News Item

Using Geographic & Census Data to Assess Social Services Coverage

With over 7,400 services provided to new clients annually, the West Virginia Child Advocacy Network (WVCAN) recently sought to evaluate the distribution of those services across the state. Their goal was to compare service reach among Child Advocacy Centers (CACs) relative to child populations in various regions.

WVCAN tapped the Collaborate Concierge service to integrate U.S. Census data on the under-18 population with existing client data from their Collaborate application. Client addresses from the past three years were geocoded using secure AWS services, in a HIPAA compliant manner, resulting in a visual, map-based data representation.

Animated GIF of WVCAN's interative map showing services provided by CACs across counties.

The interactive map includes showable/hideable layers with service frequencies in counties, senate districts, and congressional districts. Using map layers, the data can be adjusted for the total youth population in those areas, helping WVCAN easily identify regions where service provision is above or below the state average. CACs are now equipped to use this data to target areas in need of additional resources.

Animated GIF of WVCAN's interative map showing services provided by CACs across senate and congressional districts.

The data will play a significant role in WVCAN’s communication with funders, shaping the narrative of annual reports and requests for additional financial support, since the maps quickly and transparently convey where funding has made an impact - and where potential gaps remain.

Planned future enhancements to the mapping tool include:

  • City-level layers to augment existing county and district views, and
  • Specific services provided, like Forensic Interviews or Medical Services.

By expanding the detail and scope of the mapping functionality, WVCAN will further refine their capacity to analyze their data. Ultimately, the project aims to improve the strategic allocation of resources and strengthen advocacy, ensuring more effective service delivery to the children and families of West Virginia.

Interested in using the Concierge service to blend your Collaborate data with outside sources like the U.S. Census? Give us a shout.

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Collaborate is customizable case management software for non-profits and social services agencies.

  • Track Case information, from Intake, providing Services, setting Goals, to recording Outcomes.
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Who's Using Collaborate

Children’s Advocacy Centers of Georgia

Member of the National Children’s Alliance, The Children’s Advocacy Centers of Georgia, Inc. is Georgia’s statewide membership association of 50 local children’s advocacy centers.

CACGA Client Story

  • Dozens of networked Children's Advocacy Centers (CACs), each with own private customizable instance
  • CACs able to search through entire state database of clients, caregivers, and offenders
  • Statewide reporting
  • Mix of Multi-Disciplinary Teams (MDTs) and non-MDT children’s advocacy centers
  • 500+ users, years of case data, tens of thousands of cases, hundreds of thousands of services

South Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault

SCCADVASA is the statewide partnership of organizations providing services to victims and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in South Carolina.

Members include rape crisis centers and women's shelters throughout the state, serving clients 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

  • Dozens of member organizations, many cross-trained with partner CACs
  • Cross-trained Users can quickly switch between DV/SA and CAC sides
  • Hotline Intakes, with ability to easily change Case type for full Intakes later
  • Optional Modules include Batch Simple Services, Document Queue, and Document Templates

LifeBridge Health's Center for Hope

LifeBridge Health's Center for Hope is a comprehensive violence prevention and intervention agency. Programs include child advocacy, domestic violence, community violence, and elder justice for survivors, caregivers, and communities.

  • Referral Module to manage internal and external Referrals, across Programs
  • "1-Click" VOCA Report to easily meet funding requirements
  • Custom Services for Treatment Plans, Clinical Assessments, and Forensic Interviews

Douglas County, Nebraska

Three human services departments of the Douglas County, Nebraska municipal government run on Collaborate, each with their own tailored software implementation.

DCGA Client Story

  • No need for additional systems or network administrators
  • No software to install
  • Lightning fast, with as much bandwidth, processing power, and storage as you need
  • Access from anywhere, any time

The Spot / Project Ark

The Spot / Project Ark is a cooperative focusing on social justice and health care for at-risk youth.

The Spot / Project Ark Client Story

  • Collaborate facilitates all data management and reporting for SPARK
  • Medical services, mental health counseling, sexual and reproductive health services
  • Work development / workforce coaching services
  • Substance abuse counseling
  • Fully electronic medical records, charting, even immunization records

Substantial Cost Savings

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami (CCADM) was established in 1931 to serve impoverished families during the Great Depression. Since then, CCADM has grown to offer a diverse slate of Services in the Miami area, including alcohol & substance abuse treatment, child development, behavioral health, elderly assistance, homelessness, and help for immigrants & refugees.

  • Universal Intake to facilitate a quick implementation
  • Custom workflow allows Clients to have several open Cases at once
  • Reporting for over 40 distinct Service offerings across dozens of sites
  • Optional Modules include Batch Simple Services, Case Review, and Class Management

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Benefits of Using Collaborate

Cut out the Paper

Let Collaborate do the heavy lifting. Collaborate adjusts to your workflow and processes, not the other way around.

“Prior to Collaborate, we were using paper charts…”

See what The Spot has to say about Collaborate vs. Paper.

  • Use your existing forms, electronically
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Fully Customizable

Don’t mess with a good thing - keep your workflows where they work, use our templates where they can be improved upon.

“…it’s like partnering with architects, engineers, and systems designers!”

See how we went above and beyond with Casa de Salud’s customizations.

  • We’ll customize and configure Collaborate for you, good to go at launch
  • Afterward, as requirements change, make configuration changes on your own
  • Grant requirements change frequently, so can Collaborate’s reports
  • Our expert software developers can accommodate your specialized requirements

Fast and Secure

Directly on the Internet backbone, and actively monitored for security, so you’re safe and sound.

Assist America uses Collaborate’s admin capabilities to configure who can access Collaborate from where, and even automatically lock accounts if something suspicious is happening.

  • High-grade encryption
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  • Stable and scalable platform
  • Hourly backups means disaster avoidance
  • HIPAA compliant

Cloud-Based

Hosted and maintained by us, for you.

Children’s Advocacy Centers of Georgia and SCCADVASA both make use of Collaborate’s cloud-based nature to allow users spread across a large area to access their database securely, using a web browser. Assist America does it worldwide.

  • No need for additional systems or network administrators
  • No software to install
  • Lightning fast, with as much bandwidth, processing power, and storage as you need
  • Access from anywhere, any time

Easy to Use and Understand

Developed and constantly improved upon, since 1998, we take our clients feedback seriously. Easy to use, even for the most technology-averse.

Our userbase is diverse, but most are not organizations that traditionally rely heavily on technology. Take a look at how some of our features work, simple and straightforward.

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Substantial Cost Savings

Software is a tool to help you perform better, with less effort. Let it handle the grunt work and tedium, allowing you to focus on your real goals.

“…making for a highly efficient client experience and delivery of services…”

See how Collaborate streamlined The Center’s processes and reduced overhead.

  • Significant reduction in organization communication overhead
  • No annual or "per seat" license fees
  • Increased productivity and lower administrative costs
  • Reports that used to take weeks now take seconds!

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