“Efficiency” has been an oft-repeated word in McLeod County government over the past few years.
Residents attending a Truth in Taxation hearing in 2016 asked for their government to find more ways to cut down on costs, and county department heads have competed to pitch the most effective idea. The easiest change to spot has been the merging of county departments in order to cross train, share staff, reduce management staff and lower supply costs.
One more such change now has momentum. Earlier this month, Julie Erickson was hired to helm the new Health and Human Services Department, a merger of Public Health and Social Services. The change follows the departure of department heads Jennifer Hauser and Gary Sprynczynatyk in the past 16 months.
“It’s been great,” Erickson said of her time so far. “The staff here are really dedicated. It’s clear to me they are engaged in the mission.”
The mission, she explained, includes reaction and prevention.
“Social Services is the safety net. It’s where folks go when they need help,” Erickson said. “The Minnesota Family Investment Plan is part of it. That’s the program most people think of as welfare. It also includes medical assistance, child care help. That’s where child support is. It’s also where the children and family protection area is.”
Public Health is the preventive aspect in the formula.
“It’s making sure people are healthy moving forward,” Erickson said, “to help prevent them from needing other services. It’s making sure kids have immunization, it’s where WIC (Women, Infants and Children) is. It’s helping set people up to have healthy lives.”
Erickson said that the two departments already work together in many ways, as natural connections occur when there are clients who need both services. Merging departments will create the opportunity to examine those cases, and discover where there are more opportunities for collaboration.
“When nurses and social workers come together and work together, good things will happen for the community,” Erickson said.
The new Health and Human Services director grew up in Kimball, but her education and career has taken her across the country and state. She received her bachelor’s degree in English literature at the University of South Florida. She attended Golden Gate University School of Law for her law degree.
“I was looking for attorney work and stumbled onto a job with Hennepin County Child Support,” Erickson said. “That’s where I got my start, as a child support officer. That was a good way for me to use my law degree. It got me into human services and I love it. I have been with it ever since.”
From Hennepin County she went on to the Minnesota Office of Child Support with the Department of Human Services for 14 years. She was stationed in St. Paul and plans to make the move to McLeod County with her new job.
“What attracted me to this position is the idea that these (departments) were just now coming together,” Erickson said. “I love that kind of collaboration and helping people see connections.”
At a recent open house where the public reviewed plans to renovate a new Government Center, Erickson met local residents, but she knows she has more work ahead of her. The same goes with meeting and learning the roles of her more than 100 staff. The County Board made the decision to merge the departments in March, but putting the combination into practice will take time.
“I need to get to know the people, get to know their work and how they do it,” she said. “After I have the basics down, then we’ll start thinking about how to make some meaningful interactions. But I need to get the full picture first.”
