Alia News & Insights

A note from our CEO... I have been on the road a bit more lately, and having more visitors at the office, too. It’s been a bit of a mid-pandemic (I hesitate to say “post” pandemic as I think we have a couple more years of adjustment ahead of us) reconnection with partners. I’m seeing folks I’ve known for a very long time, but haven’t seen in person since before March 2020 when the world shut down. I have to say, it’s been food for the soul to hug folks again, to share a meal, and to dig into topics more deeply than is possible in the 50 minute meetings we can tolerate on Zoom. 

For years we at Alia have looked to Corey Best, Curator at Mining for Gold, for inspiration of the heart and expansion of the mind. He’s joined here by parent leader, activist, and advocate, and Executive Director of JMAC for Families, Joyce McMillan, whose thought leadership has deeply influenced our approach to system transformation.
 
Click and listen as these justice workers do some truth-telling to kick off day one of the 47th Black History Month. Take in these thoughts in from the conversation: 

What are human services and how do governments structure them? In this recent report, the Urban Institute and the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) answer these simple yet fundamental questions. This complex set of service coordination and delivery can be configured in myriad ways. Specialized or generalist, contracted or direct service delivery, integrated or separate in structure, technology, planning, and budgeting – the landscape is wide for how we move toward building UnSystems across the country.
 
The report describes in detail the variety of ways states in the U.S structure and govern human services – what is included and who, how alignment occurs (or not), and which model is most effective (there isn’t one). The overall conversation reminds us that nothing is fixed. There are many different approaches to providing services to populations and subpopulations in our communities.