Across child welfare, caseworkers are expected to make informed decisions while navigating hundreds of pages of documentation for each case. The time spent searching for information can slow down workflows and take away from direct family engagement.
Defiance/Paulding Consolidated Job and Family Services set out to change that by combining AI with hands-on support to streamline how casework gets done.
When Administrative Work Gets in the Way of Family Support
Defiance/Paulding JFS supports children and families across northwest Ohio. But like many agencies, paperwork, documentation, and follow-up tasks began to take time away from what matters most — working directly with families.
“Organization, remembering tasks that needed to be completed, and entering documentation in a timely way were ongoing challenges,” said Hillary Conley, Children Services Supervisor. “We were also seeing delays in sending records requests and getting information back.”
In many cases, reviewing a single file meant sorting through hundreds of pages of reports, assessments, and court documents, a very time-consuming process that slowed everything down.
Expanding Capacity Without Adding Staff
To help relieve the burden, Defiance/Paulding JFS implemented Case Aide Services, giving caseworkers access to trained professionals who handle time-consuming administrative and documentation tasks.
Case Aides support work such as:
- Case notes, documentation, and state system updates
- Records requests and document organization
- Referral coordination and provider communication
- Case summaries and discovery preparation for court
- Documentation gathering for ICPC placements
This allows caseworkers to stay focused on assessments, decision-making, and family engagement without needing to hire additional staff.
“Having Case Aides in our supervision meetings helps us quickly identify tasks they can take on — so staff don’t have to add one more thing to their plate,” said Conley.
How AI Turns Hours of Case Review into Minutes
Case Aide Services are further strengthened by AI tools built into Traverse, a platform that organizes and searches case documentation.
Instead of manually reviewing hundreds of pages, Case Aides can now quickly find and summarize key information across entire case files.
With AI, they can:
- Search across hundreds of documents in seconds
- Identify key details like diagnoses, medications, and service history
- Generate summaries to support court prep and case reviews
“It takes away the pain of digging through cases that may have tens to hundreds of different documents,” said Case Aide Generalist Mayzie Davitt. “The system can provide an answer in seconds, with references we can verify.”
The impact on turnaround time has been immediate.
“What used to take hours — even days — can now be done in minutes,” Davitt said. “That completely changes how quickly we can support caseworkers.”
AI also reduces back-and-forth communication, helping Case Aides gather the right information without needing repeated input from caseworkers.
The Impact: Faster Workflows, More Time with Families
Since implementing Case Aide Services, Defiance/Paulding JFS has improved efficiency across the agency and reduced administrative strain on staff.
Key results include:
- Faster documentation and records processing
- Reduced administrative backlog
- More time for field work and family engagement
- Improved overall operational efficiency
“Case Aides strengthen our operations by completing tasks that staff would normally spend several hours on,” said Conley. “That allows our team to produce an increase in high-level casework.”
A Better Way to Support Caseworkers
By combining hands-on administrative support with AI-powered tools, Defiance/Paulding JFS has found a way to expand capacity, improve timeliness, and give caseworkers more time to focus on families.
View the full customer story to see how Case Aide Services and AI are helping agencies across Ohio reduce administrative burden and move casework forward faster.
