Current state
Today
Doors 7
Retellings 9
Forms 6
days 47
Needs met 3/8
8 indignities experienced Detailed by stage in the journey below.
DCHS Insights CX Human-Centered Design @ DCHS PROTOTYPE no real data DCHS Insights CX Janice Brown
Future state
With service integration
Doors 2
Retellings 1
Forms 1
days 6
Needs met 7/8
2 indignities remain Structural constraints are still visible.
Profile
Janice Brown
Left in crisis. Asked to retell the same story until the system could see the whole picture.
Persona type Individual, age 38
Engagement path Crisis entry, multiple referrals
Persona narrative
Who they are
Janice Brown, 38, left a violent home and is trying to stabilize several needs at once: immediate safety, housing, food and benefits, behavioral health support, and a CPS matter that cannot move toward reunification without stability. She is a protective parent who acted under pressure, keeps showing up through exhausting contacts, and is clear about what she can realistically manage. Yet every new door asks her to restart the story, appointments collide, and the housing dependency remains invisible until late in the process.
Voice
In their words
I already told somebody this.
I can do the appointments. I cannot do them all at once.
If housing is the thing everything depends on, why is it the last thing moving?
What they are good at
- Protective parent who acted under pressure
- Keeps showing up after exhausting contacts
- Clear about what she can and cannot manage
- Knows which appointments are realistic
What they are carrying
- Safety after leaving a violent home
- Housing that affects reunification
- Food, benefits, and behavioral health needs arriving at the same time
- A CPS matter that cannot move without stability
What they hope for
- A safe place that does not expire before the next step is ready
- To stop narrating the worst night to new strangers
- Reunification that is not blocked by invisible dependencies
What they would never volunteer
- Details of domestic violence in a lobby or to someone who cannot explain why they need it
- That missed appointments are often collisions, not refusal
- How close she is to giving up on separate plans
What we do not actually know
- Which retellings are legally required and which are habit
- What information can travel with consent today
- Which missed appointments could be prevented by sequencing
Today
Today
The current experience across six stages, including its human cost and the indignities created along the way.
Stage
1. Crisis / Entry
the night she left
the night she left
2. Immediate Needs
safety first
safety first
3. Service Connection
the story again
the story again
4. Service Delivery
separate clocks
separate clocks
5. Progress & Monitoring
one miss echoes
one miss echoes
6. Stability & Transition
the loop
the loop
What happens
Arrives via the DV hotline into a safe house. First contact is the crisis, not the plan.
Safety, a bed, food. Told about resources, handed numbers.
Separate approaches for housing, benefits, behavioral health, and the CPS matter. Each requires the story again.
Services start on separate clocks. Nobody holds the whole picture; appointments collide.
Progress in one area; a missed appointment elsewhere sets it back. No coordinated view.
Housing still unresolved. Reunification depends on housing. Loop.
Where
DV hotline / safe house
Safe house and phone calls
Multiple programs
Program offices
Calls and offices
Housing queue / CPS
Feeling
Fear, exhaustion
Overwhelmed
Retraumatized by repetition
Fragmented
Fragile
Stuck
Cost
A night of disclosure and no whole-system plan
Multiple numbers to call while in crisis
9 retellings across 7 doors
Conflicting appointments and forms
A missed appointment becomes a closure risk
47 days to first stable service
Indignities
Experience
Today vs Integrated
Today Integrated
How coordinated service delivery changes the same six-stage experience while keeping unresolved constraints visible.
Stage
1. Crisis / Entry
the night she left
the night she left
2. Immediate Needs
safety first
safety first
3. Service Connection
the story again
the story again
4. Service Delivery
separate clocks
separate clocks
5. Progress & Monitoring
one miss echoes
one miss echoes
6. Stability & Transition
the loop
the loop
Today
Fear, exhaustion
Arrives via the DV hotline into a safe house. First contact is the crisis, not the plan.
Overwhelmed
Safety, a bed, food. Told about resources, handed numbers.
Retraumatized by repetition
Separate approaches for housing, benefits, behavioral health, and the CPS matter. Each requires the story again.
Fragmented
Services start on separate clocks. Nobody holds the whole picture; appointments collide.
Fragile
Progress in one area; a missed appointment elsewhere sets it back. No coordinated view.
Stuck
Housing still unresolved. Reunification depends on housing. Loop.
Integrated
Fear - unchanged
Same door, same night. One intake, with consent, that travels.
Met
Safety and stabilization first. Screening deferred by design until she can hold a conversation.
Heard
One coordinated plan across housing, benefits, behavioral health, and the CPS matter. She tells it once.
Manageable
Sequenced, not simultaneous. Appointments scheduled around each other.
Supported
One shared view. A missed appointment triggers a call, not a closure.
Moving
Housing prioritized because reunification depends on it. The dependency is visible to everyone.
Indignities
Removed 1
Remaining 1
Removed 1
Remaining 1
Removed 3
Remaining 0
noneRemoved 2
Remaining 0
noneRemoved 0
noneRemaining 2
Removed 0
noneRemaining 2
Change
Shift
A night of disclosure and no whole-system plan -> One intake instead of repeated disclosure
Shift
Multiple numbers to call while in crisis -> No premature interrogation
Shift
9 retellings across 7 doors -> One retelling with consent
Shift
Conflicting appointments and forms -> Fewer collisions, fewer forms
Shift
A missed appointment becomes a closure risk -> 6 days to first stable service
Shift
47 days to first stable service -> Needs met 7 of 8
Experience
Current system
Fragmented touchpoints
Each service can do its own work while the person is left to carry the thread between them.
Touchpoint sequence
01 DV hotline
02 Safe house
03 Housing intake
04 Benefits
05 Behavioral Health
06 CPS matter
07 Transportation / scheduling
Continuity breaks
Where the thread drops
01
Story restarts at each door
02
Housing and CPS dependency is not visible
03
Appointments collide
04
Missed appointment triggers setback
Integrated system
Coordinated service path
Shared context and explicit handoffs reduce the work required of the person without hiding constraints the system cannot remove.
Touchpoint sequence
01 First safe contact
02 Shared consented intake
03 Integrated plan
04 Housing priority
05 Coordinated calendar
Continuity improves
What changes
01
Consent lets core facts travel
02
Housing dependency is visible
03
Missed appointment triggers outreach