PIEDMONT PROPOSES COLLABORATION AMONG SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCIES
 
Isabel Piedmont, Democratic candidate for City Council District 5, has proposed that the city facilitate collaboration between local social service agencies to increase efficiencies. "We have excellent agencies in Bloomington which help low-income individuals and families," said Piedmont,"but currently each agency must fend for itself in regard to overhead costs and expert services." According to Piedmont’s plan, the city would bring all interested agencies to the table to discuss how they can collaborate more to share resources, expertise, and perhaps personnel.

Piedmont, who served for three years on the board of directors of the South Central Community Action Program, knows that agencies are continually asked to help more people with less funds. Therefore, they must pursue all avenues toward making their operations more efficient and stretching their dollars further.
 
“By sharing lessons learned through experience with granting agencies and day-to-day operations,” Piedmont says, “various agencies could avoid repeating the same mistakes.”  Currently, each agency must have or hire experts to handle human resources functions, grant writing, legal advising, and client counseling. By pooling positions, two or more agencies could hire one well-qualified full-time employee instead of each offering a part-time position.
 
Ultimately, discussions between agencies may result in the sharing of facilities, which would not only lead to financial efficiencies, but also make access more convenient for clients. “If a single mother needs to take time out of her busy work and childcare schedule to apply for home heating assistance, it would be very convenient if at the same time she could receive help with a legal issue she may be facing,” said Piedmont, referring to two services offered locally by different agencies. Locating those services under the same roof would certainly save money in overhead costs as well.
 
“While collaboration between agencies would help those agencies and their clients in the short-term,” says Piedmont, “in the long run we need to reduce the number of people who need assistance.” She proposes that the city can help reduce poverty by supporting affordable housing and encouraging businesses that pay a living wage. “The only long-term solution to poverty is self-sufficiency,” says the candidate. “But in the short-term collaboration will go a long way.”