New Data Collaborative project with Partnership For Families

IT4Causes is pleased to announce formalization of a project with Partnership For Families (PFF) to create a collaborative data management system for a group of local nonprofit agencies. The system will streamline processes for vulnerable families, help the partner agencies provide more integrated services, and enable better tracking of outcomes across the programs, all of which will benefit vulnerable families.

PFF works to ensure that children from some of Richmond’s most challenged neighborhoods enter kindergarten healthy and ready to learn by providing families a central point of contact to navigate the help that is available through a network of partner agencies. “We’re excited to be working with IT4Causes on this system, because it will enable us to see the progress that at-risk families in the Northside are making in school readiness,” said Veronica Fleming, Executive Director of PFF. “Better sharing of information will result in better programs, which will help our families.”

Under the agreement, IT4Causes will work with participating agencies to understand existing programs and processes, and then design forms to collect key data on participating families, the services provided, and the results achieved. A key component of the system will be the ability for at-risk families to enroll in multiple programs using the same electronic record. By using the same information across programs, families won’t have to complete long, complex forms each time they start services at a new program.

Having a host of programs in the same system will also make the referral process much smoother and more effective, enabling warm handoff between agencies, more timely feedback on whether the person used the referral, and a richer exchange of information between service providers.

The system will also use periodic assessments of each family’s circumstances in several dimensions, which will allow case managers to track their progress over time. This data will enable continuous improvement efforts on specific programs at individual agencies, as well as help the network of nonprofit partners find more general patterns and trends based on combinations of services accessed by individuals and families.

IT4Causes is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to helping other nonprofits get access to great IT to power their missions. Please follow IT4Causes on Facebook or Twitter, or subscribe to our newsletter, to keep up to date on this and other projects.