Chicago Start-up Augintel Unlocks Key Insights in Illinois DCFS Case Notes Using Natural Language Processing (NLP) Software

Successful Rollout has led to Administrative Time Savings

CHICAGO, July 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Augintel today announced that the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) is using its Natural Language Processing (NLP) software to provide child welfare caseworkers, supervisors and private agency provider staff with higher access and understanding of narrative data to gain insights needed to make informed decisions throughout the life of a case.

As part of an agency-wide modernization initiative to become more efficient, Augintel will reduce the time caseworkers spend on administrative tasks by an estimated 20% by quickly searching through electronic case information and finding pertinent case notes, data, key words and applicable family members, eliminating the need for caseworkers to mine the data themselves. Augintel's NLP software pulls out key insights in real time, allowing caseworkers to quickly understand key risks, strengths and social determinants of health (SDOH), providing them with more time for direct interaction with children and their families. Augintel is also being used to identify early warning signs, caseworker safety issues, fidelity to child welfare practice models and important statewide trends across cases.

"Saving time and using technology to solve problems that directly benefits our families and staff is the ultimate win; as our caseworkers are now spending less time searching through paperwork for information and more time doing what they love doing – helping children and families," said Illinois DCFS Director Marc D. Smith. "Managers are also using Augintel to examine trends across caseloads, enabling them to be more efficient and proactive when examining big-picture issues affecting the families we serve."

Additional use cases of Augintel include gathering key information for court reports, preparing for supervision meetings, tracking case progress and monitoring engagement.

"We are thrilled to be working in our home state, providing DCFS with state-of-the-art software to help caseworkers keep children in our communities safe," said Augintel CEO Marty Elisco. "We are dedicated to supporting DCFS and private agency partner caseworkers with the information they need to make critical decisions, while helping maximize the quality of care delivered."

About Augintel: Augintel is a health and human services-focused software development company focused on solving longstanding problems with data — specifically, narrative unstructured data. We have pioneered the development of natural language processing (NLP) in our field to make narrative data accessible, searchable and actionable for staff across the organization – from front line clinicians to supervisors, quality managers and leaders. We understand that NLP products are field-specific and must be built from the ground up and tailored to specific practices in order to be successful. 

About the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS): Founded in 1964, DCFS is responsible for protecting children from abuse or neglect by responding to reports received by the Child Abuse Hotline at childabuse.illinois.gov (non-emergency situations) or 1-800-25-ABUSE (1-800-252-2873). With the goal of keeping children safe, DCFS strengthens and supports families with a wide range of services. When keeping a child safe means removing them from the home, DCFS makes every effort to reunite them with their family. When the best interest of the child makes this impossible, DCFS is committed to pursuing guardianship or adoption by loving families to provide children with a safe and permanent home. DCFS is also responsible for licensing and monitoring of all Illinois child welfare agencies.

SOURCE Augintel