Drew McGrath is the chief information officer for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS). He has over 27 years of private- and public-sector IT experience, including working for several state agencies like the Texas Department of Transportation, the Office of the Attorney General Child Support Division and the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM).
He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Texas State University and is a recent graduate of the Executive Leadership for Information Technology Excellence (ELITE) program at the University of Texas at Austin.
Industry Insider — Texas: As CIO of your organization, how do you describe your role? How have the role and responsibilities of the CIO changed in recent years?
McGrath: I could start by describing my role as the CIO at the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services as being responsible for managing and overseeing the Information Technology Services (ITS) department. As you look under the covers of what that truly means, it really expands into numerous roles. I consider myself a collaborator and partner to the different programs and divisions within DFPS. I’m a technologist and strategist within ITS as it relates to things like new technology solutions, project road maps, strategic planning and our budget. With the many very skilled and qualified directors, managers and staff that report up to me, I am not only a leader, decision-maker and their director, but I’m also a mentor, listener, motivator and coach for them as well. I give a lot of credit to my previous CIOs, other current and previous bosses, as well as my COO and other peers. I’d also want to include my directors and staff as well, as I feel like I am continually learning something new from them. The role and responsibilities of a CIO will continue to evolve.
Industry Insider: What projects will you be looking to fund in the next biennium? Do you have exceptional requests that may be before the Legislature?
McGrath: We took a conservative approach to our legislative asks for the next biennium. For IT, we focused mainly on increasing funding so we could keep up with our state data center obligations, funding to help manage some of our technical debt, additional funds to speed up interoperability as it relates to Community-Based Care (CBC), and a few strategic IT projects like digital signatures. We did include a request for funds and FTEs to help with planning for modernizing our case management system.
Industry Insider: How do you define “digital transformation?” How far along is your organization in that process, and how will you know when it's finished?
McGrath: There are many ways to define digital transformation, but I would define it as a process of continual transformation of old and existing technologies into a new or more modern state. As technology continues to evolve, so must those of us who work in and lead information technology teams. A transformation comes in many forms and sizes. It could be something small and potentially simple that improves the customer experience, like adding a chatbot or digital signatures. Then there are the large-scale transformations, which are projects which modernize applications that were designed in the ’80s or ’90s. These applications might be completely rewritten to enable a mobile or tablet experience, artificial intelligence and more.
Since technology changes so quickly, it is difficult for state agencies to keep up. At DFPS, we must balance the many different project requests with our maintenance efforts. This does limit our ability to transform our applications and other solutions, as we must find ways to squeeze it out of our existing budget. In our exceptional item requests for the 88th Texas legislative session, we did request funds for a few transformation projects. We also included a request for funds for a planning effort for a larger modernization effort for which we would submit an exceptional item to the 89th Texas Legislature.
Industry Insider: What is your estimated IT budget, and how many employees do you have?
McGrath: That is a great question and can be complex to answer as there are many funding sources to consider. To keep it simple, I would say our estimated overall IT budget this fiscal year (FY 23) is $78 million. We have roughly 243 full-time employees (FTEs) and 150 ITSAC contractors in IT.
Industry Insider: What do you read to stay abreast of developments in the government technology/SLED sector?
McGrath: Over time, as I transitioned into the CIO role at DFPS, I tend to rely more on conferences, the Texas Department of Information Resources, vendor interactions, and above all, my chief technology officer and her architect team for technological developments.
Industry Insider: What do you think is the greatest technology challenge in Texas?
McGrath: I would say the greatest challenge we face is hiring and retaining a skilled IT workforce in the state government sector. With so many companies focused on technology, there is a huge demand for IT professionals, which makes it difficult for state agencies to compete.
Industry Insider: If you could change one thing about IT procurement, what would it be?
McGrath: Find a way to make it less complex, more efficient and ultimately speed it up. Technology solutions evolve at such a fast pace, and we need to find more efficient ways to keep up.
Industry Insider: How do you prefer to be contacted by vendors, including via social media such as LinkedIn?
McGrath: Attending the Texas Association of State Systems for Computing and Communications annual conference can be a great place for vendors to introduce themselves and get to meet me and members of my IT team. As that is only once a year, I would say an email is the easiest way to reach out to me.
Industry Insider: How might vendors best educate themselves before meeting with you?
McGrath: I would start by understanding our agency. Since we are in the legislative session, I would review our legislative appropriations request and any exceptional items we might have requested as an agency and for information technology.
Industry Insider: What conferences do you attend?
McGrath: I always try to attend the Texas Association of State Systems for Computing and Communications annual conference. I consider this conference a must for myself, my directors and up-and-coming leaders within IT. I then try to attend one or two other conferences related to our agency, technology or my career. This year those included the American Public Human Services Association for the Information Technology Solutions Management for Human Services Conference as well as the Gartner CIO Leadership Forum.
Industry Insider: What are you reading or listening to for fun?
McGrath: Outside of reading to keep up with technology, leadership and management, I have always been a sci-fi fan. I’m currently reading the "Backyard Starship" series by J.N. Chaney.
Industry Insider: What do you do to unplug in your downtime?
McGrath: I spend my time relaxing with my wife and our many dogs. On the weekends, I like to come up with something to cook on the smoker. As my kids are grown and out of the house, one could also say I’m patiently awaiting grandkids.
