Gov. Ricketts Praises DHHS Business Plan Accomplishments

Governor Pete Ricketts, Friday, highlighted achievements made over the past year by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), as part of its third annual business plan.

“DHHS has proven its ability to deliver services in an effective, efficient, and customer-focused manner through its annual business plan. This past fiscal year, the team performed at a high level, transitioned to a new CEO, and finished strong under Dannette R. Smith’s leadership,” said Gov. Ricketts.

Launched during the summer of 2018, the business plan, titled “Mission-Driven, High-Quality Services for Nebraskans,” included 18 priority initiatives. These initiatives aimed at integrating services, promoting independence, focusing on prevention, leveraging technology, and increasing operating efficiencies and improvements. DHHS has fully completed 11 of the 18 initiatives due for completion in fiscal year (FY) 2019 and has made substantial progress on the other seven.

“Last year our team set stretch goals that would move the state ahead. The results of the business plan are the accomplishments of a dedicated team that is driven by the mission of helping people live better lives,” said DHHS CEO Dannette R. Smith.

Some business plan achievements include:

Strides in Children & Family Services
Expanding SNAP Next Step
Launching Phase II of the Family Focused Case Management Pilot
Enacting Family Action Support Teams (FAST) in six more counties
Continuing the Transformation of Behavioral Healthcare for Children
Addressing Opioid Misuse
Implementing Electronic Benefit Cards
Redesigning the DHHS Website which can be found at http://dhhs.ne.gov.

DHHS leadership will join the Governor on Monday, August 26 at 10 a.m. for a news conference to discuss the accomplishments in the 2018-2019 business plan. The event will also serve to unveil the Department’s fourth business plan for 2019-2020.

A summary of the results achieved through the FY2019 business plan is available by clicking here.

Also Read: Supreme Court OK’s PSC Keystone Route