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DHHS outlines 2024–25 roadmap to tighten services, invest in workforce and improve customer access
Summary
New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Lori Weaver presented a 2024–25 “road map” that groups agency priorities into three commitments—investing in people and culture, promoting thriving communities, and improving customer service—backed by 15 initiatives and 43 goals.
Commissioner Lori Weaver told the House Committee on Health and Human Services and Elderly Affairs on Jan. 22 that the Department of Health and Human Services’ top priorities for 2024–25 center on workforce, community services and customer experience. "Our vision is optimal health and well-being for everybody," Weaver said as she introduced the department’s two-page “cliff note” summary of the roadmap.
Weaver said the roadmap is organized into three commitments that break down into 15 initiatives and 43 goals. The first priority is to "invest in people and culture" to recruit and retain staff; the second is to "promote thriving communities," which groups most programmatic policy work; and the third is "improved customer service," aimed at simplifying access for families and providers.
The commissioner described specific initiatives under the community-focused work, including Mission 0, an effort to reduce emergency-department boarding of behavioral-health patients by improving front-door processes and community transitions. She said Mission 0 uses six core strategies and partnerships with hospitals and community providers to reduce the number of patients waiting in emergency departments and the time they spend there.
Weaver also listed other policy priorities in the roadmap: lead-hazard prevention, maternal and infant health (including prenatal and postpartum care), strengthening the developmental disability system, and access to community-based care for seniors and children. She said the department aligns its budget requests with those initiatives to ensure funding supports the roadmap’s goals.
The commissioner told legislators the roadmap will be reviewed quarterly and that the department will publish progress reports and adjust course as needed. "This is a 24–25 roadmap," she said, adding that some items are longer-term and will be revisited in forthcoming updates.
The presentation closed with an offer for follow-up: Weaver said department leaders are available to meet individually with legislators and that the roadmap packet is posted on the department website for public reference.
The committee did not take votes on the roadmap during the orientation; Weaver said the document is intended as a planning and accountability tool rather than a legislative proposal.
