Rhode Island Department of Human Services, OCSS
“Sometimes challenges bring opportunities, and this was one of those times…we couldn’t keep up with the paper, couldn’t increase staff. With OnBase we use our resources more wisely.”
– Sharon A. Santilli, Esquire, Associate Director
Department of Human Services
The Customer
With a mission to provide support that enhances the well-being of children, the Rhode Island Office of Child Support Services (OCSS) locates parents, establishes paternity and support obligations, and monitors and enforces those obligations for more than 60,000 children. OCSS operates within the Social Security Act Title IV-D for child support enforcement. In fiscal year 2007, out of $76 million collected, $58.5 million went directly to families.
The Challenges
In addition to locating, pulling, completing and re-filing daily case work for client service, staff performed those same tasks for roughly 120 case files delivered to attorneys every day. With budgetary cuts that resulted in significant staff reductions in the Masterfile area (where the paper files are located), staff struggled to keep up with the daily filing. Additionally, records for closed files must be retained for three years.
Paperwork for OCSS processes was outgrowing storage space and increasingly becoming an obstacle to service. Case data resided in both the AS400 state-wide case management system, InRhodes, and in paper files. There was a great deal of duplicated information, including case notes. Timely access to paper-based documents generated at OCSS, or received by mail or fax, was challenging. OCSS was running on reduced staff, and running out of time and space.
The Journey
With a need to reduce the amount of paper, OCSS spent two years researching paperless electronic document management (EDM) technology. A resulting request for proposal (RFP) process had them select an OnBase document management solution.
The Solution
Within 12 months, the solution was in place. In a day-forward scanning approach, all documents that support case files but are not produced by InRhodes—including mail centrally received at OCSS—are now scanned immediately and available instantly from InRhodes screens. Only select items (e.g., original birth certificates, embossed documents) are stored in paper format. Attorneys and auditors have self-service access to complete case files, right from agency computers. OCSS staff no longer face stacks of back-filing. Instead, they can focus on service.
Document Management Bridges Case Management System/Paper Gap
OnBase document management provides all relevant case documents to any authorized user, right from the InRhodes case management screens, eliminating the risk that a document could be sitting in another physical location when timely decisions need to be made.
InRhodes provides data to OnBase that enables auto-indexing of all imported documents, reducing duplicated data entry and file maintenance, and ensuring consistency and quality. Documents produced in InRhodes are available in an instant from OnBase simply by providing the case file number, easing auditor or attorney access.
Documents can be e-mailed or printed by authorized users, should the need occur. Reporting is easily facilitated, and workloads are automatically balanced. Compliance for child support confidentiality is enhanced with document and user security, multi-level password protection and automatic audit trails. Decision-makers have critical transparency into agency processes.
The Results
By centralizing the repository of case documentation, all required documents can be accessed instantly, reducing time and risk. Case workers have more time and can provide better service, faster.
- Most case files are electronic and paper filing is selective, under control
- Files are retrieved 60 times faster than paper files, even with fewer staff
- Documents support all case data—now everything is available from one place
Why OnBase?
OnBase extends the benefits and useful life of legacy case management solutions and can scale from simple scan and retrieve to automated workflows as business requirements demand. Available in premises-based, hosted or SaaS offerings, OnBase solutions expedite the intake and document processing of case management, and promote data sharing across the enterprise. Duplicate data entry and data management across multiple disconnected systems are eliminated, putting the time where it counts. With clients.
“The EDM system has made preparing for and managing State and Federal audits much easier… With EDM, OCSS agents can simply perform a query in InRhodes to see what documents are available and pull up OnBase® to actually view and even print the documents. This is a far more efficient process. For example, it takes between 5 and 30 minutes to locate a paper file. Within the EDM application, it only takes seconds to retrieve the same document.”
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services,
Automated Systems for Child Support Enforcement:A Guide For Electronic Document Management, October 2007
Challenges
- Running out of file space for 60,000 active cases
- 40% staff loss impedes filing
- Data dispersed between paper files and case system
Results
- Most files electronic—paper filing selective, under control
- Files delivered 60 times faster, improving service
- Centralized data, documents
