ACL seeks health IT solutions that support partnerships between health care systems and social care providers 

Register now for ACL’s Social Care Referrals Challenge.

Social services delivered in the home and in the community that prevent falls, address food insecurity and transportation issues, manage chronic disease, support employment and economic independence, reduce social isolation, and address other non-medical risk factors have been shown to improve health outcomes and reduce the cost of care.

As health care organizations increasingly contract with community-based organizations in the aging and disability network to incorporate these services into the continuum of care, the need for interoperable IT infrastructure to connect the partners has become critical. 

ACL will award up to $500,000 in prizes in three phases to teams of “solvers” that create and enhance interoperable and scalable technology solutions that:

• Incorporate closed-loop referral and follow-up protocols to track and support individuals when they obtain services from any organization or health care provider within the network, using standardized, open resource directories.
• Securely share standardized social determinants of health data.
• Produce data at the individual, organizational, and regional levels about referrals, the prevalence of risk indicators, service utilization, gaps in service, and outcomes.
• Support sharing of information on the individual needs, preferences, goals, and values of the person being referred.

A critical component to achieving these goals of the Challenge includes forming partnerships across a team of stakeholders, including state health and human service leaders. Learn more about how to join a team by viewing this collaboration page.

The deadline for Phase 1 registration and concept & design submission is December 14, 2020.

Can you help spread the word about the Challenge? Use materials (sample email, social media posts, and graphics) from this outreach toolkit. Thanks!

For more information, visit acl.gov/socialcarereferrals.

If you have questions or want to learn more, please email SocialCareChallenge@acl.hhs.gov.