcement departments that, alone, did not have the leverage in the marketplace to assure they would continue to get the PPE they needed. ​ Prior to the outburst of COVID-19, most of these smaller buyers of PPE had used so-called cooperative procurement agreements, which had worked well for them in normal times. However, when demand for PPE spiked steeply and suddenly, the suppliers who held these cooperative agreements told their lower-leverage customers that they could not fulfill their requirements – and, as far as I know, faced no consequences. The jilted customers were forced into what they soon would call the “Wild West”, where in competition with one another they chased after previously unknown and unqualified brokers, who offered PPE of uncertain quality at outrageous prices. ​ Many of them demanded upfront payment and sometimes the supplies that states and localities ordered and paid for in advance never arrived; on other occasions, the goods arrived but were seized by federal authorities. Except in those instances where inspections revealed that the products received were clearly unacceptable, the seizures left a very bad taste in the mouths of the frustrated state and local officials who had placed the orders. ​ Among the many other triggers that could lead to unacceptable contractual results for state and local governments and their stakeholders, is a lack of competition in industries that supply critical goods and services. Consider, for example, the baby formula shortage and the associated price increases for this product that hit the headlines in 2021. When one of two factories operated by one of the four U.S. manufacturers that control 90% of this market had to be shut down due to both supply chain issues and FDA’s detection of a dangerous contaminant in that factory’s output, many families had to make-do or do without until the federal government resolved the shortage for the time being by invoking the Defense Production Act and launching Operation Flyover. Despite the temporary success in resolving the problem, the underlying vulnerability in the baby formula market remains. ​ So, what can state and local governments, in particular, do to assure that they never again will find themselves without PPE or any other goods and services that they simply cannot do without? First, they must acknowledge that while the pandemic was a furiously extreme event, it’s overwhelmingly likely that there will be other events in the future that will likely – without proper preparedness -- lead to supply shortages, price increases, and other unacceptable consequences for their stakeholders. Second, they must recognize that while the future triggers for such unacceptable consequences may include global pandemics, they also may include more mundane circumstances in which, for example, a small number of suppliers control their market. State and local governments can, if they choose, enter into supply agreements that will assure continuity of supply at affordable prices when suppliers’ primary supply chains break. That will require them to move away from convenient but potentially unreliable, typically low-price-focused sourcing options to reliable competitively sourced agreements in which state and local governments collaborate with one another and with manufacturers and distributors to plan, develop, and assure success and, in so doing, achieve best value as opposed to only economy and efficiency. A significant portion of the value derived through such agreements will be the seamless transitions to backup supply chains for which increases in cost, if there are any, will be based on formulas pre-provided in the agreements. Each proposer’s price will be scored in relation to the value offered in its technical proposal; not “objectively” on-a-price to price basis. It’s clear that there are no easy answers to assuring continuity of supplies, when there’s no certainty whatsoever about what goods and services, specifically, will be under pressure. But unless steps are taken in advance of a crisis, future disruptions are inevitable. ​ The contents of this guest column reflect those of the authors and not necessarily those of Barrett and Greene, Inc. ​ #personalprotectiveequipment #covid19 #pandemic #supplychain #procurement #stateandlocalgovernment #babyformula #healthcareproviders

We were fascinated by some of the most significant changes signaled in the recently released annual CIO survey from the National Association of State Chief Information Officers. Our series about the future of state and local government jobs, is being published this week by Route Fifty. And based on our many interviews for those columns, we were heartened to see the reskilling of employees jump dramatically in its importance in the NASCIO CIO survey as the “single action” that would most affect recruitment and retention of the future IT workforce. In 2019, 25% of CIOs selected “reskilling” compared with 35% in 2022. In comparison, increasing remote work options was chosen by 18% of state CIOs, expanding flexible work by 8% and streamlining the hiring process and reducing time to hire by 6%. Building a “talent pipeline” also jumped dramatically as a top strategy and tactic that state CIOs use to attract and retain a highly qualified IT workforce. In 2022, that was listed by 71% of CIOS, compared with 44% in 2019. Another big change showed up regarding privacy, which was on more CIO's minds in the last year than in the past. As the survey says, “Citizens are becoming more aware of their privacy rights, feeling distrustful of how information is being collected . . . and demanding more from government.” When asked if their states had passed legislation addressing citizen data privacy, 37 percent said yes in 2022 compared with 29 percent in 2020. In 2022, 67 percent said their states had implemented enterprise-wide data privacy policies, up from 59 percent in 2020. As NASCIO has previously reported, 21 states now have chief privacy officers. In addition, the pressures to move speedily and to depend on digital delivery of services in the last two and a half years, clearly made CIOs realize that the need to tackle obsolete technology was paramount. Increasing the priority of legacy modernization jumped from the 5th place it held in 2020 and 2021 to the 2nd place in a ranking of business processes that would loom large in coming years. “This is likely because the fragility of these systems were exposed during the pandemic,” the survey report surmises. There’s lots more in the 2022 State CIO Survey and it is most decidedly a B&G Recommendation. #StateCIO #NASCIO #NationalAssociationoffStateChiefInformationOfficers #StateGovernmentPrivacyOfficer #StateChiefInformationOfficer #FutureofStateandLocalGovernmentJobs #RouteFifty #StateGovernmentReskilling #StateGovernmentTalentPipeline #StateGovernmentHumanResources #StateAndLocalGovernmentManagement #BandGReportRecommendations #GovernmentData #HumanResourceManagement #PublicSectorHumanResourcesPandemicImpact #StateGovernmentHumanResources #PublicSectorInformationTechnology

We’ve recently been reading an advance copy of a book by Bill Leighty, former chief of staff under Governors Tim Kaine and Mark Warner of Virginia. It’s terrific, full of anecdotes from his many years in government service and we look forward to being able to give copies to our friends when it’s published. This has provoked a conversation between the two of us about some of the best books we’ve read that we think would be fun, instructive or thought-provoking for people in state and local government. Top on our list was The Power Broker by Robert Caro. We’re also very fond of The Lost City, by our friend and colleague Alan Ehrenhalt. And then there’s Machiavelli’s The Prince, which may have been written in the sixteenth century, but certainly resonates with the world in which we live today. About a dozen years ago, while we were writing columns for Governing magazine, we asked our readers to “submit suggestions for reading materials that are useful for government managers.” We featured a number of them in a column we dubbed “Managers Reading List.” We’ve just taken another look at that list and found that it included many that were about the federal government (like Confessions of a Civil Servant by Bob Stone, which was recommended by the Urban Institute’s Harry Hatry). So now we’d like to refine our request for readers of the B&G Report, and ask you to please send recommendations for any readers at all (not just government managers) who are interested in state and local government specifically. You can make submissions, which we’ll feature, with full credit if desired, in a future B&G Report by writing to us at greenebarrett@gmail.com, subject lined "B&G Reading List". Thank you. #StateandLocalGovernment #CityandCountyManagement #BarrettandGreeneRecommendations #FormerVirginiaGovernorTimKaine #FormerVirginiaGovernorMarkWarner #SenatorTimKaine #BarrettandGreeneRecommendations #BandGReportRecommendations #GoverningMagazine #AlanEhrenhalt #WilliamLeighty #BillLeighty #GovernorChiefofStaff #TheLostCity #HarryHatry

We are, as readers of the B&G Report know, regular users of performance audits. In so doing, we're sometimes reminded about the Greek myth of Sisyphus, the founder and king of Ephyra who was punished for escaping death by spending eternity rolling a boulder up a hill and then watching it roll down again. How does this connect to the problems we see in performance audits? The answer is that many of the issues we observe cropping up in one place -- and potentially resolved there -- appear again and again in other reports. Case in point: the difficulty in keeping up with building inspections and the sometimes tragic consequences that ensue, This is on our minds today because of an in-depth investigation conducted by the Sacramento Bee about a lethal fire that occurred in early September. The September 2nd Mill Fire in sparsely populated Siskiyou County, California, appeared to begin in wooden warehouse Shed 17, although that hasn’t yet been confirmed. It spread across a six-mile area, killing two women and destroying “nearly 100 houses,” according to the Bee. The lengthy article about the newspaper’s investigation cited a lack of oversight of warehouse fire safety and noted that government officials couldn’t provide records to indicate the warehouse in question had a functioning sprinkler system. In this rural area of northern California no local governments had the responsibility for inspecting the warehouse. State fire inspection requirements did not appear to cover warehouse inspection or oversight either. Every situation is different, but we have seen a lot of similarities in the post-disaster discussions of a lethal fire. We’ve covered this topic in the past and wrote about it a year ago, in a blog post we titled, “The Problem of Lagging Inspections.” . Too often, the lack of inspections – even when they are required – come down to shortages in funding and staff. When they draw public attention an investigation is done, and -- with remarkable frequency -- blame is placed on the absence of sufficient inspections. In a perfect world, one community would learn from the lessons of another and that boulder would stay at the top of the hill. But, sadly, that's not the case. And so, despite the tragedy in California, we expect to read the same story again and again in other places. Are we growing pessimistic? No. But maybe just a tad realistic. #CityandCountyManagement #GovernmentAccountability #PerformanceAudit #StateandLocalGovernment #Inspections #FireSafety #SacramentoBee #WarehouseFire #InspectionBacklog #PerformanceManagement #GovernmentOversight #Inspections #CityInspections #SafetyInspections #MillFire #InspectionShortcomings #LaggingInspections #StateandLocalGovernmentPerformance #StateofCalifornia #CityofSacramento

With the advent of mobile apps and easily accessible web portals, there’s growing potential for improved communication between governments and residents. They can also help to foster improved customer satisfaction, if residents find it easy to voice complaints, seek service improvements and get some idea how long their neighborhood is going to have to wait for that (expletive deleted) axle-twisting pothole to be fixed. That potential is diminished, however, if the app, itself, provides yet another reason to be frustrated with the government. Obviously, technological glitches can be a problem. But sometimes it's the non-tech details that are the issue, as an October performance audit about San Diego’s Get It Done mobile app and web portal showed. Get It Done was intended to provide people with an easy way to report City of San Diego problems and ask for fixes. Their 2021 requests for assistance most commonly connected to parking, encampments, graffiti, missed collection, illegal dumping, potholes and “shared mobility devices,” which include motorized scooters and bicycles. The biggest problem with the app, was summed up nicely in the audit’s finding No. 1: “While Get It Done has greatly expanded customers’ access to request services, many customers receive limited, confusing, or inaccurate information about their service requests.” In fact, according to the auditor, in 19% of service requests, residents received “inaccurate or misleading closure details.” The office criticized the practice of marking a request “closed” even when the problem was unresolved but had been referred elsewhere to find a solution. Other issues included Get It Done’s lack of communication about target and estimated completion times, and a lack of progress reports. These features were characterized as part of an “Ideal Process” as opposed to the “Current Process.” In addition to these recommendations, the auditor suggested updated training for staff and also developing a central 3-1-1 phone call-in system, a common communication device that San Diego does not have, in contrast to most large cities. The Performance and Analytics Department, which manages the app, has already been working on fixing the problems addressed by the audit. City management agreed with all but one of audit recommendations, disagreeing only with its suggestion of developing a 3-1-1 call-in option. Among the organizations that the city auditor mentions for guidance on centralized customer service portals are: The International City/County Management Association (ICMA), The Leadership for a Networked World Program (LMW) and Harvard Business Review. #StateandLocalGovernment #CityandCountyManagement #PerformanceAudit #SanDiegoCityAuditor #CityMobileApp #GetItDoneMobileApp #CityofSanDiego #CityGovernmentCustomerService #ResidentOutreach #CitizenOutreach #PublicSectorMobileApp #SanDiegoPerformanceandAnalyticsDepartment #CityGovernmentPerformanceManagement #ResidentCustomerSatisfaction #CitizenApp #CitizenInput #ICMA #HarvardBusinessReview #LeadershipforaNetworkedWorldProgram #311PhoneSystem #AuditRecommendationImplementation