Aside from being located in the land of 10,000 lakes, Crow Wing County Community Services is not much different from any other social services agency across the country. Funding has decreased at the federal level. The agency has faced continuous levy reductions. All the while, caseload numbers and case complexity is increasing. Faced with these mounting challenges, agency leadership decided it was time to think outside the box and look for tools that would assist social workers in providing service to the children, adults, and families throughout Crow Wing County.
To tell the story of how Crow Wing County Community Services is overcoming these challenges, I am so proud to share our new case study series. It highlights how the agency is using Northwoods’ mobile document management solution to reduce the stress of paperwork on social workers so they have time to improve quality interaction with families.
Crow Wing County Community Services credits the combination of Northwoods’ social services software designed for mobile social workers, our human services expertise, and our coach model approach to training and support for these initial results:
- Improved social worker morale
- More time to interact with families
- More accurate and timely case notes
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Kathy Delaney has more time to build strong |
Justine Vagle has access to all
the necessary case information, documents, and forms in the field. |
As the Northwoods representative who walked side-by-side with the folks at Crow Wing County Community Services to make this project a success, it’s so rewarding to know we’re helping Crow Wing County’s amazing social workers fulfill their mission to help those in need throughout their county.
Kathy Delaney, Family Preservation Social Worker, sums it up pretty well.
"It feels like old-fashioned social work. It feels like the reason that I got into this field. Who wants to come and do paperwork? I think that's the worst thing in the world,” Delaney said.
To learn more about Crow Wing County Community Services’ story, download the written case study, view a news release, or check out these firsthand reactions from social workers, supervisors, and county leaders in these video case studies.
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Charles Barber is the Practice Management Consultant for Northwoods, where he works to ensure successful technology projects for state and county human services agencies. Charles' human services proficiency comes from his front line public assistance experience and through implementing, training, and supporting numerous Northwoods technology projects. |
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