If you look up the word Government in a thesaurus, you find synonyms like regime, control, command and authority. What you don't see are words like service, assistance, or support. That has always been the problem with government- the conflict between its role as a rule maker and that of public servant. Nowhere is that more evident than in the delivery of critical social services. One part of government wants to serve the well-being of the citizenry, the other wants to control spending and influence the behavior of those who receive assistance. In Florida, they made a startling discovery. In an effort to control eligibility for public assistance, states had created a labor intensive system that was burdened with unnecessarily complex regulations and policies. Moreover, the system was overly intrusive on the time and privacy of the public it was supposed to serve. This revelation caused the creation of ACCESS Florida. It is a program that uses innovative technology and relationships with over 2,600 community partners to achieve efficiency and cost-effectiveness, while allowing for and promoting customer self-direction, self-service and self-reliance. The result was a recurring savings of $83 million dollars a year and dramatic increase in the level of privacy and respect afforded those the program was designed to serve. This is how they did it.
