"The
Governor and others on the panel were very impressed
with the
AWARE system.”
~ Steve Ritacco,
DBS, Senior Management Analyst
Agency Overview
The Division of Blind Services is Florida's
state agency responsible for ensuring that people of all ages in the
state who have visual impairments can live independently and achieve
their goals. Also, its Bureau of Braille and Talking Book Library
administers a free library program of Braille and recorded materials for
eligible readers.
Vision
Replace and update the current Client Rehabilitation
Information System (CRIS) used by the Bureau of client Services and the
Division of the Blind Services Rehabilitation Center for the following
reasons:
- To address issues from federal audit
- To prevent service impairment that will eventually result from a
technically obsolete system
- To enable improvements that will enhance the public private
partnerships on which the success of our programs depend.
- To reduce program administration time
- To reduce CRIS support costs
- To eliminate further investment of enhancements in an obsolete
platform.
Approach
Implemented AWARE Case
Management System (Accessible Web-based Activity and Reporting
Environment) on October 6, 2006. All agency requirements above were met
within time and budget. Also, entered into a five year Upgrade,
Maintenance, and Support Agreement with Alliance Enterprises, Inc., on
February 28, 2007 to eliminate an obsolete platform.
Results
DBS Counselors are now able to support their clients
by spending more time on planning than entering data into
AWARE allowing more successful
rehabilitations. The successful project also led DBS in receiving the
Governor’s Sterling Silver Award in 2007. With more than 300 employees,
12 district and five satellite offices, the Braille and Talking Book
Library, and the Orientation and Adjustment Center, the division serves
blind and visually impaired Floridians in every Florida county and city.
DBS’ results demonstrate high levels of performance and sustained
improvement trends in areas of product and service outcomes, customer
satisfaction and human resources. Excellent current performance is
evident in several customer measures while overall customer satisfaction
results exceed the comparative best. The overall customer satisfaction
with library services shows sustained performance. In 2002, 96 percent
of the customers were satisfied, and that number has increased to 98
percent in 2006, which exceeds the best comparison.
Comment/Related News
Florida Division of Blind Services for received The
Governor’s Sterling Award. Each winner has undergone an in-depth assessment and
evaluation that included an expert team of examiners
conducting an on-site review of the organization’s
management systems and organizational performance
results. During their presentation for this award,
the agency demonstrated
AWARE.
Florida Division of Vocational Rehabilitation