Pen Computers Help Phoenix Save Money and Deliver Human Services More Effectively
SAN JOSE, Calif. — February 19, 1992 — GRiD pen computers have been purchased by the city of Phoenix where they are speeding up the delivery of social services to the disadvantaged, saving time for city caseworkers and reducing taxpayer costs.
The announcement was made at the Pen Computing 1992 conference.
The small GRiDPAD battery-powered computers — manufactured by GRiD Systems Corp., of Fremont — are being used by caseworkers in the city's Human Services Department to handle various programs including food provisions, utility payments and teenage pregnancy counseling. Data is entered on electronic forms with a pen instead of a keyboard as caseworkers compile names and addresses of clients plus income and other data used to figure eligibility for various programs.
The PC-compatible, MD-DOS based pen computers replace paper forms that were very time consuming to fill out. Data from the paper forms later had to be entered into a computer by keypunch operators who often had a two-week backlog of work. Sometimes errors were made in transcribing the data.
Now, information is entered directly into the GRiDPADs and downloaded into the agency's main computers the same day.
The clients and caseworkers even sign their signatures right on the GRiDPAD screen which captures and saves the handwriting as an official record.
As a result of computerization, ''the city saves money, speeds service to clients and reduces errors,'' said Douglas Gauthier, information management supervisor for the Human Services Department. He oversees implementation of the GRiDPAD program.
GRiD president D. Bruce Walter said, ''There's a significant market for pen computers in government agencies because of the extensive paper forms processing that occurs at all levels of government. The success of this program is Phoenix shows the rest of the nation how a new computer technology can improve services while cutting taxpayers costs.''
About a dozen GRiDPADs are being used at one neighborhood center where the needy apply for various programs. There are plans to expand the project to five other neighborhood centers in Phoenix staffed by 50 caseworkers.
The computers enable social workers to see more clients per day and turn fewer away at the end of the day, said Gauthier. He estimated that a caseworker with a GRiDPAD sees 10 to 12 clients a day versus eight with the old paper method.
In addition, he said, the GRiDPAD program has built-in error checks to catch conflicting information provided by clients, either inadvertently or purposefully, that would result in over payments.
With the paper forms, caseworkers and supervisors find that about 10 percent of the 40,000 to 50,000 paper forms filled out a year contain errors, said David Suess, of Gauthier's staff. Caseworkers and supervisors spend considerable time finding and correcting the mistakes.
Because of savings in worker time, keypunching, photocopying of forms, shredding of the paper and its disposal at landfills, the department could save $300,000 to $400,000 over four years after the full GRiDPAD project is implemented, Suess estimated.
As a result, he stated, GRiDPADs for 50 caseworkers at five neighborhood centers could pay for themselves from the savings in 1.4 years.
With the city's revenues declining there is an emphasis on keeping costs low. ''With such a tight budget, GRiDPADs help stretch our money as far as possible,'' said Suess.
In addition, caseworkers can use the time they used to spend fixing errors to see more clients, said Gauthier.
Gauthier said the department dispenses about $3 million in benefit payments a year to low income persons — about 100,000 services delivered to some 55,000 persons.
Phoenix is one of the first cities in the nation to use pen computers for social service programs.
Gauthier said caseworkers adapted quickly to the computers. Most had never used computers before and the lack of need for a keyboard speeded training and acceptability. ''They took right to it, '' he said.
He said other city, county and state agencies are considering GRiDPAD applications because of the success of the Human Resources Department.
GRiD designs, manufactures, markets, and services laptop, pen, desktop and multimedia computers, pen-based software development tools, electronic mail and networking systems. GRiD, located at 47211 Lakeview Blvd., Fremont, CA 94537, also has offices in the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Spain, Sweden, France, Belgium and Denmark.
GRiD is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tandy Corp., Fort Worth, a leading manufacturer and distributor of consumer electronics and computers.
Note to Editors: GRiDPAD is registered trademark of GRiDSystems Corp.
CONTACT:
Grid Systems Corp., Fremont
Mike McGuire, or Bob Goligoski, 510/656-4700