Innovative SaaS Solution Helps Thompson See 20% Reduction in Foster Family Approval Time Over Three Years, Amongst Other Benefits, Study Notes
Longstanding partnership with Binti helps both companies reach new heights in serving youth across the state of North Carolina.
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina – Thompson Child & Family Focus (Thompson), Charlotte’s leading provider of clinical and prevention services to children and families across the state of North Carolina, in continued partnership with Binti, leading “SaaS” (Software as a Service) provider, recently published a case study highlighting the major benefits that the automation software has been able to provide its foster care families and social workers, namely a 20% reduction in approval time for prospective foster families.
This marks the third year that Thompson has used Binti not only to address challenges and problem-solve within the field of child foster care, but to also innovate throughout the field of child welfare. Quickly adopting a brand-new technology solution back in February of 2018, Thompson became the first agency on the East Coast to partner with Binti in rendering its foster care services targeted to North Carolina youth and their families.
Over that time, Thompson has used Binti as part of its daily workflow and systems for processing foster care families through the licensing and re-licensing workflow, with the company’s reach growing from 28 to 260 foster homes, also expanding from a catchment area from two to 35 counties. Thompson has successfully used the Binti system to effectively reduce the time in approving prospective foster families by more than 20%.
These deliverables demonstrate both Thompson and Binti’s commitment to serving youth and families through technology and innovation, by way of an industry-leading partnership that effectively to leads the field between human services organizations and SaaS providers, respectively.
“For over three years, Thompson has been a great partner to Binti,” stated Rebecca Liebschutz, Chief of Staff at Binti. “We’re excited to have supported Thompson in managing the licensing process for over 200 families. We’ve been so grateful to Thompson for their thought partnership as we develop features that improve the licensing process for foster families and licensing agencies.”
Citing a wide range of noted benefits, the study now helps to further solidify much of Thompson and Binti’s anecdotal indications that the software integration and usage has had success. The study highlights a variety of advantages, ranging from a digital application portal that foster parents can access from their mobile devices, to e-signature capabilities that reduce the need for in-person visits, saving both parents and social worker staff a massive amount of time on a macro scale.
Binti represents an innovative solution to the problem of antiquated systems that Thompson previously suffered from, that contributed to the complicated licensing process simply taking more time than it needed to. In a field where many child welfare agencies relied on antiquated systems to distribute foster care programming, Thompson began to leverage technology to address challenges and make the licensing process easier for parents and staff. By using the automation within the system to rid its social workers of a staggering amount of paperwork they previously required, efficiencies and greater accuracy resulted, allowing them to serve youth and families better.
“Using Binti, I can see what is in our pipeline – any place, at any time.” said Jenn Stout, Statewide Licensing Director for Thompson. Considering the software’s ease of facilitating immediacy of information, in conjunction with the fact that Thompson’s staff already was embracing technology, the transition to Binti just made sense. “We are doing everything else with our phones, tablets and computers,” Stout stated. “Why not become a foster parent with that process?”
Binti’s SaaS solution has enabled Thompson to embrace automation, streamlining its workflow, and enabling both families and staff to go through the process of license and re-licensing remotely.
“Binti is an essential tool to streamline the licensing and placement process for our Foster Care program,” said Libby Foster, Vice President of Foster Care Services at Thompson. “It has helped us to increase our efficiency and therefore grow to nearly 270 foster homes in 4 years. Using Binti gives us back the time we used to spend on pushing papers and allows us to support the children and families we serve.”
There is a continued need for additional qualified foster families to support children who have been underserved with support in this way. Ideal foster parents for Thompson are open-minded, strong youth advocates, community-minded, and willing to be trained in trauma-informed care. Learn more about becoming a foster parent by contacting Libby Foster, Vice President of Foster Care, at lfoster@thompsoncff.org or call her at 704-536-0375.
To learn more about potential business development opportunities and partnerships with Thompson, contact Anthony Jones, Chief Operations Officer at 704-536-0375 or by email at ajones@thompsoncff.org.
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About Thompson
Headquartered in Matthews, North Carolina (Mecklenburg County), Thompson Child & Family Focus is a human services leader transforming lives through early childhood, family stability, and mental health services. As a solutions-driven organization committed to rewriting narratives for the most vulnerable in our community; Thompson achieves this by providing comprehensive, evidence-based services, and trauma-informed care, for children (ages 0-18) and their families, virtually and in-person. Thompson employs over 290 staff across the state of NC and is led by President/CEO, Will Jones. To read more about Thompson’s continuum of services online, go to thompsoncff.org, or email news@thompsoncff.org.
About Binti
Binti is a mission-driven company founded to serve child welfare. We believe every child deserves the care and support of a loving family. Our CEO, Felicia Curcuru, saw the challenges of the foster and adoption process after her sister struggled with the process of adopting two children, and knew that technology could empower agencies to close the gap between the lack of foster/adoptive parents and the demand for safe and loving homes. She built a team of both child welfare professionals and leading Silicon Valley engineers to create a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution for both families and agencies to simplify and facilitate the licensing and placement processes. Since launch this solution in early 2017, Binti has grown quickly to serve over 150 agencies across 24 states. Binti has been working with Thompson Child & Family Focus as one of the earliest partners in 2017, and has supported Thompson through its growth across North Carolina. For more information, visit www.binti.com, or email partnerships@binti.com.