Let’s start with the bottom line. The CIRCE platform has empowered Felton Institute to run over fifty direct service programs smoothly and reliably for fifteen years.
Founded in San Francisco in 2011, CIRCE is a for-profit social enterprise company offering a case management system for nonprofit and community-based organizations (CBOs). Created for Felton Institute in 2006 using the Salesforce platform, CIRCE was developed as a complete, easily adaptable, cloud-based platform for managing human services with the following objectives in mind:
- Data organization and streamlined case management, which would reduce paperwork and allow staff to spend more time with clients.
- Transparency, HIPPA compliance, and accountability.
Felton Institute Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Kenji Paschen shares that CIRCE was developed to enhance Felton Institute’s case management record-keeping and compliance with Medicare rules. In answer to a desire to upgrade data collection and reporting compliance, our then-CEO Bob Bennett worked with CFO/COO Al Gilbert (Felton’s current CEO) to put forth Salesforce implementation as a priority agenda. “We released CIRCE 1.0 in 2006.” CTO Paschen modestly explains, “We were so successful that three years later, we decided to make it available to other nonprofit CBOs.”
The Success was in the Data.
Time spent on paperwork was cut by 50%. Clinicians spent an average of 25% more facetime with clients. Invoicing error rates decreased from 7.8% to under 3%. Staff productivity rose by 17%.
During DreamForce 2007, CIRCE was awarded the best app for nonprofits. In 2011, Felton leadership decided to “productize” CIRCE on the Salesforce Platform and form a for-profit corporation. After considerable effort and investment, CIRCE Software, Inc. was launched, selling to 5 CBO organizations. Currently, CIRCE has 16 customers and averages two new customers per year.
As a homegrown software system, CIRCE is continually maintained and is highly customizable. New features and improvements are added as Felton Institute programs expand, and as customer needs grow. CIRCE’s Associate Director Biwesh Pradhan says, “Moving forward; we are looking into expanding our consulting model. One side of the business is to sell licensing, but the other side that we are focused on is implementation, set up and training capacity.”
CIRCE, under Chief Technology Officer Kenji Paschen, helped revolutionize Felton Institute’s IT systems and played a foundational role as CEO Al Gilbert transitioned the struggling 131-year-old nonprofit from the brink of bankruptcy to become a leading innovator in the mental health and social service sectors.
CIRCE, AT A GLANCE
CIRCE was developed by service providers for service providers.
CIRCE enables Felton Institute to manage everything from client intake and assessment to setting goals and objectives, tracking progress and productivity, reporting, and billing easily and efficiently. CIRCE makes it easy to track data across programs throughout the entire organization. Information about client demographics, billing history, staff productivity, and client outcomes is just a click away.
What functionality is included with the CIRCE platform?
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THE CIRCE TEAM
Kenji Paschen – Chief Technology Officer
Biwesh “B” Pradhan, MS – Associate Director
Zhen Zhao, MDP – Certified Developer & App Builder
Julia Godzikovskaya, MA – Training & Implementation Manager
Tieu Ly – Project Manager
For more information about CIRCE, visit their website: CIRCE.technology
About Felton Institute: Founded in 1889, Felton Institute responds to human needs by providing cutting edge, evidence-based mental health and social services that transform lives. Felton Institute is a tax-exempt organization registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit under EIN 94-1156530.
Offering more than 50 acclaimed and honored programs that address homelessness, mental health, prenatal, adolescent, adult, and senior needs, Felton Institute provides services in San Francisco, Alameda, San Mateo, Marin, and Monterey counties. Felton’s social services and programs utilize the latest scientific research, combining cultural sensitivity, deep respect for client and staff, and a commitment to social justice.
Felton is the oldest non-sectarian and nonprofit social services provider in the City and County of San Francisco. For over a century, Felton Institute has been at the forefront of social service innovation, pioneering new approaches to meet underserved populations’ emerging needs. At the heart of our work is the belief that individuals and families in crisis must have access to services and resources to help them build on their inherent strengths and develop self-sufficiency. www.felton.org