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Kandiyoi County approves Caseworks portal to let residents upload social‑services documents online
Summary
The Kandiyoi County Board approved a contract to add a client portal to the county's existing Casework document system; Health & Human Services said the portal will improve secure document exchange, appointment reminders and cross-county collaboration while requiring a modest one-time budget adjustment after reimbursements.
The Kandiyoi County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 5 approved a contract to add a client-facing portal to the county's existing Casework document management system, a move Health and Human Services officials said will let residents securely upload documents, view case plans and receive appointment reminders.
Health and Human Services Director Caroline Khan told commissioners the portal would work like a social-services version of a medical "MyChart" portal, allowing residents to take pictures of documents, upload them, and receive multi-factor authenticated notices about appointments and document requests.
Khan said the portal will "allow them to take a picture of their documents and upload that" and that it would reduce staff time spent scanning and mailing paperwork. She told the board the county has hosted Casework for other counties and has been using the system for years.
Why it matters: Khan said the portal would let clients interact with the department outside of standard business hours, reducing delay caused by mailed documentation and missed phone calls. She cited other counties' experience (Mid Prairie counties reported roughly a 40–68% account-creation rate in the materials she presented) and said the county could expect meaningful uptake even if the portal is not right for every resident.
Cost and timeline: Khan said the county's initial budgeted amount was short of the vendor's current price and that, after anticipated state and federal reimbursements, the county's net cost would be approximately 16.7 (as reported in her presentation). She said the county has already invested $8,000 into the contract-year costs. Khan recommended using reserves to cover the shortfall and told the board the vendor's implementation timeline would put a public launch around Oct. 1 with staff training and outreach in the preceding weeks.
Board discussion and approval: Commissioners asked about adoption rates, whether the portal is available as a phone app, and how the portal would interact with broadband access issues. Khan said she had seen the portal in a web interface and would follow up on whether an app exists; she also told the board that at least one county partner had run an implementation with tens of thousands of account invites and that counties generally reported improved staff efficiency.
Commissioner Dale Anderson moved to approve proceeding with the Casework portal contract; the board signified its approval by voice vote and the motion passed.
What the board directed: Commissioners requested follow-up on adoption metrics and implementation plans; Khan said staff would track login and completion rates, report early-adoption targets in the final quarter of the year and coordinate outreach with local partner organizations to boost sign-ups.
Looking ahead: Khan and staff will return with a more detailed rollout and measurement plan. The county's net budget impact will be refined as the exact vendor pricing and final reimbursement rules are confirmed.
