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Customers / Case Study San Francisco Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families. |
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Client: The City of San Francisco Department of Children, Youth, and
Their Families (DCYF) provides $25 million in annual funding to over 140
community organizations and city departments. The funding supports early
childhood development, academic enhancement, health, employment and cultural
enrichment programs. DCYF's goals are defined in a Children's Services Plan,
which is updated annually with data about youth and the services available to
them. Challenge: In 1997, DCYF decided to implement a computerized grant management system that would reduce the volume of paper documentation and bring greater consistency to the grant-management process. The system had to collect information in several formats - narrative, statistical and financial. "We needed to track details of each grant and then bring the data together for an aggregate view of the fund" (Shawn Ewing, DCYF IT Manager). In the mid-90s, San Francisco was also on the front edge of Internet technology. As a result, the Department sought a web-based application that could serve as a collaborative work environment. The goal was a win-win outcome in which grantees would spend less time reporting and DCYF would gather data in a more usable format. Solution: Working with DCYF staff, a custom version of YouthServices.net was developed to manage the grant-making process. The solution was configured to include many of the Department's existing grant forms, reports and accounting practices. Using the system, the Department starts each grant cycle by issuing an online Annual Work Plan to each grantee. The work plan collects contact information, service locations, types of services to be provided, client demographics and methods used to evaluate outcomes. The Department then adds a budget and set of fiscal tracking forms. Once the Annual Work Plan is complete, grantees submit reports on a monthly and quarterly basis. Monthly reports include narrative descriptions of program activities, the number and types of services provided and a financial report that serves as an online invoice. On a quarterly basis, grantees report progress toward identified outcomes and give examples of best practices. At year-end, the software combines these reports into an overall summary of fund performance. Benefits & Results: YouthServices.net has allowed DCYF to reduce the resources it allocates to document management and instead focus on improving the quality of the services it funds. In the past, when changes in data collection required printing new forms, it would take time before old paper versions were out of the system. YouthServices.net allows the department to revise and improve its requirements in an incremental manner. The focus has shifted to content, rather than how forms will be updated and delivered. As a result, DCYF has increased it ability to measure and evaluate grantee performance and target funds to specific activities and outcomes. Grantees have also benefited from the efficiency of paperless transactions. Program and financial reports are now easier to complete and the turn around time for expense reimbursements has been cut in half. Grantees frequently recommend the system to other funders whose paper systems continue to highlight the advantages of web-based document management.
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