Some may say money is the root of all evil… but in the City of Richmond California, the “green stuff” is helping to prevent homicide.  And a case management solution will soon help manage the process, track results, and reward success.

Richmond’s Office of Neighborhood Safety (ONS) tasks Neighborhood Change Agents (NCA’s) with leading “Operation Peace Fellowship”, founded in 2008.

Once NCA’s, many former felons themselves, determine somebody is “high risk”, they attempt to recruit them into the Fellowship and help them establish a path away from crime.

If after six months a Fellow maintains a record with ONS consistent with abstaining from high risk activities and taking actions toward stability, the Fellow becomes eligible to receive up to a $1000 monthly cash stipend.  The stipend, funded through private grants, can last as long as nine months.

Staying away from high risk activities is not easy.  A Fellow must avoid fighting and stay off drugs.  Living a stable lifestyle is equally difficult.  A Fellow must accept job training, apply for social services, and participate in mentoring.

The ONS currently administers the program via spreadsheets.  But as the number of Fellows to track and the amount of data per person has grown, it’s now nearly impossible to keep up and reporting has become a nightmare.

That’s why Richmond is implementing a modern case management solution.  Soon, ONS workers, both in the office on desktops and on the streets with mobile devices, will be able to keep all their records straight, quickly identify patterns, and automatically spot Fellows needing further intervention. And all the information will be backed-up and safe in the cloud.

Since Richmond has amped up police patrols and other law enforcement initiatives over the years, it’s difficult to attribute all results to the ONS, however, the murder rate has decreased significantly since Operation Peacemaker started.

Five years prior there were 40 murders a year in Richmond, a city with a population of 100,000.  Five years later, the homicide rate declined almost 60 percent.  Those are results most would agree, you just can’t put a price tag on.

RedMane provides software solutions and systems integration services that address complex, real-world challenges in human services, health care, and the commercial sector.  And we have significant experience with justice and investigation solutions.  We are a problem-solving company.  Technology is just one of our tools.

mCase is one example of our innovation – and it supports violence prevention, including for the City of Richmond, CA.  mCase is our flexible and powerful platform that easily supports any case management program involving intake, assessment, eligibility, service planning, financial processing, and/or ongoing service delivery.  It works in the office and in the field, even without internet or cellular connectivity.  And with its embedded analytics, you have insight to improve outcomes.  To learn more about mCase, click here.