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POLITICS & COMMUNITY by erin caddell May 18, 1996	Usually, social service agencies are built around the notion of people helping people -- technology enters into the equation as an afterthought, at best. Increasingly, these agencies are now turning to databases, networks and other information-sharing tools to protect their place in an otherwise uncertain future. Take a look at what's happening with social service agencies in the Monadnock Region of southwestern New Hampshire. The state has a tradition of low-taxes and local control; social service agencies have long held a well-deserved reputation for bridging the gaps for those in need. That reputation is getting harder to maintain because of federal and state budget cuts and sluggish economic growth. The local chapter of the United Way, for instance, which raises money for 50 area organizations, has missed its annual fund-raising goal in two of the past three years. Southwestern Community Services, which handles family counseling, low-income housing and other programs for 18,000 people in two New Hampshire counties, was forced to furlough several fuel-assistance program workers this winter because of the federal-government shutdown. In response to these and other warning signs, the United Way, Southwestern Community Services, three other local agencies and the area's largest health practice have banded together to apply for a $300,000 state grant. If approved in June, the grant will allow the agencies to avoid duplicating services and to gather better information about their customers. And technology is the key. "You either do something to take charge of change, or you wait to see what happens," said Fran Sylvestri, executive director of Monadnock Family Services, which helps people with mental illnesses and has joined in the grant application. "We didn't want to wait." A glance at Monadnock Family Services' finances shows what the costs of waiting could be: of the group's $6.5 million annual budget, about $3 million comes from Medicaid, and $1 million from the state. Both Republicans and Democrats have proposed cutting Medicaid's growth to help balance the federal budget; the state cut $33 million from Health and Human Services to balance the state budget last fall. Some state officials have hinted at more human services cuts to help close a projected deficit that could reach $60 million or more next year.
	"We're going to be asked to do more with less," said David Osgood, Southwestern Community Services' deputy director. Mergers have already allowed some local agencies to cut costs. Castle Center Adult Day Care in Keene, for instance, recently joined Home Health Care and Community Services, which provides a variety of health services, allowing Home Health Care to handle its payroll and billing. In addition to adminsitrative changes, other agencies have developed and supported programs to encourage client self-sufficiency and independence from public assistance. Despite federal budget cuts, Southwestern Community Services has continued a weatherization program for old, poorly built houses, in hopes that residents with well-insulated homes will need less fuel assistance. The city of Keene's human services department offers budgeting classes so families will depend less on welfare checks and food stamps. According to the applicants, the proposed $300,000 project would be a big step toward cutting paper work and encouraging different agencies to work together. An example of the current system at work: A man visits Southwestern Community Services to see whether he qualifies for fuel assistance. He fills out a form and provides some basic information: name, address, Social Security number, salary, whether he has a car, and so on. The SCS staffer uses that information to determine whether the man qualifies for fuel assistance. If the man goes to Home Health Care to get help caring for his elderly father the following week, he has to fill out another form and talk to a different staff member. Pending approval, the state grant will enable the agencies to develop a case-management program that matches one social service staff member to a customer. The staffer will coordinate all services a customer receives at all participating agencies. The grant will also allow agencies to a develop a common application form and shared database for storing information.
	At first, social service officials do not plan to send information via the Internet, due to information security concerns. However, the applicants hope for a future networked database. That way, a Monadnock Family Services case manager could easily learn whether a patient receiving treatment for manic depression is also having trouble making her rent with Southwestern Community Services, or if she had an operation at the clinic several years ago that could affect her current condition. Officials also hope to build home pages for each agency that applied for the grant. Such knowledge, officials say, will allow the agencies to improve their services -- and save money. "We used to be independent," says Sylvestri. "We have to be interdependent." Erin Caddell is a reporter covering local government and politics for The Keene Sentinel, a daily newspaper in southwestern New Hampshire.