CONNECT

2022 NACo Achievement Award Winner

Santa Fe County, N.M., NM

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About the Program

Category: Human Services (Best in Category)

Year: 2022

CONNECT is a network of navigators at clinics, community service organizations and governmental programs within Santa Fe County to provide residents with needed housing, food, transportation, utilities, and other social determinants of health. Using an “any door” philosophy, CONNECT network organizations screen individuals at any door, rather than at single points of entry in healthcare systems. Based on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Accountable Health Community model, navigators use an assessment tool to identify and address needs. We call this assistance navigation, defined as an activity that links residents to needed resources, via evidence-based practices facilitated by culturally competent staff. In addition to navigation, CONNECT incorporates flexible funding to respond to a person’s emerging or immediate crisis. A car battery, a few months of rent or utility bill payment, can change the trajectory of someone’s life. In 2018, Santa Fe County contracted with Unite Us, an electronic referral management platform, allowing for electronic referrals and immediate outcome tracking. Partnership with the City of Santa Fe in 2019 welcomed additional organizations into the network, aligned contracts and streamlined protocols. Today CONNECT has over 200 navigators from 60 programs and has linked 6,361 individuals to resources since April 2019.

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