GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
DEPUTY MAYORFOR HEALTH AND HUMANSERVICES

Open Government Report 2014

To institutionalize a culture of transparent and open government, accountability, and to expand
opportunities for resident participation and collaboration, this Report describes how the office of
the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services (DMHHS) has and will continue to develop
and enhance transparency, public participation, and collaboration. In accordance with Mayor’s
Order 2014-170, this report addresses the following topics:
1)

Transparency
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2)

The office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services publishes the
following types of information on the website dmhhs.dc.gov:
o Press releases and advisories from this office and selected releases and
advisories from agencies in the cluster
o Links to cluster agency websites and social media platforms
o Links to the most-often requested health and human services
o The names of the boards and commissions under our cluster’s purview;
those that have an online presence are hyperlinked
o The information required by the Mayor’s Order:
 Public Employee Salary Information
 DMHHS FY 2014 Proposed Budget
 P Card Purchases
 District-wide FOIA Reports
 DMHHS Organizational Chart
o The special projects—Age-Friendly DC and Service Members, Veterans
and their Families—managed out of the office. The DMHHS website
summarizes Age-Friendly DC and links to the website, agefriendly.dc.gov.
DMHHS does not have any data sets. We are, however, working with agencies in
the cluster to identify the various data sets that should be made public.

Public Engagement and Participation


The office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services engages the
public regularly. DMHHS:
o Invites stakeholders for discussions regarding budget development and
priorities
o Holds stakeholder budget briefings
o Emails stakeholder groups to share information about Cold Emergency
notifications and plans
o Attends community meetings
 DMHHS has created an extensive database of providers, advocates, and
others interested in the issues relevant to our cluster agencies.
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3)

For special projects, such as Age-Friendly DC and Service Members,
Veterans and their Families, significant community engagement plans are
developed and implemented which include activities such as online and paper
surveys, community consultations and community symposia and meetings to
gather information for strategic planning purposes.

Collaboration


The office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services collaborates in
all our work. Examples are:
o One City Youth: DMHHS works closely with the Deputy Mayor for
Education, the Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice, and DC
Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation on One City Youth. One
City Youth, started as One City Summer Initiative, is a citywide
collaborative effort to improve outcomes for children and youth ages 5 to
24. One City Youth has a website (http://onecityyouth.dc.gov/), blog
(http://onecityyouth.blogspot.com/), Twitter account
(@onecityyouth, https://twitter.com/onecityyouth), and Facebook page
(https://www.facebook.com/onecityyouth).
o Age-Friendly DC: The Age-Friendly DC coordinator works closely with
partners in- and outside of government. The most important of the
partners is George Washington University; President Steven Knapp cochairs the Age-Friendly DC Task Force with Deputy Mayor Otero. Mayor
Gray has requested that DMHHS write the Age-Friendly DC strategic
plan due to the World Health Organization at the end of 2014. The plan is
based on the Task Force-approved goals and objectives. Age-Friendly DC
has a website (http://agefriendly.dc.gov).
o Homeless encampments: DMHHS plays a coordinating role with five
primary agencies, and several others as needed, in implementing the
protocol to address and abate encampments on public property and to
connect the individuals with appropriate services and resources.
o Cold Emergency Plan: In January 2014, Mayor Gray called on the
government to better take care of individuals who are homeless during the
extreme cold weather. The focus was on those who resisted entering
shelter for safety. DMHHS, with the Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and
Justice and the City Administrator, led more than 20 government and
nonprofit agencies’ response. Over the course of the winter, DMHHS and
partners developed and fine-tuned a plan to care for homeless residents.
DMHHS took responsibility for drafting the plan; while DMHHS wrote
the plan, it reflects the work of various partners in and outside of
government.

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