Putting the Pieces Back Together: Overcoming Fragmentation to ...

enormously. Even more importantly, the two City agencies that experience the effects of fragmented
isolationist policymaking most immediately and acutely were now working in collaboration to tackle
policy reforms and pursue joint programmatic initiatives. Horn and Gibbs had already begun engaging
the New York City Housing Authority in conversations regarding a possible reconsideration of their
automatic denial of public housing and rental assistance to people with criminal convictions, and the City
Human Resources Administration regarding public assistance and Medicaid suspension or expedited re-
enrollment.
Thus, by the third retreat, the majority of the needed changes and solutions had already become
apparent. It was now a matter of prioritizing and developing a plan for following through with these
proposed ideas. Collaboration between the agencies had resulted in an unparalleled exchange of
perspectives and ideas to tackle what has been characterized as a ―wicked‖ problem of complex
dimensions. To be fair, many other collaborative initiatives between government agencies and between
other organizations have also resulted in similar kinds of advancements and innovations. In fact,
collaboration is arguably the chief means by which governments and systems adapt and progress. Yet too
often formal collaboration remains as short-lived exercises or time-limited ventures that fail to result in
lasting change. Therefore, perhaps as a failsafe against the waning of momentum, Commissioner Horn
hired Kathleen Coughlin to newly created position of Assistant Commissioner for Discharge Planning.
Her counterpart at the Department of Homeless Services would be Jody Rudin, whose position as
Director of Entitlements in the Adult Services Division of DHS was expanded to include assistance with
discharge planning and homelessness prevention among formerly incarcerated people. As she describes
it: ―One of my main functions at DHS is to build alliances to identify and plan for the long term needs of
homeless individuals being released from the criminal justice system.‖ 43 The dedication of staff in each
agency to focus on these issues indicated the degree of commitment to which the Commissioners
undertook the process of change and reform.
This was further apparent at the final retreat, where the Commissioners committed themselves to
continuing the collaboration, albeit in a different format. This process would continue with the selection
and implementation of priorities selected by participants at the final retreat. In the end, six priorities were
selected for implementation: ―1) Address the needs of the heavy users population; 2) Establish continuity
of benefits; 3) Enable short stayers to avoid jail when possible; 4) Improve information collection and
data sharing; 5) Review, expand, improve and roll-out existing discharge planning programs at DOC; and
6) Bring in additional agencies as partners in this effort.‖ Created in a context of diverse and cross-
system perspectives, these six priorities contain the possibility for lasting and far-reaching systems
change. As Commissioner Gibbs has put it, ―Change becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy if you are willing
43 Interview with NYC DHS Director of Entitlements Jody Rudin, March 15, 2004.
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