The Community Action Partnership is home to the Empower Lancaster system in Lancaster County, having obtained a first-of-its-kind software license to support countywide implementation. No other community in the nation has developed this kind of connectivity, and this community is leveraging it to its greatest potential.

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Empower Lancaster offers three distinct advantages over traditional social services methods:

 

Universal intake

 

When a customer completes an eligibility screening with an Empower Lancaster partner, their information is entered into the system, which then automatically displays the customer’s eligibility for all other programs connected to Empower Lancaster in Lancaster County.

 

Time savings

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Then, when the customer arrives at the service site for another provider, their information is already in the system, and the provider is able to move directly into providing them with assistance. This increases connectivity and reduces the fatigue and time cost associated with attempting to access a variety of disparate services. On the provider end, it creates a net savings in staff time, allowing Navigators and other agency staff to focus on service delivery.
 

Universal assessment data

Early on in their engagement with the provider, customers complete the Strengths Matrix, a 17-domain assessment tool designed to measure a customers strengths and growth areas. This information is stored in the database and accessible to all partners, which allows case managers to track, in real time, customer progress and ongoing needs.

 

Outcomes are also more readily determined, as the Empower Lancaster system can cross-reference the progress of all clients in the system with their baseline needs and the services they access. As we are focused on approaches that use the best data, Empower Lancaster allows us to determine what programs are making a difference in the lives of customers, so that they can be emphasized, and conversely, lets us know what programs need to be retooled.