How a small adoption agency uses SAM to provide big results
Adoption & Beyond
Adoption & Beyond is a non-profit child placing agency licensed in Kansas and Missouri. Since 1998, they’ve grown from a one-person, home-based agency to a dedicated team of several staff members working with hundreds of families.
Founder and director Steffany Aye and her team specialize in helping families with domestic adoptions from start to finish, assisting international adoptions with the home study process, and facilitating other related adoptions in various ways.
The Challenge
Working with over 100 families a year, Adoption & Beyond often experienced an overwhelming flood of case notes and documentation requirements. Traditional data entry methods, including home studies that necessitated meticulous note-taking, became a bottleneck in their workflow. Remote employees often struggled with complicated processes that involved printing, scanning, and uploading case notes, leading to inefficiencies and the risk of errors.
Moreover, the organization recognized the necessity of protecting the confidential information of families. By limiting access to sensitive data, Adoption & Beyond sought to ensure that only employees directly connected to a specific case could view that information, further complicating their operations.
The Solution
InReach Solutions introduced Adoption & Beyond to SAM, a powerful adoption agency and foster care software designed specifically for social work organizations. SAM revolutionized its operations in several ways:
Streamlined Data Entry: SAM automated key processes, reducing the manual entry burden and allowing case workers to document and manage case notes efficiently.
Customized Email Automation: The software facilitated the automatic sending of emails at critical stages of the adoption process, along with task reminders, which kept workflows on track without additional overhead.
Digital Home Study Process: SAM enabled Adoption & Beyond to transition their entire home study process into a digital format. They could upload forms and utilize checklists that families could fill out online, reducing physical paperwork significantly.
Control Over Data Access: With SAM's customizable access features, Adoption & Beyond could restrict sensitive information to designated case workers. This increased confidentiality while allowing employees to work more effectively without unnecessary distractions.
The Results
SAM helped Adoption & Beyond enhance its professionalism and operate more efficiently, making the agency appear larger and more streamlined. The ability to mass-send emails, import emails, and use emails as case notes simplified communication and case management.
Through its long-term partnership with InReach Solutions, Adoption & Beyond has collaborated on developing innovative features that support the agency’s growth and benefit other adoption agencies and social work organizations.
SAM’s powerful reporting capabilities allow the agency to easily track key metrics, such as consultation-to-application rates, and generate Hague-accredited reports, simplifying board reporting. Steffany and her team continue to discover new functionalities within SAM with timely support from InReach Solutions whenever they need assistance or have new feature ideas.
