| Juvenile
Probation Department Spends More Time
Helping Troubled Youths |
| Organization: Federal |
| Sector: Administration |
|
| Business Challenges |
 |
Ensure care of every child by providing
rank-and-file workers with the required
information |
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Enable management to make decisions
on resource allocation |
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Increase efficiency of the system
through automation |
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| Results |
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No child will be able to “slip
through the cracks” |
|
Reduced time spent on logistics results
in better management of children’s
cases |
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Proactive actions on emerging problems
can be taken based on trends and case
history |
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Better reporting helps
target the root causes of problems and
focus on resources |
|
Increased collaboration
between schools, courts, and community
services |
|
| “We were all
very impressed with the services and
the rapidity with which CellExchange
was able to develop responses that addressed
the items we identified . . . We were
similarly impressed with the qualifications
and obvious talents of your staff.” |
| Information Manager |
|
The Department needed
to replace its legacy mainframe-based
information system. Described by many
as “a black hole we put information
into but never get any useful information
out of,” the system was time-intensive
and relied on cryptic and often misused
codes to store information. Information
sharing was difficult and sometimes
two officers would wind up dealing with
children in the same household and not
know of each other’s involvement.
The department, which deals with approximately
10,000 referrals annually, sought assistance
from CellExchange, a leader in collaborative
business innovation services that accelerate
deployment of enterprise applications,
to centralize and standardize information
and automate data collection and analysis. |
|
| Business Challenges |
With up to 60 juveniles
per Probation Officer, employees found
it difficult to manage cases effectively.
One supervisor resorted to tracking
upcoming deadlines with a giant array
of post-it notes. Entering a child’s
information into the department’s
computer system was time-consuming and
error-prone, and made it difficult to
determine if a juvenile had been through
the system before.
The department’s computer system
also hindered the flow of information.
Probation officers, judges, court-appointed
attorneys, psychologists, and community
service supervisors all interact with
a juvenile. With no automated process,
all of this was being coordinated with
phone calls from the Probation Officer.
Court-appointed attorneys often would
simply receive a postcard informing
them they were assigned to a case, with
no additional information.
The department had looked at several
off-the-shelf products, but none met
their specific needs, and all attempted
to force them into a standard business
process. Technology and business experts
at CellExchange helped the department
design a custom-built solution to precisely
address their operational problems. |
|
| CellExchange Solution |
The department
began the project by participating in
the Cambridge Executive Workshop (CEW)
conducted by CellExchange, an intensive
three-week program where corporate executives
and staff collaborate to identify new
ideas and move them to deployment. During
the Workshop, the department set goals
to improve the data management system
and find a means to better leverage
the company’s core knowledge and
customer experience in order to create
growth and profitability opportunities.
During the CEW, CellExchange specialists
in business solutions and technology
work with clients to: |
|
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Generate new, high-impact ideas using
CellExchange’s “left and
right hand” framework |
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Identify “lazy assets”
that can benefit from new technologies
and improved processes |
|
Tap MIT and Harvard resources to
drive a strategic, problem-solving approach |
|
Create a compelling,
complete business case with quantitative
and qualitative benefits |
|
| Through the CEW,
the department was able to identify
ways to create a “left hand”
vision to ensure that every employee
had the information necessary to help
reform juvenile delinquents. The department
used CellExchange’s Collaboration
Architecture to: |
|
|
Develop an architecture that allowed
consolidation of data in disparate systems
with flexibility for the changing business
environment |
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Create a custom prototype of the solution |
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Provide a framework for Rapid Application
Development (RAD) and |
|
Develop a deployment roadmap to quickly
capture maximum benefits |
|
| The solution relies
on software from CellExchange’s
Collaboration Software Suite as the
foundation for the flexible framework
to solve its multiple technology and
business challenges. The department
used the CellExchange Scoring Engine,
an event-driven, workflow-based correlation
and trend analysis system that supports
dynamic analysis rules, to filter and
analyze information after it is collected.
The CellExchange DataSwitch, a multipurpose
communications platform that combines
several functions within an easy-to-use
interface, is used for data collection
and dissemination. The CellExchange
Sharp Statement Center, an XML-based
data extraction application that allows
organizations transform paper invoices,
case reports, work orders, and the like
into dynamic, personalized, interactive
statements, is the basis for information
dissemination and decisions. |
|
| Solution Benefits |
The case tracking system enabled probation
officers to do their best and ensure
that every child had the opportunity
to get back on track.
The automation offered by the new system
allowed for more one-on-one time with
the children, time previously spent
on monotonous data gathering.
In short, this CellExchange solution
gave the department a platform to help
every juvenile their life in order. |
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