ABOUT FAMILY SERVICE AGENCY

Established in 1899, Family Service Agency (FSA) has long been a pillar of support for the community’s most vulnerable children, families, and seniors. Their mission: to strengthen and advocate for families and individuals of all ages and diversities, helping to create and preserve a healthy community.

FSA serves Santa Barbara County with program sites in Santa Barbara, Lompoc, Carpinteria, Santa Maria, and Guadalupe. Among other services, FSA provides case management, advocacy, and mental health programs to those in need. Eighty percent of services are delivered on school campuses, at community centers, or in clients’ homes.

THE CHALLENGE

Working from seven offices and more than 30 school campuses and community centers, FSA faced a daunting data challenge. A growing number of programs and clients made it difficult to track clients, assessments, program activities, and other documentation required by regulatory bodies. 

Because the programs varied in type (e.g., family support, holistic defense, school-based counseling, senior services, youth, and families), FSA needed a data management solution that could accommodate all program types and data collection activities unique to each program. Furthermore, FSA needed a solution that could adapt swiftly as services and data collection needs changed.

Lisa Brabo, Family Service Agency’s CEO, recognized the inefficiency of managing vast amounts of data scattered across myriad databases. The lack of a unified system compromised data quality and made accurate record-keeping difficult. Siloed systems also made managing and sharing data across agencies or programs a challenge.

"Many database systems are only for a specific type of service, like case management; thus, organizations must have many different data systems to track all they do."

– LISA BRABO, Ph.D | Chief Executive Officer

The need for efficient data management using a user-friendly platform with high availability was essential. FSA sought a data management solution that could simplify data intake, automate reporting, streamline information sharing with funding agencies and partner organizations, and demonstrate their impact on the communities they serve.

THE SOLUTION

To tackle these challenges, FSA sought a modern software solution with active participation in the social domain. That is why they turned to VerticalChange, a data management platform built specifically for the social sector.

VerticalChange offered the flexibility to build and customize forms, track multiple programs and clients, import data, and produce monthly, quarterly, and annual reports. Since these changes may be made at any time, VerticalChange clients have the ability to adapt their data collection strategy on the fly as programs, funders, and reporting needs change.

FSA immediately recognized the power of VerticalChange’s robust reporting capabilities and interoperability. The vast majority of data entered into the platform could be easily aggregated and reported on, which streamlines workflows and centralizes essential data, and VerticalChange support readily assists with more complex reporting needs.

"We use VerticalChange because it can meet our data tracking and reporting needs across the entire organization. It has the capability to generate specific reports exactly as required by funders and can interact with other funder-required service-specific data systems. And it has the potential to track data across an entire community of nonprofits who are working together to assist clients."

– LISA BRABO, Ph.D | Chief Executive Officer

VerticalChange also helped FSA maintain compliance with data privacy regulations. Each type of application user (e.g.  program director, agency administrator, school counselor, case manager for youth and family services) would be presented with role- and program-specific forms within VerticalChange, eliminating the need for multiple data systems. Through Role Based Access Control (RBAC), FSA could control user access to data with fine-grained permissions.

VerticalChange shines in its versatility and customizability, user-friendly interface, responsiveness, friendliness and expertise, and their breadth of features — including the ability to limit users’ access to sensitive data via permissions."

– ALEX HOLLER | Data Analyst

Furthermore, VerticalChange supports HIPAA and FERPA compliance and uses state-of-the-art Amazon Web Services (AWS) products. VerticalChange made strong use of S3, EC2 and other HIPAA-compliant components within the AWS environment to create an affordable, cloud-based solution that ensures effective multi-agency collaboration and cost savings.

As an AWS Advanced Public Sector Partner, VerticalChange has been audited by AWS and passes some of their most strict implementation requirements. VerticalChange includes SSL encryption for communication within the application and offers access logs displaying all user requests for files/data.

CONCLUSION

Family Service Agency’s success showcases the profound impact that innovation and collaboration can have on a community. With VerticalChange as an ally, FSA conquered the complexities of data management, streamlining processes, and delivering on its promise of cultivating child, family, and community well-being.

“All of VerticalChange’s features, flexibility, and support combine to create an excellent database that my agency relies on to collect our outcomes and report them back to our funders.”

– ALEX HOLLER | Data Analyst

As FSA evolves, VerticalChange remains a dedicated partner, ensuring that their data management solution evolves seamlessly alongside the organization’s needs.

At VerticalChange, we take pride in being part of the solution that empowers FSA and the communities they serve to reach their full potential.