How the Community Information Exchange (CIE) Initiative is transforming access to care in Franklin County
In development since 2019, the Community Information Exchange (CIE) Initiative is a county-wide effort to make it easier for Franklin County residents to get the help they need when they need it.
Co-designed by Central Ohio residents, caseworkers, and community-based organizations, the CIE is reshaping how health and human services work so people are met with dignity, not red tape.
The challenge we face:
Franklin County’s population is growing, but our support systems haven’t kept up
Too often, the people who need the most help are asked to do the most work to get it.
The Community Information Exchange (CIE) Initiative is a long-term effort to flip that script by building a system that works for residents, caseworkers, and community organizations alike. It’s both tech and social infrastructure: a way to coordinate care, connect services, and treat people like humans, not paperwork.
Today, about 200,000 Franklin County residents live in poverty, and up to 6 in 10 will experience poverty at some point in their life.
The region is projected to reach more than three million people by 2050. That’s 44 new residents every single day, adding up to more than the size of Worthington each year.
That growth, combined with a 13.4% poverty rate, could mean 1,000+ new cases added to the human services workload annually. Our current systems simply aren’t built to keep up.
What’s broken:
Too many people fall through the cracks, and too much effort is wasted
Many community-based organizations (CBOs) find themselves in a continuous state of crisis. They need unified systems for tracking or sharing data about clients, the lack of which can result in:
Residents have to retell their traumatic experiences, again and again
Caseworkers burn out on endless paperwork
Organizations waste time duplicating work
Too many vulnerable people fall through the cracks
The difficult journey of a resident trying to find help after falling into a crisis situation.
What we’re building:
One connected system for accessing health and human services
The CIE is a county-wide community initiative to redesign how residents access essential health and human services. It creates:
One place to check eligibility and apply across services
Shared data standards to reduce duplication
A tech platform that communicates across agencies quickly
Streamlined intake and approval processes
Proactive care for the people who need it most
Just like roads or bridges, this is essential infrastructure. But instead of connecting neighborhoods, it connects services and support systems.
“In a perfect world, people’s needs would get met faster. People would have a way easier time accessing basic resources that are dignifying… That’s what we’re working towards. It’s not just an application, it’s not just an interface, it’s respecting the dignity, worth, and value of each individual.” - Kayley Avendano, Caseworker, CIE Experience Council member
What will change:
The CIE lifts the whole system because it’s built for everyone in it
For residents
One place to go. No more starting over
Get connected faster to critical support
For caseworkers
Less busywork, less burnout
Easier referrals, faster intake, fewer dead ends
For partner organizations
Shared insights, smoother collaboration
A fuller picture of the people they serve
What makes this possible:
Six connected components working together to create real change
1. EQUITABLE RESIDENT & CASEWORKER ACCESS
Residents can text, walk-in, call, or click, with clear opt-in/out options
2. COORDINATED CARE WORKFLOWS
Shared workflows reduce wait times and confusion
3. DATA SHARING FRAMEWORK
Safe, secure, and easy to share across agencies and with residents
4. TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM
The platform is more than a place that will house all of the components under one roof. It’s what enables all other components to succeed. Bottom line: It helps people apply once and find open appointments faster
5. INFORMED COMMUNITY INSIGHTS
Makes it possible to spot gaps and act earlier
6. ONGOING SUSTAINABILITY MODEL
Built to grow and adapt, supported by public-private partnership
How we’re doing it:
A human-powered, human-centered approach to systems change
The CIE Initiative is being built with the people who use it: residents, caseworkers, and the organizations that serve them.
The initiative is housed at Smart Columbus in collaboration with the Rise Together Innovation Institute. It’s governed by the CIE Executive Council, and it’s co-designed with the CIE Care Coordination Council and the Resident and Caseworker Experience Councils, made up of people with lived experience navigating the very systems we’re working to improve.
We are currently in Phase 1 (2025–2027), focused on early adoption by Community-Based Organizations (CBOs). This phase includes selecting a technology vendor, co-designing standard workflows with CBOs, testing with early adopters in 2026, and establishing legal agreements and consent protocols. The full platform launch is planned for 2027.
Why it matters:
The CIE is essential social infrastructure
Franklin County invests in roads, bridges, and power lines: the basics every city needs to grow.
The CIE Initiative is social infrastructure: the system behind the systems. It helps people get what they need, when they need it, with dignity.
This initiative introduces new and empowered ways of working—it requires true system-wide collaboration. It’s not “we vs. they”—it’s us.
That’s how we build a stronger, healthier future for everyone.
To learn more about the CIE Initiative, download the full plan, and meet the council members, please go to https://www.ciecolumbus.com/
CIE Experience Council