How SAM is helping Children of the World grow without increasing expenses
Children of the World
Children of the World is a non-profit adoption agency licensed by Alabama and is one of the few adoption services that is Hague Accredited through the Intercountry Adoption Accreditation and Maintenance Entity (IAAME).
Children of the World founder Pat Lee believes it’s the birthright of every child to be in a loving family and nurturing home. Over the last 20+ years, she and her team have matched over 2,000 children to loving homes with both international and domestic families, working hands-on throughout the entire process.
The Challenge
As Children of the World grew and began working with so many families, adoption coordinators were juggling multiple families, cases, and requirements. Unfortunately, their antiquated system was proving to be no longer useful. Nothing was saved properly, you couldn’t modify reports or documents, couldn’t run reports, and so on. Instead, the antiquated system only allowed things to be uploaded and then downloaded.
In January 2024, Alabama implemented new laws privatizing foster and adoption services within the state. One of the new laws required that every family placement be accompanied by a complete home study. How could Children of the World keep up with a 300% increase in home studies without adding additional costs or causing staff burnout?
After attending a conference, social workers with Children of the World learned how automating reports, reminders, and checklists could keep both adoption coordinators and parents on track. With their new knowledge of this technology, Children of the World sought to implement automation within their company to simplify processes and operations.
The Solution
Children of the World was introduced to SAM, a powerful foster care and adoption agency software designed by InReach Solutions. Because Children of the World anticipated a significant increase in home studies, their team knew using SAM could help them keep up with the rising demand without increasing staffing expenses or losing focus on their clients’ experience.
With a “small but mighty” team, Children of the World has used SAM to:
Streamline Data Entry: SAM automated key processes, reducing the manual entry burden and allowing caseworkers to document and manage case notes efficiently.
Relieve Adoption Coordinator Stress: The software has put much of the paperwork process in the hands of the clients, allowing adoption coordinators to take on more clients and help more families.
Digitize Home Study Processes: SAM enabled Children of the World to transition the entire home study process into a digital format. They could upload forms and utilize checklists that families could fill out online, reducing “paperwork overwhelm” significantly.
Increase Management Processes: With SAM's many features, the board of directors at Children of the World has learned to appreciate how reporting works now that they can log in and see reports, run reports, see who is active, etc.
Streamline Auditing Processes: SAM allows auditors to log in under their own accounts and review all documents, reports, processes, and more in one easy location rather than flipping through paperwork, reducing auditing processes from days to hours.
The Results
SAM has helped Children of the World operate more efficiently, allowing the agency to appear larger even though they’ve downsized their employees since using the SAM system. The ability to streamline processes in one centralized location has allowed their small team to relieve stress and take on more clients because clients have taken on more of the paperwork processes through SAM.
Children of the World has been able to shift their focus to clients and grow their business without adding employees because of how SAM has allowed them to revamp their systems through automation.
SAM’s intuitive reporting capabilities allow the agency to track key metrics, generate Hague Accredited reports, and simplify home studies. Pat and her team continue to discover new ways to utilize SAM within their organization with support from InReach Solutions when needed.
