Cityspan developed a data management system for the State of New Jersey’s School Based Youth Service Program (SBYSP) to manage 90 state-funded youth programs in 67 high schools, 18 middle schools and five elementary schools. SBYSP provides funding for mental health, substance abuse and crisis intervention services, and group-based services such as pregnancy prevention and family support.
For SBYSP case managers, the system eases the burden of managing detailed program data. Through a web-based interface, users can register youth and family members and track their attendance in individual and group activities. In a single record, service delivery can be documented across multiple counseling topics and modes of delivery (in-person, phone, home visit).
The system also includes automated features that enable SBYSP to generate reports that comply with state-mandated service delivery and outcome goals. At any time, administrators can obtain accurate snapshots of individual program performance and SBYSP-wide views of aggregate outputs.
Cityspan has helped the State maintain high quality SBYSP services . Using data from the system, a three-year evaluation funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation confirmed SBYSP’s impact on the well being of New Jersey youth.
Results
- Improved management of youth services provided through 90 state-funded programs
- Long-term tracking of program outcomes (more than 10 years of attendance data)
- Dramatic reduction in case manager workload through elimination of duplicate data entry tasks
- Automated reporting to meet state service delivery requirements
- New security protocols to better ensure client confidentiality
- Enhanced analysis of service delivery across diverse program objectives
- Expanded state funding to additional schools
