Secretary Kristi Putnam's vision is that we are able to connect the dots between agencies and strengthen the team across the state. Putnam asks the question: How do we work together and use technology?
"Arkansas has these incredible partnerships and resources," says Putnam. "Of all the places I have been and had the benefit of working, Arkansas has the richest resources."
Putnam has more than 20 years of policy and hands-on experience in human services, early childhood services, education, workforce development, and health policy.
Putnam has provided policy and strategy guidance to several legislative leaders, including House leadership in the Kentucky House of Representatives, federal agencies, such as The Administration for Children & Families’ Office of Family Assistance, and many state Health & Human Services agencies. Kristi also served as the Child Welfare Services Manager, Chief of Community-Based Care, and Statewide Foster Care Licensing Specialist in Florida’s privatized community-based system of foster care and adoption.
DHS serves 1 of 3 Arkansans with one of the largest budgets in the nation. Putnam believes that with transparency, collaboration, trust, and humility, we can have a more effective impact on families.
Putnam exemplifies the "One DHS" approach where families are not served in segmented pieces but as a whole.
This involves pilot programs and grants across the state to focus on behavioral health for child welfare and youth services as well as crisis prevention. All of this feeds into how DHS interacts with partners and leverages resources.
Putnam says technology is key to the effectiveness of this collaboration. In collaboration with HopeHub, CarePortal, and other systems, DHS is developing The Communities of Care Technology Ecosystem and considering how AI can be harnessed to produce better outcomes for families.
Typically, government is behind when it comes to technology. But in this case, Putnam is proud to say, "There is nothing like this happening across the nation." Putnam, along with all the partners and community leaders involved, are excited to see how these pilot programs perform and are able to be expanded across the state.
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