The fragmented nature of the human services sector creates a number of well-documented management challenges for nonprofit agencies and can undermine the quality of service delivery generally. Some frequently cited issues include:
Different funding streams mandate overlapping or divergent reporting requirements, creating expensive administrative burdens;
Methodologies to cost services and track finances vary, undermining agencies’ ability to compare and enhance their fiscal practices;
Service terms lack standard definitions (e.g., a “job placement” might mean different things to different agencies), making it difficult for practitioners and funders to make relative comparisons across organizations and learn from best practices;
Government silos lead providers to segment their services, resulting in less-holistic strategies for families with multiple needs.
The economic downturn lends increased urgency to these problems as nonprofits face sharp financial challenges while demand for their services increase.
In New York City, the size of the human services sector is significant. Over 5,000 health and human service organizations have paid employees, and about 1,300 of the groups are funded at least in part through City contracts. These nonprofits provide vital programs to millions of low-income New Yorkers annually. Given this scale, improvements to human services data management in New York City can have far-reaching impact, not only locally but also by demonstrating how public-private problem-solving can drive progress for a broad segment of nonprofit activity.
The fragmented nature of the human services sector creates a number of well-documented management challenges for nonprofit agencies and can undermine the quality of service delivery generally. Some frequently cited issues include:
Different funding streams mandate overlapping or divergent reporting requirements, creating expensive administrative burdens;
The economic downturn lends increased urgency to these problems as nonprofits face sharp financial challenges while demand for their services increase.
In New York City, the size of the human services sector is significant. Over 5,000 health and human service organizations have paid employees, and about 1,300 of the groups are funded at least in part through City contracts. These nonprofits provide vital programs to millions of low-income New Yorkers annually. Given this scale, improvements to human services data management in New York City can have far-reaching impact, not only locally but also by demonstrating how public-private problem-solving can drive progress for a broad segment of nonprofit activity.