PRIME. Clients Case Management Doors and Windows Into Your Data

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1 PRIME Clients Case Management Doors and Windows Into Your Data

2 PRIME Doors & Windows Into Your Data Solving Problems Legal aid offices face two serious challenges: How do we increase the quantity and the quality of our work with fewer resources? Our funding sources want longer and more detailed reports on what we do! Clients Case Management can help. It tracks the cases and assists with the work of legal aid, law school clinics, domestic violence shelters and pro bono offices that provide representation to low income people. It improves the quality and quantity of legal representation and produces the reports you need. provided case management software to legal aid offices for the past fifteen years and will be there in the future. Prime Prime is the latest Clients Case Management version and a product of an extensive enhancement process lasting more than two years. Although there are widespread changes, users of the older versions will feel right at home. Prime continues the fifteenyear process of refinement and improvement. The latest changes are not cosmetic, but are concentrated on increasing speed, ease of use, security and power. Our case management is in use in more than forty states and several other countries. Many states have standardized on it for all legal services programs in the state. It increases quality and quantity by being: Flexible Secure Economical Powerful Easy to Use The KCW team has always been in the forefront of providing solutions to legal aid offices for their computer needs. KCW has Prime s Functions The Case Management functions of Prime include reports, calendaring, form letters, intake questions, time keeping, and many others. It is unique because you can customize its forms, reports, and even structure to fit

3 your needs. This customization can range from the simple step of adding a number to a table all the way to modifying the code that runs the program. Besides basic case management, Prime includes: stores their answers. It also provides advice on how to proceed with the case. An Agency Referral function that helps refer our clients to other agencies. It tracks the referrals, the agencies, their specialties and their intake policies. A Lawyer Referral function that tracks PBI lawyers and the cases they handle. The program handles both Judicare and Pro Bono cases. A Fund Raising function that tracks contributions to programs, the people who make them and the organizations to which they belong. A Question and Answer / Frequent Advice function that provides, at the push of a button, context-sensitive questions to ask clients and A Document Assembly function that allows users to construct pleadings, letters, etc. and fill them with information from your Prime intake sheets.

4 Editions There are three different ways the KCW team can deliver Prime to your desktop. The look and features of each of these three editions are identical. However, the driving force behind each is very different. The Standard Edition uses a Microsoft Access database on both the workstation and the Server. It is used for a standalone computer or a LAN (local area network) system. Microsoft Access is the most widely used Windows database. The SQL or Clients/Server Edition of clients is for larger offices or for use across a WAN (wide area network). It can be used with or without Citrix or Terminal Server. This edition uses the industrial strength Microsoft SQL Server database on the server. The ASP/SQL Edition runs on the web and is an outsourcing of case management. Users can concentrate on what case management does, instead of worrying what type of computers and software it uses. It uses the powerful SQL edition of Clients, but handles all of the setup and maintenance tasks for the user. Access your cases at work, at home, at an outreach center or from your hotel room. More than just Software Case management is more than software. It includes a wide range of things that make the system more useful to your office. This can be summarized in just one word, flexibility. Flexibility! Offices don't want to be locked into a particular way they help clients or intake system in their office. They want the power to tailor their system quickly and inexpensively. Prime was designed with this need for flexibility in mind. Where is the Flexibility in Prime? The short answer is everywhere. Prime adjusts to fit your needs in the following ways. The Ability to Customize An office can go into Prime and make important changes, such as adding fields, changing menus and even adding brandnew code. It gives you the ultimate flexibility in making the software work for you. Nothing is locked or hidden. Supported Operating Systems Prime can run under any Windows version from 95 onward. The ASP version extends this to Macintosh, Unix, Linux or any computer capable of running a graphics browser. Standard Software Easily Understood Prime is based upon Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications, Access and SQL. It includes built-in custom query and report writing features. Since it is based on

5 the most widely used software, assistance and training are widely available. You can change or add features. The programming is easy to follow, since it is attached to forms or resides in standalone modules. Prime is built with standard Microsoft components so that users can walk to a local bookstore or take a class at a local community college if they want to learn more. As Microsoft adds more flexibility and features, Clients gains them also. Widespread Use If only a few copies of your case management software are in use, you are at a disadvantage. Widespread use of your system has its benefits. Widespread use means that important features have been built-in. The system has been shaken out by the largest variety of users. You are never very distant from an experienced user. New versions include extensive changes based upon suggestions from current users. User groups exist to support the program. Solutions exist in the system for most typical office situations. The software will continue to evolve and have features added. It is adequately documented. The Legal Services Corporation has to respond to the fact that many offices use the system. Information between Advocates This "need to share information" exists both within an office and between offices, programs and the Legal Services Corporation. It is important to remember that this sharing is only one of many

6 factors in choosing a piece of software. Sharing in Prime can be done by disk, CD, Internet, Wide Area Network (WAN), Terminal Server Citrix, SQL and Data Replication. An Internet ASP/SQL Edition outsources the case management process and lets you concentrate on what case management does, rather than on keeping the hardware running. Which method is right for your office is a complex question and requires a more comprehensive discussion than can be provided here. Check our web site under the About Tab for more information. Usage Flexibility Prime doesn t lock you into a particular way of doing things. Prime lets you begin a client s intake with a call-back system, an eligibility screen or with the full demographic input screen. same feature available in several places increases an office s ability to continue to work the way they had in the past. The Installation Flexibility Prime is easily setup and customized to work in your office. Adding criteria you use is as simple as typing a list into a spreadsheet. Clients has two solutions for those situations where exceed the capacity of the user-definable and the memo fields. These are the Special Program Field and Intake Question System. The special program field sits innocuously on the third page of the intake. Despite its quiet demeanor, this field is one of the most powerful on the intake sheet. It allows you to design an unlimited number of supplemental intake sheets, each having any number of fields, and attach them to your main client intake. Three different time keeping forms allow you to capture your time. One uses minimalist batch processing, another graphic blocks and the third uses a stopwatch to time your work. Prime provide a group calendar so that people in the office can share their schedules in one office or between offices. It schedules meetings, acts as a tickle system, sets appointments and marks letters to be sent. Multiple dates for a case can be entered at one time. There is a private to-do list stored on the server. Features available in multiple places Each office flows through case management in different ways. Making the The intake question module puts up to 100,000 questions in a pool and assigns these questions to the National Index codes. This list pops up at the push of a button and allows you to ask the client questions specific to their problem. Press a button to print out both the questions and

7 the client's answers. Another button provides tips for the advocate and client on how to handle the problem. It allows a decent first interview, even for the inexperienced interviewer. Full of Features Although you may not use all these features to begin with, it's useful to know they are there when you need them. The limitations of Clients are set by your imagination and not by the abilities or features in the software. Operational Flexibility Besides the ability to add features or customize, Prime can be used on a day-today basis without making any changes. Of all the features, the search screens are the ones used most often. These can be modified easily to display or search any field. New form letters can be easily added. They can be printed for a single case or a group. Complicated pleadings and letters can be constructed with the built-in document assembly. The calendar can be used to schedule the sending of letters. Prime not only has a wide variety of reports, but it also has the ability to use many

8 different variables in generating them. Existing reports can be modified to fit special needs. You can create your own reports and then add them to the system. Built-in wizards make designing custom queries and reports a snap. Need a graph or map? A whole graph generator is included. The resulting graphs can be pasted into your word processor documents. Prime also talks with Microsoft MapPoint, an inexpensive mapping program. Export to other Formats Prime can send its reports to spreadsheet, HTML, RTF, text and formats. This gives users the maximum flexibility. Continuity of the Software Users of earlier versions comment on ease with which they can pick up the new version and start using it. Clients design has stayed consistent since 1994 and still has growth potential. Prime has extensive help inside the program, a comprehensive 200+ page manual and optional report manuals. An extensive web site provides tips, downloads, articles, developments, demos and announcements. Telephone support is available. The ASP edition has 24/7 phone support. Extensive policy and implementation plans help integrate the system into your office. We can also help you move your old data in. KCW provides local, state and national trainings. Trainings are essential so that users can get the most from the software. KCW has offered at least two national trainings per year since It has done more than 350 local and regional trainings. Training helps with the hardest part of using case management, which is fitting how the software works into the way your office works.. Because it uses Microsoft Access, a user can walk to any bookstore and purchase books and manuals that will help them use the system. Courses at local community colleges are easily found. The Best from the Community Case management doesn t exist in a vacuum. Prime, the latest version of Clients, incorporates: The Center for Law and Social Policy s (CLASP) regulation compliance check list. Support Flexibility Support is important so you can understand and use the features that are built into the program. The National Index Codes developed by the Information Management Group on the Equal Justice Network. These further refine the LSC problem codes. The AARP state-specific list of frequent questions and answers developed from hotlines.

9 The ABA Universal Task and Billing System Codes is an optional field on time records. What kind of computer? The slowest computer now available for purchase will run Clients extremely well. For older computers, the system requires Windows 95 or later. Adding memory to these older computers will probably make a significant difference in speed. The speed of the computer using the ASP is immaterial, since Prime is run on the fast computers at the data center. program is running over the web on our ASP (Application Service Provider). The best way to see the program's features is to visit an office in your area that uses the program. Convert old data We can move data into Clients from almost any computer database system. Kemp's Case Works has converted approximately five million clients records. Limitations? If Clients Case Management has a limitation, it is perhaps that is does so many things. However, this is why it is in such wide spread use. Although most offices use no more than 40% of the features, each program uses a different 40%. The newest version of Clients, Prime, makes it simple to remove options from the system, so that users only see the choices that they use. Kemp s Case Works does not strive to be the first in a particular area, but the best. Its software was one of the first available for legal aid that was IBM computer compatible. It was one of the first that was available to run on a LAN and then a WAN. Its web version is the standard in two states and many other programs across the country. It will continue to evolve and change to fit the needs of the community. Kemp s Case Works is dedicated to the long-term provision of feature-filled software that is user modifiable to legal aid offices around the country and the world. Learn more about the features Our web site at has articles, demos and other information about the system. A live demo version of the Pricing The cost of Clients varies. It depends on the edition of the program, whether it is a new purchase or and upgrade, and the numbers of users and offices. Please contact us for pricing. Background John Paul Kemp was in legal services for fourteen years as a Vista Attorney, Staff Attorney, Managing Attorney and Project Director. He has been a lead trainer for NLADA, LSC and the ABA in conferences dealing with computers and technology. He brings day-today experience in legal aid to the design and implementation of case management. His involvement in technology and computers in legal aid dates from 1982.

10 For More Information Visit our Web Site at or contact us at our offices: Kemp s Case Works, Inc Sherbrooke Drive Atlanta, Georgia Phone: Fax: support@kempscaseworks.com