No Wrong Door Initiative
PWC Works projects reflect our commitment to striving for exceptional customer service, maximizing operational efficiencies, increasing modernization, providing excellent service delivery and collaborating with the community to coordinate a response that achieves the best possible outcomes for our residents and the overall well-being of the county.
What is the No Wrong Door Initiative?
No Wrong Door is the implementation of a business model within the Health, Wellbeing and Environmental Sustainability (HWES) quadrant to enhance client access to county services and improve their overall experience. This initiative ensures that residents receive a consistently high level of service, regardless of which agency they first engage with. By streamlining coordination across county departments, No Wrong Door aims to create a more seamless, efficient, and customer-focused approach to service delivery.
American Public Human Services Association characteristics of integrated health and human services modelGoals of the No Wrong Door Initiative
- Increase Integration and/or Alignment of Services to serve each individual or family holistically and in a streamlined fashion.
- Improve Client Experience to improve convenience, accessibility, and satisfaction with access to services.
- Reduce Service Delivery Complexity to improve access to services whether by raising awareness of services, increasing referrals or improving the referral process across HWES programs.
- Realize Operational Efficiencies to improve efficiency in service delivery where possible, and without loss of quality of services.
- Adopt Innovative Practices to model future-state service delivery on the most efficient and promising practices.
Success Criteria of the No Wrong Door Initiative
- Increased Service Accessibility & Improved Service Delivery
- Meet Residents where they are to reduce gaps in service
- Best Practices & Innovation Adoption of Service Delivery
- Cross-Departmental Collaboration
Recommendations from the No Wrong Door Human Services Solution Study
- Improve Alignment at Human Services Facilities: Improve the physical facilities for HWES agencies by renovating existing office locations and through development of a new central county location for administrative and home- and community-based staff.
- Update Technology to Support Efficiency: Improve technology including mobile work supports, video interpretation and conferencing, and enhance the county intranet to decrease administrative burden and improve the quality of services.
- Use Trainings to Build Professional Skills of Staff: Provide trainings for staff to further develop professional skills around HWES programs, executive functioning, trauma, customer service, managing challenging client behaviors, poverty, and cultural competency.
- Improve Interconnectedness at Entry Points: Improve the client experience by developing a HWES Information and Referral Call Center and/or streamlining and consolidation of front desks.
- Make Information Readily Available and Accessible to Clients: Improve client access to information about services through a client portal, self-service kiosks, and other automated customer service features.
- Clearly Articulate a Human Services Vision: Establish a shared vision for HWES agencies, establish a vision for each agency and its role in the shared vision, and acknowledge the need for culture changes and change management.
- Adopt a Process to Consistently and Routinely Evaluate the Client Experience: Develop robust and frequent processes to obtain information about client satisfaction (phone calls, lobby surveys, text campaigns, online surveys, and other methods) to help agencies continuously monitor service quality.
- Implement Workflow Efficiencies: Restructure agency workflows, adopt a culture of continuous improvement, and invest in workflow management systems to help agencies maximize efficiency and improve services.
- Designate or Hire Full-time Temporary Project Manager to Guide Implementation Activities: Create a position to be responsible for coordinating implementation activities and managing projects and workgroups to support change management.
- Establish Shared Measures Across Agencies and Accountability for Agency Outcomes: Develop shared measures and outcomes such as lowering child poverty, increasing access to behavioral health services, or decreasing food insecurity that can be achieved because of increased agency collaboration, and share measures in a public dashboard.
- Implement System Architecture to Collect and Use Data for Strategic Decision-Making: Harness the massive amount of data from each human services agency into a data warehouse and leverage it to inform strategic data-informed decisions.
- Align Program Documents for Clients and Staff: Develop a single, county-wide “consent to release information” form and align other documentation across agencies to streamline services for clients and staff.
- Create Liaison for Strategic Partnerships Position: Create a new position to focus at a high level on identifying, developing, implementing, and monitoring opportunities for collaboration both between human services agencies and with community partners and other stakeholders.
- Coordinate Back Office Support Across Human Services: Consolidate human resources, finance/procurement, information technology, fleet management, and/or communications functions across human services agencies to realize operational efficiencies.
Major Milestones Completed (2017-Nov. 2024)
November 2017: Initiated No Wrong Door Human Services Solution Study
January 2018: Awarded contract to consultant to conduct study
December 2018: Released and presented study report and recommendations to Board of County Supervisors
June 2019: Completed Recommendation 6 to clearly articulate a HWES vision. Established shared vision for HWES — "Transforming Lives!"
November 2019: Completed Recommendation 9 to designate or hire a full-time temporary project manager to guide implementation activities
January 2020: Held No Wrong Door kick off meeting with Prince William County departments across all quadrants
February 2020: Held work group kick off meeting
March 2020: Re-evaluated order of implementation plan due to COVID-19 pandemic
July 2020: Completed Recommendation 2 to update technology to support efficiency
January 2021: Completed Recommendation 1 to improve the physical facilities for HWES agencies by renovating existing office locations and through development of a new central county location for administrative and home- and community-based staff. Determination was made that no centralized facility was needed however wayfinding and existing buildings have been improved.
May 2021: Implemented Recommendation 3 to use trainings to build professional skills of staff to further develop professional skills around human services programs, executive functioning, trauma, customer service, managing challenging client behaviors, poverty, and cultural competency. The following trainings are being provided on an ongoing basis:
- Arbinger Institute Outward Performance Training: Initiated with a $150,000 grant from Potomac Health Foundation. The Howard L. Greenhouse Large Grant Program, was awarded in June 2020 to support the staff training and skill building
- Understanding Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Building Resilient Communities Training
- Poverty & Services Simulation: Initiated with a $15,000 from Sentara Care grant
August 2022: Initiated Recommendation 4 to improve interconnectedness at entry points by developing a HWES Information and Referral Call Center and/or streamlining and consolidation of front desks
November 2022: Piloted Recommendation 4 a HWES Call Center that focuses on the technology that would allow customers to call one centralized number for all HWES needs
April 2024: PWC 311 Steering Committee formed with engagement from No Wrong Door Initiative
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Poverty and Services Simulation Provides Real Life Experience for Employees and Others
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Prince William County employees from 19 county departments, as well as several of the county’s community partners, recently gathered to take part in a Poverty and Services Simulation Experience. The learning exercise immersed those who attended in the complex realities faced by individuals and families living in poverty. It highlighted the challenges and dynamics of accessing human services and other support systems within our community, thereby helping employees better understand those processes to better serve those living in poverty.
More than 150 Prince William County employees participated in the simulation, from executive management to frontline staff. Each person assumed the roles of people living in poverty and was provided with background information such as demographics, income level, employment status, family composition, health status and other relevant factors.
"The primary goal of the simulation was to deepen understanding of poverty, create empathy for those facing economic hardship, and promote awareness of the complexities of accessing social and community services," said Sarah Henry, the Director of Community Outreach and Partnerships for the Prince William County Transformation Management Office. "The aim of the simulation was to promote dialogue and reflection and inspire a call to action to address inequality, structural barriers and policies on behalf of the less fortunate within the community.”
Through the simulation, participants took on the role of different family members who encounter various events and challenges commonly faced by people living in poverty, such as illness, job loss and unexpected expenses. It was the role of the family to navigate their circumstance for a full month, including meeting all of their financial obligations for rent, food, clothing, childcare, loans and more.
“The simulation was made possible with grant funding from Sentara and space provided by the Boys & Girls Club, and it raised awareness of the barriers and implications policies have on the lives of people in the community experiencing economic hardships,” said Henry. “It created empathy among participants and promoted a better understanding of issues facing those living in poverty."
Based on the feedback received after the simulation, participants found the training beneficial and believe it will influence their approach to assisting clients with health, wellbeing and environmental stability.
Since the simulation, an additional 26 people have been trained to administer the Poverty and Services Simulation to more county employees.
“Ultimately, we want to provide the best customer care and experience to our clients,” said County Executive Chris Shorter. “Simulations like this can enhance employees' awareness of available resources and services, enabling them to provide more comprehensive and informed assistance to county residents, while creating a more empathetic, responsive and effective approach to supporting individuals and families experiencing poverty within our community."
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Who's Listening
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Director of Community Outreach and Partnerships
Email [email protected]