Delaware

Executive Order #4, signed by Governor John Carney on February 16, 2017, established the Government Efficiency and Accountability Review (GEAR) to develop recommendations for increasing efficiency and effectiveness across State government, improve the strategic planning process, improve the use of metrics in resource allocation decisions, and develop continuous improvement practices. GEAR is a long-term initiative. GEAR Board meetings are posted to the State’s online public meeting calendar. Public participation and comments are encouraged. The Board has met thirty-five times since its formation. The Board has established multiple critical focus areas, identified team leadership and members, completed written charters identifying process and program optimization opportunities, and initiated and completed numerous projects with measurable outcomes to take advantage of these opportunities.

Consistent with the recommendation made in the 2018 GEAR Annual Report, the First State Quality Improvement Fund (FSQIF) was reinstated in Fiscal Year 2020 as a line item in the Department of Human Resources (DHR) budget and funded at $150,000 per year. The DHR Training and HR Solutions and GEAR developed the Continuous Improvement Practitioner (CIP) as a joint venture and partnership to build project management, Lean process improvement, and change management skills of State employees. The resulting CIP training program has graduated 52 practitioners to date with an additional cohort of 18 presently in training and another cohort planned for spring 2023. All CIP graduates subsequently join the GEAR Field Team. DHR has submitted the Fiscal Year 2024 budget request for an additional $200,000, endorsed by GEAR, to provide two annual cohorts, support the expansion of CIP, and implement project and process leadership training. The GEAR team itself is driving the broad adoption of standard strategic planning processes, the use of metrics to guide resource allocation decisions, and the implementation of a culture of continuous process improvement to enhance state programs. Specific ideas such as the “Continuous Improvement Cycle” and individual program updates can be found in the GEAR Reports & Publications page.

In January 2018, with support from the AISP Learning Community initiative, key members of the Delaware Governor’s Family Services Cabinet Council (FSCC) began collaborating to develop the Delaware Integrated Data System (DIDS) to jointly use information from multiple agencies that provide services to Delaware’s families. The primary goals of the DIDS are to link disparate data from numerous state programs and develop predictive analytics to help verify best methods for providing meaningful assistance. According to the launch announcement: “the system will help Delaware coordinate services and support young people and families in Wilmington who are at high risk of violence, and bolster the ongoing work of the Family Services Cabinet Council.” DIDS is hosted by the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services and the Department of Technology & Information (DTI). DTI is also home to Delaware’s Open Data Portal which supports data sharing with the public and currently has 374 datasets available.

Implement Continuous Quality Improvement through Administrative Case Review – The Department of Services for Children, Youth, and their Families is implementing an administrative case review process to support its continuous quality improvement efforts and data-driven decision-making. The scope of work has included the development of a comprehensive review tool to assess case management practices when children and families are involved with more than one division in its system of care. Use of the newly developed tool is in the pilot stage and results of the pilot review will inform changes to the review process and provide valuable information about strengths, needs, and gaps that will inform system improvement efforts.

Amend the Government Accountability Act – The Government Accountability Act is tied to performance measurement in a way, with agency directors submitting performance measures as a part of the budgeting process. This performance management system is statewide, and must address, among other strategic goals and objectives that are consistent with the mission of each agency, strategies for enhancing productivity, improving efficiency and effectiveness, reducing costs, and eliminating waste in the processes and operations that deliver goods and services to taxpayers, customers and employees of State government.