Human Services
Charles Krogmeier,
Director
Mission Statement:
The Mission of the Iowa Department of Human Services is
to help individuals and families achieve safe, stable, self-sufficient,
and healthy lives, thereby contributing to the economic
growth of the state. We do this by keeping a customer focus,
striving for excellence, sound stewardship of state resources,
maximizing the use of federal funding and leveraging opportunities,
and by working with our public and private partners to achieve
results.
Measures:
Preventing hunger
Children safe from re-abuse
Children's health care access
Child support due that is collected
Dollars saved through the Pharmaceutical
Preferred Drug List (Iowa Medicaid) program
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 Performance
Plan - How we measure our progress
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Strategic
Plan - How we plan for progress
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Performance
Report - How we report for progress
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Department Home
Page - Learn more about this department
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Highlighted Measure:
Number of eligible Iowans receiving
food and nutrition benefits.
Data Source: Department of Human Services
Updated 2/4/09
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Why this is important:
Food assistance prevents hunger and helps families meet
their basic nutritional needs and increases the family's
nutritional levels. Preventing hunger is one of the building
blocks in all of social service. It doesn't solve all of
a family's problems, but other problems are more manageable
if hunger is not an issue. Many people receiving food assistance
are on fixed incomes. Food assistance allows seniors to
not have to make the difficult choice between buying food
or prescription drugs. In addition, the Food Assistance
program stimulates the economy for the benefit of all Iowans.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has estimated that every
$5 in food assistance generates $9.20 in local and state
economic activity. The Food Assistance Program brought
$289,415,922 into Iowa in FY08. In the first quarter, a monthly average of 123,628 households and 269,558 recipients received food assistance through the Food Assistance Program of $26,593,955 - an increase of 18.6% over last year.
The Commodity Supplemental Food program serves low-income working families and the elderly in Central Iowa. Approximately 3,200 Iowans are served monthly - 95% of whom are elderly. 1.1 million pounds of commodities were distributed to these families in SFY2008.
The Emergency Food Assistance program distributes food to low-income Iowans through eight food banks statewide. Emergency food was distributed to approximately 224,000 individuals per month. 3.6 million pounds of commodities were distributed through this program in SFY2008 and in SFY2009 year-to-date 5.4 million pounds have been distributed.
What we're doing about this:
Recognizing that many eligible Iowans were not receiving Food Assistance, DHS established an aggressive growth target. Along with that target, several initiatives were implemented. We now issue Food Assistance through an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card - a debit-like swipe card--increasing convenience for clients. We have reduced the frequency that clients are required to report changes in income and began to base eligibility on an estimate of their future income. This simplified program reporting, reduced the burden on clients and staff, making the program more attractive and convenient. DHS also participated in a National Media Campaign sponsored by our federal partners at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and conducted intense outreach efforts. We simplified the application for Food Assistance. We have implemented a statewide Food Assistance Customer Service Call center funded by a USDA Food and Nutrition Service Participation Grant.
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Highlighted Measure:
Percent of children in Iowa who
are safe from re-abuse for at
least six months following a
confirmed report of neglect or
abuse.
Data Source: Department of Human Services, State Child Welfare
Information System (CWIS),
STAR sub-system
Updated 2/4/09
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Why this is important:
This measure is an indicator of the safety of children and the effectiveness of communities, providers and the department working together to ensure children are safe from repeat abuse or neglect. Child neglect is considered "denial of critical care," failure on the part of a person responsible for the care of a child to provide for the adequate food, shelter, clothing or other care necessary for the child's health and welfare when financially able to do so or when offered financial or other reasonable means to do so. In 2007, 79% of child abuse in Iowa was related to denial of critical care.
What we're doing about this:
The Department continues to research and implement best practices in child welfare to improve our results success. The use of Family Team meetings to provide the family with support and focus on the safety of children; standardized risk and safety assessment tools, statewide safety training with providers and department staff; expansion of the service array to include Safety Services and Family, Safety and Permanency Services; regionalized abuse registry and assessment ensure consistency statewide; engaging community partners in the development of community based child welfare services and supports; standardization of data; and integration of a quality assurance review process into everyday practice.
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Highlighted Measure:
Children's Health Care Access
for children 0 through 18 years of age
and at/or below 200% Federal
Poverty Level.
Data Source: Department of Human Services, Medicaid administrative
reports and hawk-i demographic
reports
Updated 2/4/09
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Why this is important:
Access to health care improves health, wellness
and quality of life. Healthy children are able
to attend school, learn, grow, develop healthy
lifestyles, and become productive adults. Iowa
provides public health insurance to over 220,000
children (approximately 200,000 in Medicaid and
21,500 in hawk-i). Overall, about 5.4% of Iowa
children are uninsured, about half of whom are under 200% of Federal Poverty Level. In FY09, outreach programs and continuous eligibility have led to increased enrollment for children in Medicaid while generating fewer referrals from Medicaid to hawk-i.
What we're doing about this:
The department conducts grassroots outreach and
media activities with the Department of Public
Health as well as working cooperatively with
schools, medical providers, businesses, faith-based
and other organizations. A statewide mailing
is sent to all school age children across Iowa
at the start of the school year. The Department
has developed an automated referral system from
Medicaid. The hawk-i program makes referrals
to Medicaid services.
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Percentage of child support owed
in the current state fiscal year
which is collected in the current
state fiscal year and the total
child support collected
Data Source: Department of Human Services; Federal 157 Reports
- Child Support Recovery
Unit
Updated 2/4/09
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Why this is important:
Current child support collected in the month due helps
families have predictable income to use for the needs of
the children. Current support also helps families avoid
the need for public assistance. In State Fiscal Year 2008, the Child Support Recovery Unit served 194,542 cases. Those cases represent 684,788 parents and children.
What we're doing about this:
Workers in the Child Support Division locate absent parents,
secure income-withholding orders, and, in the case of non-paying
obligors, offset tax refunds and apply license sanctions.
Iowa has developed joint offices with Nebraska and Illinois
to improve payment rates of shared interstate cases. 70.4% of child support due was collected and a total of $171.4 million in child support has been collected in 2009 YTD.
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| Highlighted Measure:
Dollars saved through the Pharmaceutical
Preferred Drug List (Iowa Medicaid)
Program
Data Source: Department of Human Services, Iowa Medicaid
Enterprise
Updated 2/4/09
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Why this is important:
The implementation of the Preferred Drug List (PDL) and the receipt of Supplemental Drug Rebates from drug manufacturers have played a critical role in containing the costs of prescription drugs in the Iowa Medicaid program. The PDL was implemented in January 2005 and has saved the state nearly $36 million to date (state dollars), or an average of 15% of the drug budget. Members continue to have rapid access to medically necessary non-preferred drugs through an extremely efficient Prior Authorization system that provides determinations in an average time of less than one hour. Since PDL implementation, supplemental rebates have have averaged approximately $5 million (state dollars) annually.
What we're doing about this:
DHS implemented a Preferred Drug List and negotiated for Supplemental Rebates beginning January 2005. The federal Medicare Part D drug program shifted drug costs out of the Iowa Medicaid program for dually eligible Medicaid members to the federal Medicare program, resulting in a reduction of expenditures from 2006 to 2007, as seen on the chart. In 2006, the Department collaborated in the creation of the Sovereign States Drug Consortium that leverages their collective covered lives to negotiate for discounts in drug costs. Since its inception, this group, authorized by the federal government, has allowed the state to obtain better supplemental rebates. There are currently six states in the group representing one million eligibles and over $1.2 billion in drug expenditures. $40.7 million have been saved year-to-date through the Prescription Drug List and the rebate program.
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