Innovative applications of new digital technology present opportunities for social and human services to reach more people with greater impact on our most vexing social problems. These new technologies can be deployed in order to more strategically target social spending, speed up the development of effective programs and interventions and bring a wider array of help to more individuals and communities.
NASW calls on national leaders to:
- Make telehealth expansion under COVID-19 permanent including removing geographic or site restrictions, allowing the use of audio-only devices and ensuring parity in payment with in-person service payment rates.
- Expand internet connectivity for underserved households.
- Unlock government data to drive solutions to social problems by promoting the accessibility and mining across agencies of administrative records.