The FAMCare Blog

Great responsibility yields great reward.  This is especially true of SARCOA (Southern Alabama Regional Council on Aging), the Area Agency on Aging (AAA) serving senior citizens of Barbour, Coffee, Covington, Dale, Geneva, Henry, and Houston counties of southeast Alabama.  By continuously seeking ways to better serve the rapidly growing senior population through planning, coordinating, and developing community levels of service, SARCOA is able to make a huge difference as one of 13 AAA’s in Alabama, and one of more than 650 AAA’s in the nation


"Our experiences working with the Global Vision Technologies family have been very positive.”


In addition to assisting the senior population as an Area Agency on Aging, SARCOA is also an Aging and Disabilities Resource Center (ADRC). Launched in 2003 and designed to be a “one-stop-shop” for individuals of any age seeking long-term support services, the ADRC works to streamline access to assistance services, programs, and information for older adults and all persons with disabilities, family caregivers, veterans, and long-term support service providers. The overall goal of the ADRC program is to empower individuals to effectively navigate their health and other long-term support options.

To accomplish these goals, SARCOA chose FAMCare as their platform, data warehouse, and primary tool for our Medicaid Waiver programs; as well as their system of record in support of activities related to Case Management and Care Coordination activities. After researching various SaaS platforms available to social services agencies, they believed FAMCare was the most cost effective, expandable, most agile solution to our needs.

             

“While cost is not always the primary driver, SARCOA is extremely focused on value. Other SaaS solutions came at a much higher cost; and while some offered what they describe as “off the shelf” functionality, we feel our experiences working with the Global Vision Technologies family have been very positive,” stated Joe Strickland, Director of Home and Community Services.

Sometimes, all an organization needs is a little organization!  This was the case for Michigan’s Departments of Community Health, DHS, and Education. In 1994, these organizations came together to form the Systems Reform Task Force with a primary goal to, “achieve better results for multigenerational families who receive services across multiple human service and educational systems.” The task force recognized the need for improved technology to simplify administrative processes, improved communication across systems, and reduced barriers to services for families. Specifically, children under DHS supervision frequently needed services across multiple systems. 

Sometimes grassroots efforts are great, and sometimes the grass needs to be mowed!  This is the case for the Randolph County Dept. of Social Services (RCDSS), an agency that provides residents of Randolph County, NC with access to programs that promote economic independence and family stability. Specifically, services are meant to assist families and individuals to live in safe environments and remain self-sufficient.

Randolph County’s business is not unlike many of the other clients served by FAMCare. The department’s home-grown system of PDFs and clustered data simply was not working anymore. Although robust records were kept over the years, the department soon found itself needing increased efficiency with better reporting capabilities.

When shopping for case management software services, most believe it is critical to find a product that is both fully customizable and accessible. However, this was not exactly the case for Matthew Gosting, Information Technology Director with Rite of Passage, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of vulnerable youth through 40 plus programs spanning 15 plus states.

Mr. Gosting chose FAMCare over other software services because, “Out of the box, the FAMCare platform aligned closely to our needs – even before customization. Although FAMCare is fully customizable, the initial product is the closest we could find to what we needed for our extensive case management systems,” stated Matt.

Rite of Passage provides a continuum of services for the country’s vulnerable youth, offering clients mental health services, residential treatment, out-patient therapy, mentoring, and after school programs. In fact, at any given time Rite of Passage has nearly 2,000 “students” who are in foster care, have been sent by the courts, or are simply considered “at risk” and have nowhere else to go. Specifically, Mr. Gosting stated, “We liked that FAMCare could meet the needs of our kids, across multiple service lines.”

Another huge plus for Rite of Passage? “The people make it a great organization. The service reps are amazing! They don’t feel like an outside consultant, but rather part of us, a colleague in our own business,” said Gosting. “We were treated like family.”

Much like other clients, Rite of Passage was not only satisfied with the initial product, but also appreciates how FAMCare keeps developing and growing with them. And now, with a focus on Covid-19 occurring, Matt said, “We see that, in times of crisis, we rely heavily on systems that work and we will continue to see how FAMCare adapts to meet our future needs.”



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Some people say that the devil is in the details, but some say details can be a devil to deal with!  According to Heather Lytle, Executive Director of F.A.C.T. (Family Advocacy and Community Training), an agency that mentors and empowers families to improve the quality of life and opportunities for children and adults with disabilities, “FAMCare was our first choice for case management because they understand that a small, family organization of 40 employees needs a software that focuses on the details without being too clinical.”  F.A.C.T. has been a FAMCare client since 2014 and chose them over several other products because of their ability to modify the software to fit F.A.C.T.’s needs, as well as the constant technical support that FAMCare offers its clients.