"The challenge post-ACA is that there is a crazy timeline [2014] that states are racing toward to build a health insurance exchange," said Claudia Page, co-director of Social Interest Solutions in Oakland, Calif.

Dates of Project: November 2010 through October 2011

Field of Work: State implementation of the Affordable Care Act

Problem Synopsis: Enrollment in social service programs is notoriously fragmented, time consuming, and overwhelming. In creating health insurance exchanges under the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA), states can simplify and integrate access to a range of coverage options as well as other social services.

Synopsis of the Work: To qualify for federal funds to develop the exchanges, states had to complete a "gap analysis" revealing which of their existing software and hardware they could use in a new information infrastructure and which needed resources they lacked.

Key Results: Social Interest Solutions, the grantee:

• Created the ACA Technical Gap Assessment tool to help states assess whether their existing information systems met ACA requirements
• Worked with four states—Alabama, Arizona, Maryland, and New York—to assess their social services information systems using the gap assessment tool
• Provided timely information to states on emerging federal standards for information systems for state health exchanges

"It is really impossible to go in and look at information systems. Systems belong to agencies, and agencies have personalities. The most important thing we did was to bring the players together," said Claudia Page, co-director of Social Interest Solutions.