Case Management, Workflow Automation, Reporting Dashboards, Mobile Access, Security

Getting the First Steps Right–Intakes and Risk Assessments

If you missed the live webcast, click here for a recording that looks at the specific intake and risk assessment functionality available in the RiteTrack juvenile justice system.

Every size of facility from 10 beds to 100 or more beds must follow the same first step when a youth arrives: completing an intake process.

Many facilities also require some type of risk assessment as part of this process.

During this recording–showcasing a system which was designed with the needs of juvenile facilities at its heart–you will see the functionality that assists juvenile organizations with intake processes no matter the size or caseload.

If intakes and risk assessments have incorrect information or are incomplete, it complicates the admission process creating extra work for staff and administrators alike.

The extensibility of the system enables organizations to complete risk assessments within the software’s interface and can generate an easily digestible summary of the assessment data.

We covered the following items:

  • Completing a new intake
  • Completing intake on a previously-admitted youth
  • Using customizable drop down menu options
  • Utilizing reporting to identify missing intake data
  • Accessing risk assessments through the interface
  • Reporting on intake and risk assessments data

An information and case management system such as this ensures data is accurately entered, easily accessible, and simply reported on.

Register to watch the recording here

Data Generation for Juvenile Justice Programs and System-of-Care Programs Webcast Encore

If you were unable to attend the recent webinar on how RiteTrack is used for data generation in juvenile justice programs and system-of-care programs, you can now view that recording here.

During this webcast, Steve discussed the challenges facilities and system-of-care programs face when trying to generate reliable data to inform stakeholders of trends, issues, and successes.

He examined software that provides the day-to-day operations of a facility and showed real-world examples of how to utilize juvenile-specific data to improve decision about the youth in care and the operations of the facility.

Reports illustrated include:

  • Population reports
  • Yearly statistical comparison
  • Admission statistics
  • JDAI reports
  • Seclusion reports

You can also see best practices to use the data to inform decision-making by:

  • Defining the question
  • Deciding what/how to measure
  • Collecting data
  • Analyzing data
  • Interpreting the results

To Build or Buy?  The Pros and Cons of Buying Off-The-Shelf vs. Building Your Own Case Management Software

In 2017 Handel will celebrate our 20th year in business. It really does not feel like 20 years since the day I sat up Handel’s first office in the basement of my house. We got our first break from customers who wanted us to build custom database solutions for them. Since I didn’t have a product to sell them, building custom software was the only way to stay in business. We initially developed a variety of custom software solutions including point-of-sale software (our POSIE POS software for local florists were an early hit), reporting software for bank portfolios, inventory management, and many other solutions long forgotten. Most of these solutions were so individually tailored that they were almost impossible to mass-market. However, they paid the bills and kept us in business during those early years. One day in 1998 an old college friend contacted me. She was working in the IT department of the human services division of a large Colorado county and they were looking for a database for managing youth in a juvenile diversion program. Perhaps because English is my second language or maybe because I had never had much exposure to the human services world, I neither knew what a “juvenile” was, nor what a “diversion program” was.  Not that this would stop me. I had bills to pay and a family to feed. “Of course I can do this” I thought. 2 months later, the pre-cursor to RiteTrack was delivered. The system did exactly what the customer had asked me to do and it worked really well. That is, until 15 or more employees used the system at the same time. Somehow in our negotiations we failed to discuss how many users would be using the system on a regular basis. The chosen solution was built on Microsoft Access. For all its power in terms of developing quick applications, Access at the time was not designed to support a large number of users, a task better handled by its big brother, Microsoft SQL Server. This was only one of many lessons we learned in those early years. Probably the most important lesson I learned: If you want to build a business you have to be really good at something. It is very hard to be successful at doing many different things for many different customers. The custom-shop model kept us alive for our first years and it led us directly to RiteTrack. Both good things because we would not be around today if we hadn’t started out this way. We chose to follow the path that RiteTrack created for us into the field of human services. We soon ditched all of our other efforts and became really good at one thing. A strange thing happened when we did this. Our business started to grow.
If you are a government agency looking to implement a complex human services software for managing the clients that you serve you are faced with a variety of choices. You can build a system in-house, you can hire a consultant to build a system for you, or you can choose from a variety of vendor-provided products. Unlike the late 1990s when we started out, the marketplace today offer “COTS” (commercial off-the-shelf) software for virtually any market niche. However, unlike the 99 cent apps you buy in an app-store, the type of social services government software we develop (often referred to as enterprise resource planning software, an unfortunate term in my opinion since most human services programs don’t think of themselves as an enterprise -a customer once asked if it had something to do with “Star Trek”) has to meet several complex requirements including business rules (rocket science has nothing on TANF eligibility), the number of different departments and users served, reporting requirements, security models, customizations specific to their particular county, state, or tribe, and many other variables. Large state software projects involving major government contractors frequently run into 8 figures ($10 -50 million is not uncommon). Needless to say, small government entities do not have total budgets (never mind IT budgets) that come close to such figures. In the perceived absence of existing COTS systems that can be had for much less, government entities often go the route of developing a custom solution system in-house or hiring a local developer with the expectations that the system will cost them a lot less. Unfortunately what may seem like a great deal up front ends up costing considerably more over time and exposes your organization to a great amount of risk.
The process often goes something like this:
Said project has a finite budget. A request for proposal (RFP) is put out. Vendors bid on the project. A local software developer comes in with the lowest bid. By law, you the customer has to go with lowest bidder. The local software developer has stellar credentials when it comes to having all the right technical skills but has no domain expertise (like us at the start, they have no concept of your domain, being it juvenile justice, child welfare, TANF or other). You on the other hand have all this knowledge but no expertise with complex software projects. Seems like a match made in heaven. Or not.
Having been on both sides of the fence, both as the custom software developer and later as the “COTS” vendor, we feel qualified to speak on this subject. While the low-bidder-local-custom-shop developer may look good on paper, there are a lot of hidden costs and risks associated with custom software projects.  We have seen some of these projects succeed, many fail outright and most never living up to the customer’s expectations.
Here are some of the common pitfalls of custom software projects:
The Vendor Does Not Understand Your Job
Software developers are very good with what is in their technical toolbox whether that is mobile app development, web development, database design, or traditional desktop software development. However, the left-brain dominant traits often found in those attracted into the computer science field, such as problem solving, algorithmic thinking, and a general excitement for technology also can be a detriment to these same individuals trying to understand common problems faced by those who work in the human services field. As somebody who probably falls more into the left-brain category, I can assure you, 100s of projects in the human services field can not substitute for actually having been a social worker or worked in the field of human services. First, I would dare to say that those attracted to the field of computer science are generally disposed of the typical people skills required when serving other human beings. Second, until you have actually worked in this field, it is very hard to put yourself into those people’s role. So, no matter how well you communicate the job of a social worker, even the most well-meaning, right-brain inclinded software developer will never get a complete understanding of your needs.
Your Organization Lacks Experience with Complex Software Projects
For lack of anyone else in the organization who volunteers, you become the point person for overseeing the new software project. You went to school to get a degree in social work because you love helping people, yet, here you find yourself in charge of overseeing the implementation of a highly complex software system. You are constantly trying to stay one step ahead of the software developers you are working with, all the while tearing your hair out and wondering how you ended up in this situation. You find yourself Googling words like “scrum”, “agile development” and “procedural design”.
You and the Vendor Both Underestimate What It Will Take To Succeed
Complex custom software projects always come in ahead of schedule and under budgets. False. Most complex software projects where there is a great amount of uncertainty usually stick to the original design document? Again, false.
The truth is, when you are dealing with a vendor (or an internal programmer) who have been tasked with developing software for something they know very little about and you have been tasked with being the representative for your organization in charge of the project, something you have never done before, suggesting that there are a lot of risk factors would be the understatement of the year. These projects always start out with a lot of positive energy. This should be easy! We should have something up and running in two months. There are two primary reasons why projects like these rarely come in on time and on budget. The first category is that there is a lot of uncertainty with these types of projects and you simply can’t know what you don’t know. There are often a lot of surprises lurking around the corner. Once you got the eligibility matrix in place you realized that you had forgotten to account for some of the key data points required to calculate eligibility. Back to the drawing board. The second reason is what is commonly referred to as “scope creep”. That scenario goes something like this: We have already created a place for tracking staff and caseloads. While we are add it, it should be easy to add in a piece to track our staff’s various certifications. I once had a software developer ban me from ever using the term “should be easy” in the context of software development. Once one “should be easy” turns into ten “should be easy” you have a problem: It is no longer easy. Our recommendation is to have great initial design specs and save the “would be nice” and “should be easy” for a future phase.
You Wait Until Everything is Perfect to Go Live
This is somewhat related to the previous paragraph. If you wait until everything is perfect in your custom software solution, you will probably never go live. Nothing in life is perfect and this is rarely more true than when it comes to technology. Even the best developed most quality tested software will have unforeseen glitches once it goes from production into the hands of the end-users. You will never be able to foresee all the challenges your end-users will put you through. Furthermore, some of your design assumptions will always turn out to be wrong anyway, so no need to wait until everything is perfect. No matter how perfect you think it is, you will find something you forgot once you go live. Better find this out sooner rather than later.
Vendor Is Not Around To Support You in the Long Run
When we implement RiteTrack for a client it is not uncommon that we replace an existing system that was developed in-house. The two most common reasons for switching to a new system are:
  • The technology is obsolete.
  • The person who wrote the system is long gone.
Working with a vendor who is providing an off-the-shelf system you are less likely to run into either of these situations. The vendor typically provides upgrades so that the software stays current. The vendor is less likely to disappear than an employee. While the latter does happen, we find that most vendors in our market space has been around for a long time. Sometimes companies get acquired but the software typically continue to exist under the new owner.
Not Playing Well With Others
Another common issue we see in home-grown systems is that they are often not designed to easily integrate with other systems or they are not built using standardized data schema, thus making it hard for third-parties to pull information out, or for integrating with other systems.
Conclusion
There are many hidden risks and costs associated with building a human services software system in-house. While this option appears attractive on the surface, it often ends up being much more expensive than finding an existing solution from a vendor who has experience in your space. Worse yet, with a custom-built system you have little assurances to fall back on in the likely risk of failure. With a vendor, failure is typically not an option because the vendor stakes their entire reputation on their product. If you have any questions about this, I would welcome the opportunity to hear from you.

“Who is Going to Do My Data Entry?” -Real-Time Data Entry in RiteTrack

Do you ever find yourself asking “I don’t have time to use social media because I can’t find anyone to do the data entry for me” ? Probably not. Most of us post on social media such as Twitter, FaceBook, and Instagram when the mood strikes us. We do it real-time as events in our lives unfold. We take a picture and we post it. We see a post we like and we click “like”. Social media platforms are so easy to use that it has almost become an extension of ourselves.
Lady-on-headset-lowres
Why then is it that most government case management software is still looked upon as a burden, something we have to enter data into? Here at Handel we often hear objections from prospective clients like “who is going to enter the data for us” or “our staff is so busy we can’t burden them with any more work”. Fortunately, we rarely hear these complaints from our customers who have already implemented RiteTrack. When correctly implemented a system like RiteTrack can become an extension of the work you do. You don’t need additional staff to do your data entry. Rather than going back to your office to “catch up on paperwork” the paperwork is generated as you do your work. Rather than being a burden to your staff, it empowers them to do their job better. In fact, the majority of our customers will claim that RiteTrack enables their employees to spend more time with the clients that they serve and less time doing paperwork. As a system generates better data and frees up staff time, this ultimately leads to better services for the people that you serve. Better data leads to better information, which in turn informs better decisions. Everyone wins.
So how is this possible? I believe there are four areas in particular that contributes to how RiteTrack succeeds in this area.
  • Distributed data-entry
  • Relational data
  • Intuitive user interfaces
  • Web-based software
Distributed Data-Entry
RiteTrack is a role-based system. This means each user has a role and they enter the data relevant to their specific job. This reduces the “data-entry” burden because it is not one person’s responsibility to enter all data relative to a specific client.  Each person has a little piece of the software in which they do their work. An admissions manager at a juvenile facility does the intake. A caseworker establishes a treatment plan. A counselor enters a progress note after providing services. Over time, different people contribute different pieces of information which gradually builds the case, improves communication, provides better information, and creates better outcomes.
Relational Data
All data in RiteTrack is related in one way or another. RiteTrack uses a highly relational database that reduces the need for re-typing data. For example, in a traditional database, you may need to enter a clients name, phone number, address, parent information each time they come in. Let’s say that a client is entered into RiteTrack. This client has a sibling who was previously entered in the system. Through RiteTrack’s relationship module, it becomes easy to “inherit” select information from the sibling such as parents names, addresses, phone numbers. This reduces the data entry burden on your staff and provides better information across the board. Let’s say during intake it is established that the client has a new address. The old address is archived, the new address is entered, and now everyone have access to the latest address information.
Intuitive User Interfaces
Frequently, traditional “data entry systems” were difficult to use because they were poorly designed and/or built on old technology platforms. Anyone remembering having systems where you had to click 5 or more times to get to the screen you needed? RiteTrack was built from the ground up to optimize the work-flow and minimize the number of clicks or keyboard strokes that a user have to execute. With frequent use of customizable drop-down boxes and hyper links, navigation and data entry is optimized to be as efficient as possible. This allows the user to focus on entering information, not looking up or navigating.
RiteTrack 5 Capture

RiteTrack facilitates easy navigation through hyperlinks.

Web-Based Software
Because RiteTrack is web-based you can access your information from anywhere you have an internet connection. This means you can enter data while in the field, while in a court-room, or even in your office. You enter data as events happen, not afterwards.
We hope to have an opportunity to help your organization transition to an information solution where data entry is no longer viewed as a burden but rather a process that is built in to and aligned with your daily activities.  That has been our mission since day 1 and continues to become easier as technology evolves, as broadband expands, and as we all become more used to technology being part of our daily lives.

Packing Up and Moving Your Data

In our age of technology and communication it is common that our customers are adopting RiteTrack after using another data management system, often for a substantial amount of time. One of the largest concerns that we deal with is, “Will we get to keep our data and will it be complete?” At Handel, we understand that historical information is invaluable to spot trends, maintain reporting requirements, and increase interdepartmental communication. That is why we have developed proprietary software to quickly and accurately convert legacy data into RiteTrack.

Our data conversion process starts at the very beginning of our project management process; Handel views data conversions as a key and central part of our software implementations, not as an afterthought. Our trained project managers begin by explicitly mapping out each column in every table in the legacy database and define a place for it to go in the new RiteTrack system. This process takes place alongside the creation of the system design so that the mapping is completed before we start developing the system in order to make certain that no crucial data is left behind. During this process your project manager will highlight areas where the legacy data may not be clean or accurate so that no dirty information finds its way into the new system.

While on the initial site visit, your project manager will sit down with you and your staff to walk through your legacy system to gain a full understanding of its functionality, how your staff uses it, and any potential difficulties that may arise in the conversion process. Since every system is different we make sure to take the time to get to know it. This practice gets to the core of how Handel does business; each project and each customer is unique and we dedicate ourselves to forming a relationship based upon communication, transparency, and honesty.

Once a conversion map has been completed and approved, the data will begin the process of being moved into RiteTrack. Our skilled developers have built software to assist us in the conversion process. Using this single core technology reduces errors, speeds up the conversion process, and lowers cost. Our data conversion experts work side-by-side with our project managers throughout the entire project to make sure that this process is as streamlined as possible.

Much like our software development, our data conversion process involves multiple rounds of testing and validating to make sure that the end product is exactly what it should be. You and your staff will be able to see and test the converted data in a sandbox version of RiteTrack, this will even include any custom fields that have been added. For larger systems this is often done in phases to ensure that nothing is missed in the sheer volume of information we work with.

ConversionProcess

Handel’s Conversion Process (Click to Enlarge)

 

We have utilized this process on databases of all sizes, from a few thousand rows of data up to millions of rows. To gain a more complete understanding of how our data conversions fit into the entire software implementation process please read Problem Solved: A Story of Vanquishing Risk and Complexity.
Finally, when the entire data conversion has been tested and approved, Handel will pull a final and current copy of the legacy database for conversion. This information will be what eventually comprises your initial RiteTrack system. At the end of this process your users will have a new, friendly, and easy-to-use software solution complete with all of the data that has been tirelessly entered by users in the legacy system.

This simple, yet powerful, methodology, when paired with our proprietary software, takes the often frustrating and error-prone process of converting data and turns it into an efficient and organized procedure. What is more, our data conversions are fully supported just like our software. If there is an issue found after RiteTrack has gone live our data conversion experts will rectify the error, often with zero downtime for users. Our philosophy for data conversions is the same as it is for building software; we center everything on our clients and their needs in our pursuit for the best product possible.

Problem Solved: A Story of Vanquishing Risk and Complexity

I was told growing up that when you experience success you should act like you’ve experienced it before. Don’t flaunt your touchdown reception or first place finish; act like you’ve been there before. However, I quickly realized that there is a huge difference between simply acting like one has done something and actually having done it.

So, what does this all have to do with software implementations and case management? The simple answer is that there is a large collection of companies out there that claim to be able to take on massive projects to design, develop, and implement a large enterprise-level software solution. How should project leaders with large and complex projects choose a vendor from the plethora of options available to them?

Most people know that in enterprise-level software implementations, risk is proportionally tied to the complexity of the project. If the complexity goes up the risk does as well. With that in mind, what are we to think of projects on the extreme end of complexity? What if we are taking multiple legacy systems and want to put them into one single and comprehensive system? What if we also want to bring multiple departments together onto one single system in that same project? What if there are federal and state reports that must justify from the moment the system goes live? What if we need to integrate with other systems at the same time that everything else is happening? If risk of failure is directly proportional to the complexity of a project, should we even bother attempting such bold initiatives?

Risk and Complexity

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The answer to that final question is a resounding ‘yes’. It is worth pursuing because of the benefits that it can lead to. Bringing multiple systems together reduces complexity and duplication of data entry which, in turn, reduces errors. Having multiple departments or facilities operate on one common platform increases communication and improves outcomes for clients. The risk, in other words, is worth the potential rewards that a system that can do all of those things could bring. However, that one question still lingers… What if it fails?

This is where proven success comes into play. It is not enough to know that a company could potentially complete a project. These projects need a company that has been there before. The type of system described above with multiple data conversions, bringing previously disparate departments together on one system, reporting to federal and state agencies accurately from day one, and integrating with other software systems describes most of Handel’s customers. We have proven success on every single one of our solutions, from unifying government agencies of a Tribe to providing a system that unifies detention and residential facilities for a county.

Large and complex projects require the devoted attention of software professionals who have repeated success and a strong, standard solution. We have devoted countless hours to designing, testing, and refining each of our solutions to meet the needs of our clients with our standard functionality, whether it is for a CPS Department, Juvenile Detention Facility, TANF Department, or a multitude of other systems. This standard functionality not only brings down cost, it also lessens risk.

While most systems require small changes, we have found that our standard platform will accomplish most of the needed functionality within the markets that we serve. Completely custom solutions that are built from the ground up may sound wonderful at the beginning of a project. However, these projects are the most likely to end up over budget, behind schedule, and outside of scope. We at Handel know this because that is how we used to build software solutions. We built our latest version of RiteTrack to combat all of those things; we provide a common framework to all of our customers, thoroughly test and refine each one of our software modules, and send updates to all of our systems whenever we make something better or fix the rare bug we run into. This means that not only is your project more likely to be successful on the front end, but also that our customers never have to worry about having a system that nobody knows how to fix or update five or ten years down the road.

And what of those things that will always be custom to an individual software solution? We handle (yes, pun is intended here) data conversions, systems integration, custom reporting, attaching custom modules to our standard framework, training and system documentation, and everything else imaginable on a regular basis. All of our staff, from our sales personnel to our project management staff to our software developers, are trained to create custom alterations and additions to make our software work for you in the most optimal way possible.

Consultant

This combination of our standard software offering and our staff’s familiarity with providing insightful and accurate consulting creates a unique environment where we can reduce the risks imposed by time, cost, and scope of a project as a whole while also building a software solution that keeps your legacy data, communicates with other systems, and improves upon your organization’s reporting abilities. Handel’s ability to accomplish all of these extremely complex things comes from our more than 17 years of corporate experience and our tireless efforts to make the best standard software for each industry we serve. Our experience and work makes it possible for organizations to dream big about what their case management software can do for them.

Though these types of projects are large, complex, and sometimes even scary, Handel can help mitigate all of that. We have been there before and our customers have experienced great success using our system. Our track record shows that our methodologies, standard software offerings, and innovative technologies work. So, go ahead and dream big and know that if Handel is your partner your project, no matter how big, will be a success.

Room Management: Assigning Rooms to Residents

Whether a facility is secure or unsecure, detention center or residential home, being able to quickly and intelligently assign a resident to a room is something that every organization needs to be able to do. RiteTrack not only is able to create a virtual model of your facility’s layout, it also offers users an interface to manage room assignments with ease.

RiteTrack displays a facility’s layout in a tree that is able to be customized to suit each facility’s needs. Sections of this tree can quickly be expanded and collapsed to increase the speed at which users can navigate through the various areas of a facility. RiteTrack provides counts of the number of vacancies for each area and rooms are displayed in different colors to identify them as vacant, not vacant, or closed. Please see the Building Your Custom Facility Layout blog entry for an in-depth discussion of customized room layouts and how it can benefit your facility.

The example shown below displays a resident who has had two separate room assignments during his stay at our demonstration facility. To display the power of RiteTrack’s Room Assignment Module, we are going to temporarily move this resident to a new room, keep his current room assignment open to make sure that his room is not accidentally assigned to another resident, and then close out his temporary room assignment.

As seen below, our example resident, Ben, is assigned to Room 103 in Living Unit 100. However, a co-defendant of Ben’s needs to be housed in that Living Unit during a court hearing and Ben must be moved to another unit. We don’t want to evict Ben from his room, just temporarily move him. This will keep his room from accidentally getting assigned to another resident while he is temporarily placed in another area of the facility.

Room Assignments for Resident

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A simple click of the Green Plus Sign button will add a record and navigate us to our Room Assignment Tree. By clicking on the arrow next to Living Unit 300 we can quickly see what rooms are available in that area of the facility.

Creating a Room Assignment for a Resident

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As can be seen at a quick glance, there are 10 rooms in Living Unit 300, only one of which is currently occupied. RiteTrack automatically populated the current date and time into the Start Date for the new room assignment to assist in speeding up data entry. This date, however, may be changed if the information needs to be back dated. All the user must do to complete the new room assignment is click the save icon and the room assignment is added to the previous list of entries for this resident.

Updated Room Assignments for Resident

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Notice, this resident currently has two open room assignments. The new room assignment information will be reflected automatically on RiteTrack’s reports and the original room assignment will be preserved. Once our temporary room assignment is completed, all we need do is enter an End Date for Ben’s temporary room assignment in Living Unit 300 and Room 301 will become available again for another resident.

Closing a Room Assignment for Resident

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RiteTrack provides flexible data entry to users in an environment that is fast and intuitive to use, yet maintains the strict data integrity that is required by juvenile facilities. Handel designed RiteTrack with the philosophy that the tasks that must be done every day by users should be made easier, not more difficult, by the software that they use. We designed the Room Assignment Module around that philosophy. Ask for a demo today to see just how easy and intuitive it is.

Building Your Custom Facility Layout

In our more than a decade-and-a-half of experience in the juvenile justice field, we have found many, many pieces of our software can be used with no modification whatsoever for every facility we work with. However, there is one piece that always seems to require customization. Each facility has its own unique layout and its own individual room configuration. As anybody who has worked on a software implementation can attest to, customization means an increase in scope and cost.

If each facility requires a custom room assignment module in its facility management software and custom software development leads to higher costs then the inevitable conclusion has been that this type of software is either expensive or impossible to obtain. So, the question for any organization historically has been which do you sacrifice? Your budget… or your software functionality?

Fortunately, at Handel we strive to provide standard solutions in order to reduce the cost of our product and the ever present risk of scope creep. We have worked to develop a system that is flexible enough to adapt to any facility, big or small, yet retain enough standard functionality to maintain the rigid standards required by juvenile justice facilities.

We have accomplished this with our innovative Facility Layout Management Tool. Below is an example facility that is split into separate living units.

Facility Layout Tree

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Each facility starts with its own “Base Building Unit”. Whether your facility is separated into pods, living units, wings, or buildings Ritetrack can take that verbiage and begin a virtual construction of your facility. Each of these Base Building Units may then be broken down into sub-units.

Expanded Facility Layout Tree

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In this example, Living Units are broken down into Rooms. However, your facility may use different terminology. As with the Base Building Units, sub-units may also be altered at the click of a button to match the existing terminology used in your current facility. In turn, each sub-unit may itself be broken down into more granular units if needed.

Additionally, different areas of a facility may have different layout configurations. For example, a standard living unit may be broken into separate wings while a supervision or medical unit may consist of a single area with beds. RiteTrack’s innovative functionality can build out these distinct layouts with no additional customization.

This flexible yet elegant design allows another powerful piece of functionality for users of the system. At a glance a RiteTrack user can see exactly what vacancies exist in the facility. In the second image Living Unit 100 is displayed with 8 rooms, each of which can hold one resident. Rooms displayed in blue are vacant and thus have one vacancy. Rooms displayed in purple currently have a resident assigned to them and thus have no vacancy in this example. Rooms displayed in black are closed rooms and are not able to house a resident. As we can see, at a quick glance, there are six vacant rooms in Living Unit 100, one room is occupied, and the last is closed and not able to house a resident. This logic is maintained for the entire facility layout and, as seen in the first image, can be scanned quickly by a RiteTrack user.

RiteTrack can utilize your current terminology, construct your facility in a virtual environment, and provide an overview of room vacancies at a quick glance. This is just the tip of the iceberg of room assignment functionality; there simply is too much to cover in one article. Future blog posts will cover how to assign rooms, how to close rooms to occupancy, and even manage multiple room assignments for a resident.

There is, however, one more piece of good news for organizations making the upgrade to RiteTrack. The Project Management and Development staff at Handel will oversee the virtual construction of your facility as part of our standard deployment process. This layout will be tested, verified, and users will be trained extensively in its functionality prior to the launch of your solution. From the very first moment of use your RiteTrack system will deliver this powerful functionality to your users.

Nobody wants to make the choice between blowing a budget and sacrificing quality. RiteTrack offers a way to avoid that dilemma. Ask to see a demonstration of our Facility Management software today.

About Handel

Handel IT is the creator of RiteTrack, a web-based case management platform used by human services agencies nationwide. Thousands of professionals rely on RiteTrack to manage clients, track cases, and improve outcomes.

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