DCHS Insights CX Human-Centered Design @ DCHS PROTOTYPE no real data
Current state

Today

Doors 1
Retellings 1
Forms 1
minutes on site 52
Needs met 1/4
2 indignities experienced Detailed by stage in the journey below.
Future state

With service integration

Doors 1
Retellings 1
Forms 1
minutes on site 56
Needs met 4/4
0 indignities remain No modeled indignities remain.
Profile

Marisol Reyes

Works full time. Came to fix one document. Left with needs we would not have seen.

Persona type Individual, age 33
Engagement path Portal failure, in-person renewal
Persona narrative

Who they are

Marisol Reyes, 33, is Honduran American, born and raised here. She lives in the West End off Van Dorn in a two-bedroom apartment she has rented for four years. She is a certified pharmacy technician at a chain pharmacy on Duke Street, earns about $46,000 a year, and works a rotating schedule that runs past six twice a week. She has two children: Ethan, 13, in seventh grade, and Lily, 6, in first grade. She receives SNAP, and the children are on Medicaid. She has no case manager, no service plan, and no reason to think she needs one. Her widowed mother, Rosa, came from Honduras and lives with her. Rosa watches the children some evenings and speaks mostly Spanish, so Marisol handles most English-language paperwork for the household. She is competent, organized, and mildly annoyed by us.

Voice

In their words

I'm not a case. I just need this fixed so I can get back to work.
I've got until 1:40. Then I have to be back.
Nobody ever asked me about him. I didn't know that was something you all did.

What they are good at

  • Runs a tight household on a rotating schedule
  • Reads her mail and keeps documents
  • Advocates for her kids at school
  • Digitally fluent and would use self-service tools if they worked

What they are carrying

  • Ethan has been withdrawn since the fall and everything she found had a waitlist
  • A childcare gap for Lily two evenings a week
  • About $380 behind on her electric bill
  • Her widowed mother Rosa lives with her and speaks mostly Spanish

What they hope for

  • Ethan back to himself
  • A schedule that does not move every week
  • To not have to think about any of this

What they would never volunteer

  • Domestic violence, substance use, or immigration status in an open lobby
  • Her son’s behavioral health concerns when she came about SNAP
  • That her mother is part of the service equation

What we do not actually know

  • Whether she would accept a referral from someone she just met
  • Whether Ethan would go
  • Whether Rosa is someone we have any way of reaching
  • How many Marisols we see every week and never ask
  • Whether the portal failure is common or rare

Today

Today

The current experience across six stages, including its human cost and the indignities created along the way.

Stage
1. Entry
a letter in the mail
2. Immediate Needs
one document
3. Service Connection
none
4. Service Delivery
fixed
5. Progress
no follow-up
6. Stability
fine is the problem
What happens

Second identical letter after two portal uploads. Calls, gets a queue. Takes an unpaid lunch.

Waits 18 minutes. Hands over one pay stub.

Nobody asks a question beyond the mismatch.

Document accepted. Benefit continues.

None. No follow-up.

Leaves at 52 minutes. Three needs walk out with her.

Where

Benefits lobby

Counter

Same counter

Benefits desk

None

Parking garage

Feeling
Irritated, not distressed
Is this going to take my whole lunch?
Neutral
Relief
-
Fine. That is the problem.
Cost

Parking garage ticket and 50 minutes

Unpaid lunch hour

Three needs stay invisible

One form completed

No one knows what walked out

Needs surfaced 1 of 4

Indignities
Uncertainty
Waiting
none
none
none
none
Experience
-3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 Entry: Irritated, not distressed Immediate Needs: Is this going to take my whole lunch? Service Connection: Neutral Service Delivery: Relief Progress: - Stability: Fine. That is the problem. 1 2 3 4 5 6 better stage

Today vs Integrated

Today Integrated

How coordinated service delivery changes the same six-stage experience while keeping unresolved constraints visible.

Stage
1. Entry
a letter in the mail
2. Immediate Needs
one document
3. Service Connection
none
4. Service Delivery
fixed
5. Progress
no follow-up
6. Stability
fine is the problem
Today
Irritated, not distressed

Second identical letter after two portal uploads. Calls, gets a queue. Takes an unpaid lunch.

Is this going to take my whole lunch?

Waits 18 minutes. Hands over one pay stub.

Neutral

Nobody asks a question beyond the mismatch.

Relief

Document accepted. Benefit continues.

-

None. No follow-up.

Fine. That is the problem.

Leaves at 52 minutes. Three needs walk out with her.

Integrated
Handled

Portal accepts the upload, flags the mismatch, and offers a 90-second optional check-in. She skips it.

Curious

Alt path - she still comes in. While waiting, a tablet offers: Most people qualify for more than they came for. Two minutes? She taps yes.

In control

Six plain questions. She flags Ethan and the childcare gap. Skips the rest - and skipping is visibly fine.

Surprised

Document accepted. Worker sees two flags, says one sentence about each. Youth BH referral sent with consent; childcare eligibility screened on the spot - she qualifies.

Trust

Text two days later: Ethan's appointment is Thursday the 14th at 4:30. Reply 2 to change it. Not a phone tag chain.

Nobody ever asked me about him.

Leaves at 56 minutes. Two needs met, one declined by her, one already handled.

Indignities

Removed 1

Uncertainty

Remaining 0

none

Removed 1

Waiting

Remaining 0

none

Removed 0

none

Remaining 0

none

Removed 0

none

Remaining 0

none

Removed 0

none

Remaining 0

none

Removed 0

none

Remaining 0

none
Change

Shift

Parking garage ticket and 50 minutes -> No extra visit if self-service works

Added intervention

Unpaid lunch hour -> +4 minutes total

Added intervention

Three needs stay invisible -> No open-lobby interrogation

Shift

One form completed -> Consent-based action

Shift

No one knows what walked out -> Follow-up without a call chain

Shift

Needs surfaced 1 of 4 -> Needs surfaced 4 of 4

Experience
-3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 Entry: Irritated, not distressed Immediate Needs: Is this going to take my whole lunch? Service Connection: Neutral Service Delivery: Relief Progress: - Stability: Fine. That is the problem. Entry: Handled Immediate Needs: Curious Service Connection: In control Service Delivery: Surprised Progress: Trust Stability: Nobody ever asked me about him. 1 2 3 4 5 6 better stage
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 SNAP renewal
02 Portal upload
03 Call queue
04 Benefits counter
Continuity breaks

Where the thread drops

01
Portal failure sends her in person
02
Question set stops at document mismatch
03
Hidden needs leave with her
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 Portal upload
02 Optional 90-second screen
03 Consent flags
04 Youth BH referral
05 Childcare eligibility
06 Text follow-up
Continuity improves

What changes

01
Self-service can resolve the document
02
Optional screen is skippable
03
Worker acts only with consent
04
Energy assistance can be declined

DCHS Insights CX

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