Thousand Stories Secretary Brown

The "Thousand Stories Podcast" episode from April
18, 2024, provides a comprehensive view of the Center for Public Sector AI (CPSAI), a transformative force in integrating Artificial Intelligence into public sector operations, particularly within health and human services. The episode delves into the multifaceted strategies and initiatives undertaken by the CPSAI to ensure that AI technology enhances public services responsibly and
effectively.

Expanded Narrative Summary:

The CPSAI is framed as a groundbreaking initiative,
demonstrating a commitment to nonpartisanship and nonprofit values. It operates with a clear focus on the ethical deployment of AI technologies, ensuring that
these powerful tools are used to their fullest potential to improve public sector services without compromising ethical standards or public trust.

Detailed Strategic Focus and Initiatives:

1.    
In-depth Educational Programs:
The CPSAI places a strong emphasis on educating leaders
within the health and human services sectors about the nuances of AI. This includes detailed training on the technological, ethical, and practical aspects of AI deployment, aiming to equip leaders with the knowledge to make informed decisions.

·       
Key takeaway: The educational efforts are designed to transform state leaders into informed stakeholders who can effectively navigate the complexities of new technologies, thereby enhancing their ability to oversee and implement AI-driven projects.

2.  Rigorous Development of Operational
Guardrails:
To safeguard against potential risks, the CPSAI develops
operational guardrails that serve as ethical and practical boundaries for AI deployment. These guidelines are continuously refined and shared across states to standardize safe and responsible AI integration.


Key takeaway: By establishing a framework of best practices and ethical standards, the CPSAI helps ensure that AI applications are beneficial and do not inadvertently exacerbate existing disparities or introduce new ethical dilemmas.



3.    Project Clearinghouse for AI
Evaluation:
The Project Clearinghouse stands out as a key initiative,
where AI projects are rigorously evaluated for their adherence to established guardrails and their potential impact on public services. This platform fosters
collaboration and resource sharing among various stakeholders.


Key takeaway: The clearinghouse not only standardizes the evaluation of AI projects but also facilitates the exchange of best practices, enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of AI applications across different states.



4.    Strategic Partnerships for Broad
Impact:    
Recognizing the importance of collaboration, the CPSAI
actively forms partnerships with academic institutions, technology firms, and other governmental and non-governmental organizations. These partnerships are
instrumental in pooling expertise and resources, thereby amplifying the positive impacts of AI.


Key takeaway:
Through these strategic alliances, the CPSAI leverages collective insights and innovations, ensuring that AI technologies are deployed in ways that are both
transformative and aligned with public interests.

5.    Commitment to Practical Implementation
and Experimentation:

Beyond theoretical discussions, the CPSAI is deeply
committed to the practical application of AI, focusing on how these technologies can concretely improve service delivery and the operational efficiency of public services.


Key takeaway: By encouraging experimentation and learning from both successes and failures, the
CPSAI promotes an adaptive approach to technology deployment, aiming to solve real-world problems efficiently and ethically.

This episode of the Thousand Stories Podcast emphasizes the CPSAI's proactive and structured approach to AI integration, underlining its role as a leader in ethical technology deployment in the public sector. Through
education, ethical guardrails, strategic partnerships, and a fo

The Health & Human Services system is 'in a moment' right now, led by a handful of dynamic state and local Directors, Secretaries and Commissioners that are focused on developing a contemporary culture and shepherding systems into a new era of service. Having been battle tested over the last few years, they emerge stronger and more resolved to implement a vision for transformation focused on outcomes for children and families. Kelly Garcia, Director for the Iowa Department of Health & Human Services is a terrific example, and her vision for a future system truly matters for the people of Iowa. She is one of a thousand terrific stories of servant leadership that deserves to be told.


Praised for transformative leadership, Kelly Kennedy Garcia serves as the Director of the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Governor Kim Reynolds appointed Garcia to oversee the state’s social services agency in November 2019. She was unanimously confirmed by the Iowa Senate on February 26, 2020. Later that year, Garcia was asked to serve as interim public health Director. As a dual director, Garcia led the agency’s pandemic response, while sheparding consolidation to a single health and human services structure.


Two years later, Kelly leads Iowa’s largest agency, with a commitment to
transparency and accountability. The key to this success is building strong teams, transforming the agency’s business processes and driving home on a humancentered strategic vision. Before moving to the Hawkeye state, Garcia led improvements in organizational structure, program management, and policy development in the great state of
Texas, including serving in several executive positions at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. Garcia has more than 20 years of experience in program evaluation and budget, planning and policy development.



Garcia is a graduate of the University of Texas and received her MPA from The Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University. She was a member of the Governor’s Executive Development Program sponsored by the LBJ School of Public Affairs and has been acknowledged as a distinguished alumnus. She is married to attorney Dan Garcia, and they have two children.

Hope is much more than wishful thinking. Science tells us that it is the most predictive indicator of well-being in a person’s life. Hope is measurable. It is malleable. And it changes lives. In Hope Rising, Casey Gwinn and Chan Hellman reveal the latest science of hope using nearly 2,000 published studies, including their own research. Based on their findings, they make an impassioned call for hope to be the focus not only of our personal lives, but of public policy for education, business, social services, and every part of society. Visit hoperesearch.info for more.

Season 2, Episode 3 of the Thousand Stories Podcast is a terrific discussion between Secretary Brown and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Jim Clark. The podcast recorded at the 'Game Changers Conference' in Atlanta, GA, and intends to provide listeners with a modern understanding of what the Boys & Girls Clubs do, the reach of their approximately 5,000 clubs across the nation, how they responded to the needs of the kids they serve during the early stages of the pandemic.    The organization has evolved the way that work forever as they understood the critical role they play as core to the fabric of our nation's child and family building system.  Listeners should walk away thankful for this organization and their 160 year history, as well as encouraged that partnerships that serve our communities are deep and growing.

Fathers play an incredibly important role in the lives of their children.  Episode 2.2 of the Thousand Stories podcast discusses the impact of two 'Fatherhood' programs on their communities by providing new fathers with the skills they need, and may have never been modeled to them, to be that critical support to their families.

Oklahoma has incarcerated more women per capita than anywhere else in the world for nearly three decades. In 2010, the Inasmuch Foundation and the United Way of Central Oklahoma convened a group of 25 community leaders to address the rate at which Oklahoma incarcerates women and the trauma that occurs within a family when a mother goes to prison. This group identified an approach that would remove barriers and provide a path for more successful futures for mothers who battle cycles of trauma, poverty and incarceration.

Founded on a collective impact model and designed around comprehensive programming and support, ReMerge was officially launched in 2011. Since that time, ReMerge has graduated 154 women who parent a total of 383 children. ReMerge has saved the state of Oklahoma more than $35 million dollars by providing a pathway for mothers to be restored to our community rather than incarcerated and separated from their children.

Upon graduation, a ReMerge mother has safe and stable housing, is reunified with her minor children, is maintaining sobriety and on the pathway to stable employment. What makes ReMerge truly different from other diversion programs, is that upon graduation, a ReMerge mother is eligible to have her charges dismissed, removing a substantial barrier to the rest of her life.

ReMerge serves mothers of minor children who are facing non-violent felony charges in Oklahoma County. Participants are referred by the District Attorney’s office. ReMerge mothers are high-risk, high-need, meaning that without substantial treatment and support, they are unlikely to break the cycles of incarceration, addiction, and poverty. ReMerge utilizes evidence-based treatment and programming to provide individualized, wrap-around services for mothers and their families.

ReMerge is a four phase program that first acts to stabilize moms and build a foundation for recovery. ReMerge provides safe and sober housing, food, clothing, transportation, access to mental and physical health care, and addiction recovery as baseline support. As ReMerge moms progress through the phases of our program, they gain the necessary coping, parenting, and practical skills needed to rebuild their lives and their families.

As part of our holistic services, ReMerge mothers are assigned to a team that includes a case manager, a therapist, a health and wellness program manager, a child reunification program manager, education and employment coordinator, and a peer recovery support specialist. These teams support each mom to reach her goals and to meet the competencies required of each phase.

As a ReMerge mother grows in her skill and capacity, she needs to enter the workforce but she needs a career, not just a job. Even in a state where the cost of living is relatively low, a mother, supporting an average of two children, cannot survive on minimum wage. The Prison Policy Initiative found that justice-involved people have an unemployment rate over 27%, which is significantly higher than the US unemployment rate of 3.6%. The unemployment rate is often even higher, 33% or more, for women.

Joblessness is the number 1 indicator for reoffending. ReMerge invests significantly in the education and employment training of the women in our program because without the ability to grow wages and a future, hopelessness can cycle right back into addiction and incarceration. Through our program of holistic treatment, recovery, and education and employment support, we are making a tangible difference in the lives of ReMerge mothers and their families’ futures.