The Iowa Department of Public Health and the Iowa Department of Human Services today released documents outlining the plan for the two agencies to be combined into a single department. The final change package and functional organizational chart “serves as the roadmap to bring together both agencies under a single leadership structure,” the departments said in a joint press release. First announced in May 2021, the alignment aims to provide more comprehensive services and gain efficiencies with a goal “to establish a true health and human services system that address the full continuum from prevention to intervention.” The realigned organizational chart includes nine functional areas. There are no plans for layoffs or to discontinue existing programs and services, according to the press release. The two departments have been led by one director, Kelly Garcia, since June 2020. “This is a major milestone in a monumental effort to really think holistically about how we serve Iowans,” Garcia said in a statement. “Our teams have put in a lot of effort — amidst a global pandemic with a lot of lessons learned on the gaps in our system — to lay out a path to a better system.” The final change package and organizational charts represent the culmination of listening sessions and feedback from around the state, she said. The next step is the development of a detailed table of organization down to the division, bureau and program levels. The state hired a Boston-based consultant, Public Consulting Group, to work with the departments to conduct the study