FormAssembly Guides Online Data Processes for the Northeast Regional Children’s Advocacy Center
About Northeast Regional Children’s Advocacy Center
The Northeast Regional Children’s Advocacy Center is an organization designed to provide support for training and advocacy centers in the northeastern United States. The organization is part of four regional centers established by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to help communities develop resources for child abuse and trafficking response teams and advocacy centers. The center supports state chapters in the nine states within their jurisdiction, from Pennsylvania to Maine.
The Form Advocate
Katelyn Waltimyer, Training Coordinator
Case Study Snapshot
Because the NRCAC acts as an umbrella organization that supports a number of smaller state chapters, they have a great need for streamlined regional data collection. FormAssembly allows the Center to keep data organized and trackable, which helps as they report their progress for government funding. “There are deliverables we send to the Department of Justice and to our board. It’s very important for them to see the result of the trainings we do to determine if we’re spending their money well,” Waltimyer said.
The Numbers
hours of data entry saved per training program
form responses per training program
%
of old processes moved to online forms
specialist and technical trainings per year
The Problem:
Cumbersome Paper Processes with Limited Tracking
As is true of many nonprofit organizations, the NRCAC struggled with the maintenance of extensive paper forms for their various programs and evaluations. With a smaller staff, data entry was costly in terms of work hours and productivity. Additionally, they were tracking many form responses through email replies, which added to the burden of maintaining an organized system.
The Result:
Less Data Entry, More Creativity and Flexibility
FormAssembly is integral to Waltimyer’s position in particular, as she coordinates the center’s daily logistics and is responsible for entering data for all of their various training programs. Waltimyer estimates that FormAssembly saves her an average of one to two hours of data entry per training program, and saves time and energy since the information she needs to access is now all in one place. With 15 large group trainings and about 80-90 smaller technical trainings per year, the yearly time saved for an integral employee like Waltimyer is significant.
Unmatched Salesforce Integration
The ability to integrate directly with Salesforce was a huge selling point for the Northeast Regional Children’s Advocacy Center. Having the ability to pull reports through Salesforce is a huge benefit, as they no longer have to maintain extensive spreadsheets in order to share program or participant information with other parties.
User-Friendly Interface
Although Waltimyer was relatively new to her position at the advocacy center, she was able to quickly learn the dynamics of FormAssembly and how to use its features to best serve the organization.
Archival Ability
The ability to archive older forms also comes in handy. FormAssembly provides a place for the old forms to exist without having to delete them or lose templates that may be useful in the future.
“Another thing I enjoy is the ability to copy a form and tweak pieces of it,” Waltimyer said.
This ability saves time when they are replicating forms for new events or trainings that require updated information.
Use Cases
Training Applications
Recap Evaluations
Forms and ReportingTraining Applications Update to Salesforce
The NRCAC has trained a total of 2,417 professionals across the region through their sponsored training programs. While some trainings are open, others require applicant information that was previously submitted via paper or email. FormAssembly allows the group to retain this application data online in real-time and to store it directly to Salesforce.
Post-Event Evaluations Provide Detailed Reporting
After each training, the advocacy center collects feedback from participants. As they work with a wide variety of multi-disciplinary teams including those from human services departments, prosecutors, and legal teams, feedback is critical in maintaining quality information. The center also has multi-level forms in use that serve several purposes: collecting contact information for groups of individuals (such as response teams), individual feedback forms, and supervisor sign-off forms. FormAssembly takes the hassle out of each step by providing one place to submit all of the necessary data.
FormAssembly Provides Improved Internal Documentation
One of the most critical uses for FormAssembly in the organization is the use of forms for training reimbursements and other financial documentation like chapter agreements and budget approvals. These budget and monetary forms allow the group to track important information such as new spending, budget proposals, lodging requests, and travel arrangements. Once the information is submitted to the form, reporting simplifies the review process without the need for separate spreadsheets and tracking.
“FormAssembly allows me to keep all of the ‘money’ pieces together in one form,” Waltimyer said.
What’s Next?
Eventually, Waltimyer hopes that the organization advances to a fully online and automated process, one in which all of their form needs are met online by using FormAssembly. With 60% of their form processes currently executed through FormAssembly, the time and cost savings are already significant to the organization’s future.
