Policymaker and Practitioner Perspectives and Insights from Colorado: An Interview with Dr. Ki’i Powell, Ian McMahon, Michael Martinez-Schiferl, Rebecca Balu, and Samantha O’Neill Dunbar

• Published date: 01 March 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/00027162231201766
• Author: Susan L. Moffitt
• Date: 01 March 2023

ANNALS, AAPSS, 706, March 2023 159

DOI: 10.1177/00027162231201766

Policymaker

and Practitioner

Perspectives

and Insights

from Colorado:

An Interview

with Dr. Ki’i

Powell, Ian

McMahon,

Michael

Martinez-

Schiferl,

Rebecca Balu,

and Samantha

O’Neill Dunbar

By

SUSAN L. MOFFITT

1201766ANN THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMYPERSPECTIVES AND INSIGHTS FROM COLORADO

research-article2023

What are key barriers that prevent complementary

safety net services? How are states and localities navi-

gating those barriers? For policymaker and practitioner

perspectives on these questions, we turned to experts

in the Colorado Department of Human Services: Dr.

Ki’i Powell, former director of the Office of Economic

Security; Ian McMahon, director of the Division of

Economic and Workforce Support; Michael Martinez-

Schiferl, former operations manager in the Division of

Economic and Workforce Support; Rebecca Balu,

employment and training manager; and Samantha

O’Neill Dunbar, budget and legislative manager in the

Office of Economic Security. Colorado has sought to

overcome administrative burdens by developing

shared-eligibility systems that allow individuals to apply

for multiple services through a common application

process. This approach has enhanced user experiences

from the perspective of service recipients, but it shifts

administrative burdens to the implementing agencies,

who face complex data demands arising from federal

and state-level policy design and strained workforce

capacities. Colorado’s experiences underscore how

resolving administrative burdens depends on federal

and state policy action above and beyond agency-level

adjustments. The conversation, led by Susan Moffitt,

occurred on November 29, 2022, and has been edited

for length.

Keywords: administrative burden; service coordina-

tion; employment policies; technology

Susan Moffitt:I wondered if you could begin by

talking with us about some of the highlights of

your approach in Colorado?

Ki’i Powell: One of the things that we’ve always

touted, that we’re proud of, is that we don’t have

a siloed application system. We do it in con-

junction with SNAP [Supplemental Nutrition

Correspondence: susan_moffitt@brown.edu

Susan Moffitt is a professor of political science and

international and public affairs, and the director of

academic programs for the Watson Institute for

International and Public Affairs at Brown University.

Her research focuses on challenges confronting policy

development and implementation in government agen-

cies, especially in public education and public health.