Business Intelligence Software by Mindshare Technology Cut Late Caseworker Visits by 80% at Hillsborough Kids, Inc., in Florida
Since February 2008, when Hillsborough Kids, Inc. (HKI), started a pilot program using Tracking and Analytics for Children and Families (TACF), a business intelligence software program developed by Mindshare Technology, the number of late visits to children in foster care dropped by 80%. Caseworkers are required to visit each child in foster care every 30 days and file a report in the Florida Department of Children and Families' (DCF) database, the Florida Safe Families Network (FSFN). TACF is linked to FSFN to create a data-rich dashboard display for caseworkers to monitor the children that make up their caseloads. The TACF system sends e-mail and text messages when a child is due for a visit and develops a risk-based daily task list for each caseworker.
HKI is in the process of training foster caregivers for the Virtual Call Center, the next step in the TACF implementation. Once the Virtual Call Center is live, after a caseworker visit, TACF will automatically feed the encounter data in FSFN entered by the caseworker to a call center where a person will call the caregiver within a 10-day period after the visit to confirm that the visit occurred, that proper procedures were followed, and respond to questions. Caregivers are being trained to expect the calls and how their privacy will be protected. This automatic quality check is expected to reduce the likelihood of falsified visits, which statewide were implicated in about 70% of investigations by the Attorney General for DCF in fiscal year 2007-2008.
TACF is based on Mindshare's Visibility Grid (VGRID) business intelligence platform. VGRID enables TACF to run heuristic searches of each child's data entered into FSFN to assess the presence of predetermined risk factors and trigger dates for that child. For example, TACF assesses a child's risk of running away from a placement by reviewing the frequency the child has attempted to run away and previous destinations. Predetermined combinations and frequencies of words will trigger an alert to the caseworkers' supervisors.
