Technology in county health and human services
The systems, data, and privacy rules behind eligibility, case management, and public health at the county level.
Articles
Sectors
Every reference article on hqt.org in Sectors, written for agency procurement, technology, and program staff.
Municipal permitting and licensing systems
How cities manage permits, inspections, and licenses, and what a modern system needs to do.
Public safety data transparency: reporting that informs without exposing
The state mandates and community expectations for public safety data, and how to publish it responsibly.
Smart meter data: what utilities can do with it
Advanced metering produces far more data than billing needs. Here is how utilities use the rest.
Student data privacy for school districts
The laws governing student data, the vendor agreements they require, and the practices districts need.
Shared IT services and joint powers authorities
How small agencies pool technology through shared services, and what makes those arrangements work.
Transit technology and open data
The systems transit agencies run and the data standards that connect them to riders and planners.
Parks and recreation registration and reservation systems
How cities and counties evaluate recreation management platforms: registration, reservations, permits, payments, and finance reconciliation.
Asset management and work order systems for public works
How public works agencies tell a work order CMMS from a GIS linked enterprise asset management system, and what to require.
Integrated library systems and library services platforms
How integrated library systems and cloud library services platforms work, and what agencies should weigh before migrating.
Court case management and e-filing: what a replacement involves
What a court case management replacement covers: docketing, calendaring, orders, fines and distributions, e-filing, and interfaces.
Code enforcement case management: from inspection to abatement
How code enforcement software should handle complaint intake, inspections, photo evidence, notices, citations, and abatement.
Homeless Management Information Systems: what HMIS requires
How a Continuum of Care runs an HMIS: federal data standards, coordinated entry, data quality, consent, and comparable databases.
Fleet management systems: maintenance, fuel, and telematics data
How agency fleet systems fit together: maintenance and parts, fuel data, telematics, motor pool, replacement planning, and charging.
Emergency operations center software and mass notification systems
How EOC incident management software differs from mass notification, including the IPAWS path and the opt-in alerting channels agencies run.
CAD and RMS: how dispatch and records systems work together
How computer aided dispatch and records management divide the work in a police or fire agency, and the interfaces that join them.
Fire and EMS records reporting: NFIRS, NERIS, and NEMSIS
How fire incident reporting and EMS patient care records work: NFIRS, NERIS, NEMSIS, CAD times, and outcome exchange.
Water and wastewater compliance reporting and operations data
How water and wastewater utilities move data from SCADA and the lab to regulators, and what to require of the systems in between.
Transit fare systems: account-based ticketing and open payments
How account-based ticketing, open payments, fare capping, and regional interoperability work, and what to require in a fare system contract.
Student information system migrations for districts and colleges
What a student information system holds, how it connects to other school systems, and how districts and colleges plan a replacement.
Timekeeping and overtime rules for 24/7 public safety departments
Why fire and police timekeeping breaks generic systems: FLSA 7(k) work periods, shift trades, callback and court pay, and unit-specific MOU rules.
Replacing a utility customer information and billing system
A scoping guide for replacing a municipal utility CIS, from rate structures and meter reads to collections and payment posting.
Collecting business tax, TOT, and short-term rental revenue
How business license tax, transient occupancy tax, and short-term rental collection systems differ from permitting software.
Peace officer training records and state POST reporting interfaces
How law enforcement training records move between agency systems and state POST commissions, and why the two sets of records so often disagree.
Substitute and temporary staffing systems for school districts
How school districts fill daily absences: absence reporting, dispatch, clearance gating, pay and hour rules, and payroll integration.
Construction project management software for public owners: RFIs to pay apps
How owner-side capital project software should handle budgets, change orders, pay applications, and ERP integration.
811 one-call tickets: managing locate requests and positive response
How agencies that own buried utilities handle 811 locate tickets, from map screening and positive response to field documentation.
Street light inventories and networked controls before an LED retrofit
How agencies confirm street light ownership, tariffs, and GIS inventory before buying LED fixtures and networked controls.
Traffic signal systems: controllers, ATMS software, and cabinet communications
How a traffic signal system fits together: cabinets and controllers, detection, central ATMS software, communications, security, and records.
Right of way management: encroachment permits, dig once, and small cell shot clocks
How agencies run encroachment permitting, restoration and moratorium enforcement, dig once coordination, and wireless shot clocks as one system.
Casework and correspondence tracking for elected offices
How elected offices log constituent contacts, refer them to departments, track responses, and what the supporting system must handle.
Outage communication: maps, restoration estimates, and proactive alerts
How utilities should publish outage maps, restoration estimates, and proactive alerts that stay accurate and available under load.
Payment plans and hardship arrangements in agency billing systems
How agencies set up installment plans, deferrals and hardship programs in utility, ambulance, court and tax billing systems.
Running a device and hotspot lending program at a public agency
A practical guide to designing, staffing and funding a laptop, tablet and hotspot lending program at a public agency.
Choosing a behavioral health EHR for a county or CCBHC clinic
How county and CCBHC behavioral health programs should evaluate an EHR, from golden thread documentation to billing rules and state reporting extracts.
WIC management information systems and EBT for state agencies
How state WIC agencies think through MIS replacement, EBT issuance and settlement, approved product lists, and system transfers.
Medical examiner and coroner case management systems
What a medicolegal death investigation system must handle, from scene intake and chain of custody to NamUs, toxicology, and death registry reporting.
Electronic lab reporting, eCR, and syndromic surveillance feeds
How ELR, eCR, and syndromic surveillance feeds reach a health department, and what breaks during onboarding and outbreaks.
988 and mobile crisis technology: call handling, dispatch, and bed data
How 988 call handling, mobile crisis dispatch, bed registries, and follow-up records fit together for counties.
Electronic death registration and vital records systems
How electronic death and birth registration systems work, from certification and coding to issuance, interstate exchange, and surge planning.
Jail medical records: integrating health care with the jail system
How jail health records work, from intake screening through release planning, and how they connect to the jail management system.
Case management for a county veterans services office
What a county or state veterans services office needs from case management software: VA deadlines, accreditation, confidentiality, and funding reports.
Adult protective services and aging case management, plus NAMRS
How adult protective services and Older Americans Act programs run case management, NAMRS reporting, and record confidentiality.
Keeping zoning, the general plan, and the permit system in sync
How zoning text, the mapped zoning and general plan layers, and permit system checks drift apart after each adoption, and how to realign them.
Stormwater MS4 compliance tracking: inspections, BMPs, and the annual report
How to structure MS4 stormwater records so inspections, BMP maintenance, and illicit discharge cases feed the annual report directly.
Park asset inventories and playground inspection records
How to inventory park amenities, keep certified playground inspection records that hold up in a claim, and score condition for budget requests.
Wildfire risk data and defensible space inspection programs
How agencies assemble wildfire risk data layers and run defensible space inspections, notices, reinspection, and abatement cost recovery at scale.
Groundwater monitoring data and SGMA annual reporting
What data a groundwater sustainability agency must maintain, from well records to extraction, and how the annual state report is built from it.
Agricultural commissioner systems: permits, pesticide use reports, and inspections
How county agricultural commissioner offices run permits, pesticide use reporting, field inspections, devices, and enforcement.
Vendor remote access to SCADA and OT systems: rules and controls
How agencies can replace always-on integrator VPNs into SCADA with brokered, operator-approved, time-boxed, recorded sessions.
Predictive maintenance for agency fleets, facilities, and equipment
What data predictive maintenance really requires, how to test it against a tightened PM schedule, and how to turn predictions into work orders.
Body-worn camera video: retention, release, and storage costs
How to set body-worn camera retention by category, manage holds and redaction, and forecast what those choices cost.
Drone program policy for local agencies: flight logs and imagery
What a local government drone policy should contain: authorized missions, pilot duties, flight log records, and imagery retention.
License plate reader data: retention, sharing, and audits
How agencies set ALPR retention limits, control who may query reads, govern sharing networks, and audit the program.