At this year’s MACo Summer Conference, officials from the Maryland Department of Human Services provided an in-depth view into MD THINK, a cloud-based utility revolutionizing service delivery across the state.
A renewed and intensified focus on public health has forced state and local governments to rethink how they deliver critical, often life-saving services to their communities. The State of Maryland has invested in a streamlined approach to health and human services delivery through the Maryland Total Human Services Integrated Network (MD THINK.) This cloud-based platform is the first of its kind in state government and offers an online one-stop-shop for everything from Medicaid to housing and energy assistance. The platform has recently been expanded to allow for more robust public health analytics to inform policy and program decision-making to reduce overdose.
Council Member Pfeffer, a member of MACo’s Board of Directors, introduced the session and its speakers. Senior Advisor Shank explained the necessity of moving Maryland’s Department of Human Services’ programs to a more modern cloud-based platform. He stressed that, prior to MD THINK, many of the Department’s programs were operating in silos to the detriment of anyone applying for the Department’s help.
Executive Director Muniasamy discussed the logistics of building such a vast cloud-based utility. The project began with an initial investment of $200M and the platform will soon be expanded to cover Maryland Department of Health functions. Chief Business Strategy Officer Gibson focused on how MD THINK can integrate data to make it more useful for workers and the public. She provided an example of how the utility created a profile of individuals susceptible to opioid-related overdose, aiding the Department in connecting these individuals to needed services.
Speakers:
- Chris Shank, Senior Advisor, Office of the Governor
- Subi Muniasamy, Executive Director, MD THINK
- Marianne Gibson, Chief of Staff and Chief Business Strategy Officer, MD THINK
Moderator:
- The Honorable Council Member Lenny Pfeffer
More about MACo’s Summer Conference:
