Thousand Stories

Navigating the Renaissance: The AI Maturity Model in Health and Human Services.

Episode Overview: In this episode of the Thousand Stories podcast, the Renaissance Series, host Justin Brown and co-host Luke Williams are joined by Krystal Van der Brink of Global True North to discuss the transformative potential and inherent risks of artificial intelligence (AI) within the public sector. As health and human services (HHS) systems face rising demand and budget constraints, the conversation explores how emerging technologies can move these systems toward a more human-centered and innovative future.

Key Topics Discussed:

• The AI Maturity Model: Justin Brown introduces a framework designed to help leaders evaluate AI implementations in a structured, accountable, and repeatable way. The model utilizes two primary axes:    

◦ The Horizontal Axis: Maps use cases from internal operational and administrative functions (like managing return mail) to client-serving, external-facing interactions.    ◦ The Vertical Axis: Distinguishes between transactional government (one-and-done needs like licenses) and supportive government (relationship-based programs like child welfare and mental health).

• The Rights Impacting Horizon: A critical element of the model that flags use cases potentially impacting human rights. This "dotted line" signals when an agency needs higher levels of transparency, stakeholder engagement, and data security.

• Capacity Building and the Workforce: The group discusses how AI can "build capacity" by automating administrative "busy work," allowing the workforce to focus on relational, supportive roles and community service. Crystal highlights how tools like generative AI-driven routing and automated document processing (OCR) can empower staff to spend more time in the field.

• Seeking and Destroying Human Bias: Justin shares insights on how AI, when used as decision support rather than a replacement for human judgment, can actually help identify and eliminate systemic bias in government processes, such as screening children into deep government systems.

Featured Use Cases:

• Workforce Support Bots: Exploring how AI can revolutionize training and policy learning for new employees.

• HR1/Medicaid Work Requirements: A look at how automation can streamline eligibility validation through document scraping.This episode serves as an open invitation to the HHS community to collaborate on and refine these frameworks as the landscape of technology evolves. By prioritizing human-centered design, leaders can ensure that the "Renaissance" in human services truly serves the people who need it most.

Welcome to the Renaissance Series of the Thousand Stories Podcast. Host Justin Brown, former Secretary of Human Services for Oklahoma, introduces a new era of innovation and transformation, moving beyond negative headlines to explore how leaders are building connected, human-centered systems.

In this episode, Justin and co-host Luke Williams are joined by a panel of "battle-tested leaders" who have transitioned from public service to driving change in the private sector: Robert Hobbelman, Laura Zeilinger, and Sean Toole. Together, they discuss why the convergence of seasoned leadership, a deeper understanding of social determinants, and emerging technology has placed the industry at the "dawn of a renaissance".

In this conversation, the panel explores:

• Culture vs. Capacity: How agencies can shift from transactional processing to relational support by addressing workforce shortages and building a culture that is trauma-informed and outcomes-driven.

• Elevating the Customer Experience: Why government digital services must rival private sector experiences (like Amazon) to build trust, and the powerful shift from "meeting people where they are" to "meeting them where they dream".

• Removing Systemic Barriers: Utilizing data integration and AI to reduce the "scarcity tax" on families, eliminating the need for repetitive paperwork and in-person office visits.

• The Role of Technology: How AI agents and data sharing (similar to the IRS/FAFSA model) can unlock organizational capacity, allowing social workers to focus on solving complex problems rather than administrative tasks.

• Public-Private Partnerships: How former government leaders and the private sector can collaborate to manage risk and drive the bold action necessary for genuine transformation.

Join us for a deep dive into the future of Health and Human Services, where efficiency meets empathy to unleash human potential.

Welcome to the Thousand Stories podcast, the Renaissance Series. Hosted by Justin Brown, former Secretary of Human Services in the state of Oklahoma, and Luke Williams, this series marks a true rebirth for Health and Human Services. While the original podcast shared incredible untold stories happening in Health and Human Services beyond the negative headlines, the Renaissance Series is now stepping into a new era of innovation and transformation. We are moving toward a more connected, human-centered, and innovative future by exploring how leaders, researchers, and practitioners are building systems that truly serve people.In this specific episode, the hosts are joined by Mike Leech (former State Director for the South Carolina Department of Social Services) and Samantha Galloway (former Interim Director at the Department of Human Services in Oklahoma) to discuss the impact and influence of class action lawsuits in the Health and Human Services segment.Class action lawsuits are increasing rapidly against state systems, particularly in child welfare. Too often, these cases become lengthy and adversarial, and resulting settlement agreements can be complex and challenging to operationalize, contributing to extended oversight and uneven progress.This conversation explores a more collaborative and sustainable path. The guests and hosts examine methods for bringing plaintiffs' counsel and state leaders into informed, good-faith dialogue earlier, including pre-litigation conversations and mediation. The aim is to build shared facts and shape durable commitments that agencies can deliver, ensuring improvements are meaningful and long-lasting.Discover why culture is key to sustaining reform, and the importance of building a system with trust and transparency—both with external monitors and internally with staff. The discussion emphasizes moving past being "paralyzed in the fear" of litigation to drive change today, accelerating improvement, and building a self-correcting system that utilizes technology to move beyond outdated processes. Ultimately, this episode explores how aligning on a shared vision can reduce conflict and move more resources toward serving children and families

Hosted by Justin Brown, former Secretary of Human Services in Oklahoma and Founder of Global True North and Luke Williams, President of Tandem Research.

In this episode of the Renaissance Series, we explore how human services is entering a new era—one defined by innovation, connection, and purpose. These conversations go beyond systems and policies to highlight the stories of people and partnerships rebuilding trust, creating modern pathways, and finding the humanity within public service.

Join us as we uncover the ideas and moments shaping a renaissance in government and human services—where technology, compassion, and leadership come together to build systems that truly serve people.

Welcome to the Thousand Stories podcast, the Renaissance Series.

Join host Justin Brown, former Secretary of Human Services for the state of Oklahoma, and his new co-host, Luke Williams, President of Tandem Research, as they explore a true rebirth for human services.

The Renaissance Series is dedicated to illuminating the stories and ideas that define this new era of innovation and transformation. We are moving toward a connected, human-centered, and innovative future in health and human services (HHS). We explore how leaders, researchers, and practitioners are building systems that truly serve people.

Justin Brown originally launched the Thousand Stories podcast to share the incredible untold stories happening in Health and Human Services beyond the challenges and negative headlines. Now, the conversation centers on the belief that we are at the dawn of a renaissance in HHS, positioned at the intersection of experienced leadership and new technology innovations that can supercharge this transformation.

The mission is to rethink the current system, which often operates as a "one-size-fits-all approach" that catches people at the bottom. Instead, we advocate for a custom safety net that follows us wherever we go, employing strategic interventions. This shift is essential for promoting dignity, creating better outcomes for future generations, and achieving greater efficiency for taxpayers.

To achieve this, we must focus on delivery model transformation by working to remove systemic barriers (like those related to transportation, language, child care, and stigma) that prevent customers from accessing resources. A core goal is to move upstream to a more preventative posture, meeting people before they fall into crisis, preventing engagement with intrusive systems like child welfare.

This series draws heavily on the research conducted by Luke Williams and Tandem Research, including their national catalog of delivery model innovations that covers 46 cases across over 38 states.

In this episode, the hosts focus on the physical delivery of health and human services and the eight categories of innovation currently reshaping the field:

• Community Partnerships: Services delivered through formal agreements with local nonprofits, sometimes utilizing embedded workers or licensed nonprofit workers.
• Collocation: Partnerships between public entities, such as the one-stop shop model.
• Real Estate Modernization: Strategically streamlining physical office space, often coupled with distributing the workforce into the community.
• Mobile Service Delivery: Utilizing gutted buses or vans to provide intake and eligibility determinations in rural areas, disaster areas, or to alleviate the burden on overwhelmed physical offices.
• Intensive Case Management: Giving workers the tools to develop long-term career or educational pathways.
• Integrated Online Portals: Utilizing tools like robotic process automation (RPA) and AI for proactive intake and eligibility identification across services and agencies.
• Modernized Contact Centers: Using AI as a "switchboard operator" or "front man" to direct callers to specialized human teams.
• Tech-Driven Case Management: Using emerging technologies like AI to analyze customer data for predictive capabilities (e.g., anticipating a life event that changes service eligibility) or detecting fraud.

While technology is a critical component for systems to move upstream, the hosts emphasize that the physical in-person experience is critical and will remain important for the foreseeable future, making intentional planning for the physical footprint essential. Discover how leaders are creating a meaningful and intentional mix of purpose-built physical spaces and distributed models to serve people at their most vulnerable times.

The "Thousand Stories Podcast" episode from April

Expanded Narrative Summary:

The CPSAI is framed as a groundbreaking initiative,

Detailed Strategic Focus and Initiatives:

1.    

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2.  Rigorous Development of Operational

3.    Project Clearinghouse for AI

4.    Strategic Partnerships for Broad

5.    Commitment to Practical Implementation

Beyond theoretical discussions, the CPSAI is deeply

This episode of the Thousand Stories Podcast emphasizes the CPSAI's proactive and structured approach to AI integration, underlining its role as a leader in ethical technology deployment in the public sector. Through

The Health & Human Services system is 'in a moment' right now, led by a handful of dynamic state and local Directors, Secretaries and Commissioners that are focused on developing a contemporary culture and shepherding systems into a new era of service. Having been battle tested over the last few years, they emerge stronger and more resolved to implement a vision for transformation focused on outcomes for children and families. Kelly Garcia, Director for the Iowa Department of Health & Human Services is a terrific example, and her vision for a future system truly matters for the people of Iowa. She is one of a thousand terrific stories of servant leadership that deserves to be told.

Garcia is a graduate of the University of Texas and received her MPA from The Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University. She was a member of the Governor’s Executive Development Program sponsored by the LBJ School of Public Affairs and has been acknowledged as a distinguished alumnus. She is married to attorney Dan Garcia, and they have two children.

Fathers play an incredibly important role in the lives of their children.  Episode 2.2 of the Thousand Stories podcast discusses the impact of two 'Fatherhood' programs on their communities by providing new fathers with the skills they need, and may have never been modeled to them, to be that critical support to their families.