Like many non-profit and educational organizations, you probably have a list of applications and automation you’d like to create to drive efficiency but lack the time or resources to create them. On top of that, you may be struggling with vast amounts of data and how to use it in an actionable way.
Such was the case with Centro de la Familia, a non-profit working for children and families in NV, UT, and CO. Centro serves1,200 children in 27 facilities with 400 teachers and support staff.
Centro has been a stalwart in the early childhood education sector for its federally funded Head Start and Migrant Head Start programs. And with these programs come a lot of per child data—education, health, family, transportation and more. All that data is measurable and actionable—if you have the right digital system.
Challenges
Centro was using a subscription-based solution with erratic performance that lacked their needed customizations causing user experience issues. Furthermore, the BI reports Centro built would continually break after data model changes to the product. They didn’t own their data or their solution, and no longer wanted to rely on third-party products.
Instead, Cento was in search of a solution they could own, as well as one users would want to use. The solution also needed to be easy to learn and operate so that Centro employees could get back to what they do best—work with children—and at the same time meet government compliance requirements for deadlines.
A Flexible Solution
Centro partnered with JourneyTeam to overhaul the data management and reporting system, taking advantage of the Microsoft Power Platform, and JourneyTeam’s award-winning expertise in developing low code solutions. The Power Platform also offered a better approach to managing their Head Start program because the highly flexible environment could be tailored to meet Centro’s organizational and end user needs.
Power Platform was also a seamless fit because it natively integrated with the Microsoft technologies Centro was already using.
JourneyTeam worked directly with the Centro team to a custom Power App they named C-FIT. The solution streamlined data entry, improved data visibility through Power BI dashboards, and enhanced communication within the organization.
“When we started with JourneyTeam, we realized that Power Apps was the option for us to go with. It gave us what we really need, and we can measure every single aspect of our program with key metrics,” said Gonzalo Palza, Centro’s Chief Executive Officer.
The solution also aligns with Centro’s workflows, data structures, and reporting requirements. In addition, a simple, but functional user interface improved adoption and reduced training time, allowing Centro to meet specific compliance requirements, and making daily operations more efficient for staff and teachers.
“We use the Microsoft Power App from the moments the kids line up out of our door to the moment they go back home, through their attendance, their meal checks, their health checks. We do assessments, we do behavioral reports and instant reports through the app,” said Amanda Tapia, lead teacher for preschool class at Mount Pleasant at Centro de La Familiar Head Start.
It’s a perfect use of low-code technology. “One of the biggest benefits we have with this system is that it has been designed by the user. And the user who owns a content area knows what is best for them and how they want data to be generated and analyzed, so then they can monitor their progress. And that is something that no other system can do at this point,” Palza said.
Dancing as a Duo
JourneyTeam has been working one-on-one with every Centro specialist, helping them produce what they need and what they want. “Normally, you outsource development, architectural systems. In our case, I made it a priority that they had to dance together. They had to work together to develop a product,” Palza said.
“The new Power App is so simple that it only takes users one hour of training with their supervisor, and that’s pretty much all they need,” said Euleta Christiansen, Senior Program Specialist at Centro.
Outcomes
Centro users are now empowered because they own their data and their app. They don’t have to go to a third-party to access information and metrics. They can build their own dashboards, interfaces, user experience because they own the app.
The organization has also cut ongoing costs by 40 percent; in the previous solution they were paying on a per-child basis, and now they pay per-user with the Power App.
“It's all about the future and measuring the impact that we can have today
on our children, for the future. And that's transformational.”
Gonzalo Palza, Centro CEO
Learn More
To delve deeper into this success story, join our upcoming webinar, "Transforming Data Management in Non-Profits: A Power Platform Success Story." Centro CEO Palza and JourneyTeam’s Power App expert, Kolby Beck, will share detailed insights into Centro’s implementation process, the challenges they faced, and the transformative results they’ve achieved. Don’t miss it! It’s a quick session on how Power Apps can add value and revolutionize the way your business uses data. Register Now.
At JourneyTeam, our power platform experts can jumpstart your efforts using Microsoft’s Power Platform and accelerate your company’s path to low code so you can innovate quickly and begin to make immediate changes. For organizations with unique needs, an existing Microsoft infrastructure, or those that require a highly flexible and integrated system, it is a powerful solution.
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