This past week, Julie and I were able to attend the Governor’s Ag and Economic Development Summit in Kearney. It had record attendance, and lots of valuable information was shared. Included in the program was a panel discussion with the Governor and several of his cabinet members discussing how they intend to cut spending and improve service delivery. This is a subject, of course, that defies logic, but can be done. The underlying focus falls on technology improvements and better systems.

When I was knocking on doors back in 2022, I stopped to talk to a gentleman who invited me in to sit down and hear his story. He had a developmentally disabled child who was living at the former Beatrice home run by DHHS. His son later passed away as his care was inconsistent at best. This man then made it his mission to fix the system. At the time, there was a long waiting list to get into the system. The list never seemed to get shorter. Today, under the leadership of DHHS Director Corsi and Governor Pillen, the waiting list no longer exists. Everyone on it has been placed. Focusing on better communications and outcomes helped this to occur.

During my time as Vice Chair of the Legislature’s Performance Audit Committee, we asked why the wait time was so long to get background checks back for those wishing to become daycare employees. The delays were preventing daycare centers from hiring qualified people because the background check was too time-consuming. Many found other jobs in the meantime. The time from start to finish was up to 45 days. We found that if you applied through the State Patrol web site, the check was completed within a day, but their computer system did not communicate with the DHHS system, so they had to email or fax results to DHHS who then printed out the information, put it in an inbox for someone to later reinput the information into another system. With process improvements, the system is now well under 10 days start to finish.

Technology improvements are essential to improving efficiency. Within DHHS alone there are various computer programs written in several computer languages that don’t talk to each other. Many agency platforms also run from servers that need people to maintain them, including third-party contractors who are not afraid to charge for their services. Some of these contracts were not even necessary but were still maintained. Getting on a common software and using a cloud-based platform will greatly improve cost and efficiency. It will also improve outcomes.

We learned that 37% of DHHS employees already qualify for retirement. Many will need to be replaced with new employees who have the necessary technology background and can learn from the seasoned employees who remain. Hopefully, efficiencies will lead to fewer employees who can meet the demand with the right tools.

Like in business, we need to change with the times if we want to lower costs while improving outcomes.

We are also building a new state penitentiary, which I believe will be safer and more efficient than the old one. Lincoln County found efficiencies when it built the state-of-the-art jail, and I expect the state experience will be the same. Our goal is to house more prisoners in a safer environment with fewer staff at a lower cost. We need to find savings in all levels of Government while providing essential services that the public expects. We are on that path.

It has been a pleasure serving as your State Senator. I have enjoyed the challenge and will continue to do my best to serve the interests of District 42. Please continue to reach out to me at 402-471-2729 or by emailing me at mjacobson@leg.ne.gov about issues that are important to you.