The Multi County Juvenile Detention Center (MCJDC), in Lancaster Ohio, is a 48-bed facility that went live with RiteTrack in 2018. Multi County was using an old detention management system primarily for intake. Their old system could not manage incident reports, room confinement calculations or youth personal property. This system also didn’t allow for data collection or reporting capabilities, and the facility relied on paper documentation and Excel spreadsheets to supplement it and help run the organization.
Register to watch the case study recording where you can hear the director and assistant director of MCJDC discuss their experiences with implementing and using RiteTrack as their case management and reporting database system.
You may be able to relate to the Director of the MCJDC, Dana
Moore, who said in the past if she wanted medical information on a youth or to
see if a social worker met with a youth that she would have to ask the
staff. Now with RiteTrack all Director Moore must do is open the youth’s file
in RiteTrack, and all the information on a youth is stored in one easily
accessible location. Moore can see how many incident reports she had, the type
of incident reports, along with demographic data on the youth at the facility.
Director Moore also reported that staff is more engaged with the youth. The staff feel more empowered in their interactions as they have access to information on youth. MCJDC employees also report that the RiteTrack system is easy to use, and they can locate information quickly. Dana and the MCJDC staff report that intakes are completed in less than half the time it took previously which enables staff to have more time to provide service to the youth.
Handel worked closely with MCJDC to customize reports that
provide Moore with up-to-the-minute data on what’s occurring in the facility as
well as summarizing the previous day’s events involving the youth. Director
Moore is now able to utilize a case management and facility management system
that meets the requirements of the State of Ohio and facilitates real-time data
collection. Required annual reports often took days to compile but are now
completed within a few moments drawing from the data entered daily into RiteTrack.
These reports can be exported to Excel or PDF formats as well. Exporting to
these formats from RiteTrack is standard functionality.
One of the biggest differences Director Moore sees between
the previous solutions and RiteTrack is the support provided by Handel. “With
the old vendor there could be days of e-mailing back and forth before we could
get an answer,” but with Handel she said “I always get an immediate response
with we call even on evenings or weekends. It doesn’t matter because the
project manager was always there for us.”
https://www.handelit.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Handel-Logo-Web-Banner-2024.png00Tracey Rosenlundhttps://www.handelit.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Handel-Logo-Web-Banner-2024.pngTracey Rosenlund2020-03-24 09:33:002020-06-24 11:58:43Multi-County Juvenile Detention Center Upgrades to RiteTrack for Facility Management
If you are using a case or facility management software system that doesn’t quite fit your needs, or if you rely on paper and want to see a better solution, you can register to view a recording of a demonstration of the Juvenile Facility Module here. RiteTrack can replace paper-based systems and eliminate the need to shortcomings of other systems with paper forms.
Paper-based and outdated systems all result in inefficient and ineffective facility and youth management.
Register for this recording, and you can see why a facility’s software system needs to be inclusive, encompassing all aspects of juvenile justice and facility operation.
RiteTrack’s Juvenile Facility Module was created specifically for juvenile detention facilities. It is designed to manage data from the first point-of-contact through discharge and everything in between while still managing the day-to-day operations of the facility.
The RiteTrack system encompasses admissions information, incident reports, room assignments, shift reports, and case management functions, and the solution features extensive reporting capabilities.
RiteTrack incorporates best practices for juveniles, common accreditation standards, and evidence-based policies and procedures. The comprehensive system meets all the specific needs of a juvenile facility while also generating data and outcome measurements.
The powerful reports standard in the system provides a clear picture of how the youth in the facility are doing as well as details on how well the facility is being managed.
Register today and see how our offering can meet the needs of juvenile facilities by managing every step of the process from assessment and intake, treatment plans, day-to-day functionality, to discharge and outcome measurements which can then be documented in the powerful reporting capabilities.
Standards and practices required to operate a juvenile facility are drastically different than they were even 15 years ago.
How we perform our work today looks and feels different than it did previously. Today many facilities have implemented policies that involve ACA, PREA, or JDAI and have incorporated emphasizing treatment into diversion or detention programs.
But has your facility software changed to keep up with the times, too? Does it have the capability of changing to meet the new standards you’re now required to operate under, or do you have to create work arounds because your software is a blast from the past?
Register to watch this webinar recording where you will see a software system that was designed to comply with ACA, PREA and JDAI, but also provides our customers the flexibility to configure the system as a program’s needs change.
Additionally, the RiteTrack system offers extensive standard reporting capabilities that reflect the new standards and requirements in the field of working with juveniles.
Join us to see this system through the eyes of a former director of a juvenile facility where he will demonstrate RiteTrack, a juvenile-focused software system that is flexible enough to change with future standards and operational changes, but is still user-friendly for today’s work process.
https://i0.wp.com/www.handelit.com/wp-content/uploads/Logos/RT-only.jpg?fit=200%2C199&ssl=1199200Tracey Rosenlundhttps://www.handelit.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Handel-Logo-Web-Banner-2024.pngTracey Rosenlund2019-11-27 15:32:002020-06-24 13:15:54Juvenile Facility Software that Changes with the Times Recording Available
Today’s organizations have more data available to them than ever before. Yet, few organizations truly understand how to harness this data and turn it into information and knowledge. Meanwhile, collecting reliable data in a juvenile justice organization may be cumbersome and time consuming.
However, this data is imperative because it alerts an organization to trends, issues, and successes.
During this webinar, we showcased how a comprehensive software system designed specifically for juvenile case management provides critical information through the day-to-day operations of an organization and compiling data into comprehensive reports. Standard reporting includes populations reports, yearly statistical comparisons, admission statistics, JDAI/PREA/ACA/OJJDP, and seclusion or restraint incidents.
We will also looked at our one-of-a-kind interface with Performance-based Standards (PbS) reporting system and how to utilize juvenile-specific data in making decisions about the youth and the operations of your organization.
In juvenile justice it is imperative to make decisions based on facts not beliefs, and data collection through a centralized database system is a reliable way to ensure accurate data.
Many juvenile justice communities strive to comply with JDAI standards but struggle with the required JDAI data collection.
During this webinar, we examined how RiteTrack increases your facility’s capabilities to measure, track and report on its JDAI efforts. We will also review how JDAI communities can utilize such a system to analyze data and formulate questions related to JDAI information. This comprehensive system provides the framework needed to help any facility adhere to evolving JDAI standards.
The secret lies in documenting and tracking this in the daily case management functions. RiteTrack’s JDAI reporting produces comprehensive reports for race, gender, age, and geography, as well as other requirements including daily population counts, quarterly reports, etc. Additionally, it compiles the required JDAI reporting in real time and eliminates a separate method of JDAI data collection.
Key features from the system that were demonstrated included:
Reporting for JDAI requirements (daily population counts, quarterly reports, etc.)
RiteTrack’s sophisticated web-based interface and industry-best security model ensures only the right people have access to appropriate and relevant information from any location. Including JDAI compliance, standards and reporting.
So, whether you are running a county detention facility or a JDAI community, you should take a look at this offering because RiteTrack supports an emphasis on treatment and rehabilitation, along with resident and facility management.
Replace Excel spreadsheets and paper forms with a centralized, web-based software
Improve internal operations and outcomes through better information
Ease the process of generating and submitting information to outside agencies
The MCJDC is a 48-bed facility that serves boys and girls. They accept youth from four Ohio Counties: Fairfield, Licking, Hocking, and Perry. In the fall of 2017, Multi-County chose the RiteTrack Juvenile Case Management software from Handel Information Technologies. The implementation project kicked off in late October 2017 and Multi-County went live on their new system on January 1, 2018.
During a recent webinar, Steve Koenig from Handel sat down with Dana Moore, Multi-County Superintendent, and Bret Sark, Deputy Superintendent, to discuss their experience with RiteTrack (RT) some 15 months after going live.
The following is a summary of some of the key takeaways from
this conversation. Some of the wording has been paraphrased for clarity and in
some cases similar topics have been grouped together.
Why a New Case Management System?
Multi-County is required to report back to various
stakeholders. With the old process it was very tedious and sometimes outright
difficult to find, collect, and report back good information.
The old process consisted of many disjointed systems
including multiple Excel spreadsheets, paper forms, and a case management
database. In many cases, one employee may have a specific spreadsheet for
specific information that would not be shared with others. According to Dana
Moore, when someone requested information or staff needed information there was
generally a lot of time wasted running around looking for the data or even
finding the person who had the statistics. “It was not only difficult
gathering the information we needed to make decisions and to provide services
to the youth served, but it was also very difficult compiling the necessary
reports required both internally and externally,” she says.
“With the new system, we have instant access to all the
information we need at our fingertips. When someone calls for information we no
longer have to say ‘Hold, please; we will get back with you.’ We can give
instant answers, and we now have high quality information readily accessible so
that we can make decisions in real-time.”
RiteTrack also gives them a battery of standard reports as
well as reports specifically customized for them so that they now can provide
feedback to their stakeholders with the click of a button.
Key Outcomes
Dana and Brett repeatedly mention the importance of having a
centralized, web-based system, where data is available in real-time. Yet,
security for sensitive information is also vital. Access to the centralized
system is set up through different security groups so that individuals logging
on to the system have access only to the information required for them to do
their jobs. For instance, law enforcement personnel may just have access to
basic client demographics, whereas a shift manager may access incident reports,
restraints, and room-confinement information.
The focus of this initial phase has been on the intake
process which is the heart of their operation. Dana says they were surprised to
find out how many of their needs were met by RiteTrack “directly out of
the box.” They had initially expected that they would need to do several
customizations but decided to dive in and discover what RiteTrack could do for
them at the start. What they found was that RT right away met most of their
needs and so they were able to keep customizations to a minimum.
“There isn’t any information from our facility that
doesn’t go into RT somewhere,” says Dana. She believes that having all
this information allows staff to be better at time management which makes them
more efficient and which ultimately leads to better decision-making.
Another key benefit Dana mentions is RT’s ability to export
data to Excel. Since all staff are very familiar with Excel, this is of great
value. RiteTrack gives them a centralized system for all their data but they
can still export to Excel and do further data analysis as needed.
A further benefit Dana declares is that their paper
consumption has been cut in half since implementing RT. Not only that, but they
have been able to scale back their copier contract also and these translate to
some significant financial savings.
Brett additionally explains how some of the reports in
RiteTrack have helped improve the quality of information. “The Missing
Data Report gives us direct insight into what important data fields our
employees may miss, and we can catch those mistakes and correct them. In the
past these have gone undetected and have caused problems down the road. Having
access to staff information, attendance, and performance records is also very
valuable.”
Best Practices
Multi-County went live after only two months of
implementation work. Dana credits this speedy process to their willingness to
see how much they could use the system right “out of the box” and not to
over-customize RT. “Once we dived in, we actually cut in half what we
thought we needed to customize,” she says. She strongly emphasizes the
importance of plunging in rather than doing too much speculation as to what an
agency may want. She recognizes that change is hard, and most employees
don’t like big changes. Yet, she has found that her employees picked up
RiteTrack very quickly. “It is so intuitive,” she adds. “After just basic
training, our employees figured it out. It also helps that the system is
organized very logically and that it guides us through the intake process step-by-step.”
Talking about the go-live date on January 1, 2018 she readily says, “We
didn’t have a single glitch that first day. All of our data was there and our
reports were spot on.”
Dana and Bret also credit Handel’s Project Manager, Jeanne
Wolcott, and Steve Koenig for being instrumental in their success. “There
were times when it would have been really easy to hit the panic button had we
not had Jeanne on the other end to guide us and give us ready answers. When we
needed help, she would jump and do a screenshare, showing us how to do
things.”
“During the week that your staff spent here at the
initial kick-off, you pulled in someone from every side of the facility to
answer questions such as: What are your needs and what do your reports look
like? You were able to understand our needs and then demonstrate how RT could
meet those needs. I can’t imagine a better process. That was huge. Everyone
felt valued and it was a big part of getting everyone’s buy-in. They felt that
they were heard.”
“The success for us was the team you provided. It made
the transition very seamless and positive. Doing the project in smaller phases
is also something I strongly recommend.”
On-Going Support
Brett and Dana are both very complimentary about their
experience since going live in January 2018. “Handel’s support is
absolutely first class.” When asked about the biggest difference between
their former vendor and Handel, Dana doesn’t hesitate, “With the old
vendor, there could be days of emailing back and forth before we could get an
answer. With Handel we get an immediate response when we call—evenings, weekends,
or even holidays. It doesn’t matter. Jeanne is always there for us.”
She brings up an example of a recent incident. Ohio
Department of Youth Services recently visited them and needed a report in a
very specific format. RiteTrack didn’t have a report in the exact format they
needed so they called Handel. Within one hour they had their report. “This
is almost unheard of,” Dana recounts.
Future Expansion
As Multi-County continues to realize the immense impact
RiteTrack has had on their operations, Dana says she is making plans for future
expansions. “Our next goal is to expand RT into the clinical area so that
our medical department can use it. We also plan to implement support for the
Topaz signature pad.”
“When a mandate comes down requiring some new report, we have the confidence that RiteTrack can provide the answers.”
If you couldn’t make it to the live presentation with the Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent of the Multi-County Juvenile Detention Facility, you can access a recording here.
In this recording you can listen and watch as Dana and Bret discuss their experiences with implementing and using RiteTrackas their case management and reporting database system.
They took questions and answers from attendees and discussed the return on investment (ROI) from implementing a web-based system. They found ROI specifically because the functionality is designed for juvenile detention and has reduced time spent tracking clients and cases on paper. It nearly eliminated the use of paper and cut the cost significantly.
Handel has worked closely with our customers to build implementations for juvenile facilities to manage the complexities of PREA standards. Whether your facility is beginning to incorporate these tracking standards or is overwhelmed by the intricacies or find they have become burdensome, register to watch this recording exploring a RiteTrack implementation that incorporated PREA seamlessly.
PREA standards require the use of risk
assessments, PREA-related questions (e.g., sexual orientation, gender
identification, etc.), agency documentation, and reporting to reach the
outlined goals in the initiative.
During this recording, we will demonstrate those features in RiteTrack plus the following:
Handel has implemented RiteTrack software in numerous juvenile facilities, juvenile detention and juvenile treatment facilities. Register and watch this recording to see how RiteTrack assists facilities in the day-to-day operations as well as incorporating required PREA standards.
https://i0.wp.com/www.handelit.com/wp-content/uploads/Logos/RT-only.jpg?fit=200%2C199&ssl=1199200Tracey Rosenlundhttps://www.handelit.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Handel-Logo-Web-Banner-2024.pngTracey Rosenlund2019-04-22 09:00:472019-04-22 11:36:56Implementing and Monitoring PREA Standards with a Data System
Juvenile facilities across the country have opted to work with Performance-based Standards to assist with monitoring confinement conditions in treatment services and residential facilities using national standards and performance outcomes.
PbS is a data-driven improvement model grounded in research that holds juvenile justice agencies, facilities and residential care providers to the highest standards for operations, programs and services.
Twice a year juvenile facilities compile data from day-to-day
case management (including incident reports) and enter it into the PbS program
interface. The PbS system then analyzes the data to assess whether the facility
is meeting performance outcomes and uses this data to create summary reports.
These analyses are used to create improvement plans and direct needed reforms
in a facility.
Often during the months of April and October, many facilities who partner with PbS for this valuable service struggle with the time it takes for staff to perform daily responsibilities and reenter collected data into the PbS system.
However, in 2017 Handel met PbS at the Michigan Juvenile Detention Association (MJDA) Conference. Both of us saw the potential of a partnership between our two organizations. Over the next few months, we created a RiteTrack module that enables the PbS analysis system to integrate directly with RiteTrack’s case management and reporting solution which eliminates the duplicate data entry staff had to complete for the required reporting periods.
This RiteTrack and PbS integration enables juvenile detention and juvenile justice organizations’ staff to enter daily documentation into one case management system, RiteTrack—which also produces user friendly and reporting for other facility needs—while the integration module imports the required information directly into PbS’s system for the bi-annual reporting periods.
RiteTrack’s juvenile justice module captures required information like incident reports for PbS reporting. Because of the aligned data capture in the systems, information documented in RiteTrack is submitted to PbS through the one-of-a-kind integration module and eliminates duplicate data entry—saving detention staff and administration valuable time.
Contact us if you would like more information on the PbS and RiteTrack integration module or RiteTrack’s solution for juvenile justice and detention facilities.
https://i0.wp.com/www.handelit.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/696172-GTM-200x200.jpg?fit=200%2C200&ssl=1200200Tracey Rosenlundhttps://www.handelit.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Handel-Logo-Web-Banner-2024.pngTracey Rosenlund2019-04-17 16:42:012019-04-19 09:51:11Performance-based Standards & RiteTrack Partner to Improve Data Entry for PbS customers
One of the most common and worrisome concerns administrators of juvenile facilities face is liability. Questions of whether a lawsuit will be brought, when, and on what grounds are matters many facility administrators consider regularly. Court battles can be lengthy and demand time administrators may not have to compile information that combats the claims.
As a former director of a facility, your host, Steve, knows lawsuits may stem from something the staff did or didn’t do, from something that happened to a youth in care, or from not being able to produce the information that proves policies and procedures are being followed.
Register to watch a recording of this 30-minute webinar where we will examine through the eyes of a juvenile facility director, how a comprehensive juvenile software system reduces a facility’s liability risk.
We will look at key components that support facilities in this matter. For example, the data collection functionality in a RiteTrack solution stores information on youth, staff, and staff actions. This information is entered through regular staff duties and interaction with youth in the facility. This way up-to-date data for use in any lawsuit is available on demand.
A comprehensive solution should also produce data with statistical information from youth incident reports, room confinements, and restraints.
He’ll also examine continuity-of-care within a system that provides proof of notification and follow through for administrators, therapists, and medical departments.
Register to watch today and email or call us if you have any questions or would like further information.
https://i0.wp.com/www.handelit.com/wp-content/uploads/Logos/RT-only.jpg?fit=200%2C199&ssl=1199200Tracey Rosenlundhttps://www.handelit.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Handel-Logo-Web-Banner-2024.pngTracey Rosenlund2019-03-16 14:29:192019-03-22 16:16:13Using a Juvenile Case Management System to Reduce Facility Liability
Handel IT is the creator of RiteTrack, a web-based information management software used by human services programs throughout the country. It provides the primary means for thousands of caseworkers, administrators, and other professionals to manage their clients and caseloads.
Contact Us
info@handelit.com
P.O Box 1453 Laramie, WY 82073
Local: (307) 742-5555
Toll Free: (877) 742-5554
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