“What brought this about was the report from the ChildLine that there was 42,000 dropped calls last year when the new state laws all came out,” said Bedford County CYS Administrator Lisa Cairo.

 

CYS in Bedford documents an average of 1,100 to 1,200 calls each month. 

 

“My clerical staff right now are using very antiquated reporting by writing down the names whenever they call in and keeping a log that way,” Cairo said.

 

The log then goes into a manila folder and is filed away. A new phone system will change the process. 

 

“If you’re handwriting things, things can be missed,” Cairo said. “This way it will automatically come into the office and will be documented as soon as the phone is picked up.”

 

The system also allows for a supervisor to join the line to help train new caseworkers.  It can also automatically connect to 9-1-1 if necessary. 

 

“We believe that this phone system will increase timeliness, even if a caseworker’s actually out in the field,” said Commissioner Chairman Josh Lang. “They will actually be able to take calls on their cell phones, which is an asset that the county has. Currently we provide cell phones to the caseworkers, but they can’t take calls that are coming into this office specifically. So that will allow for that capability, as well.”

 

The roughly $7,200 system will be paid for over a course of five years at no cost to taxpayers.  The money is coming out of CYS’s budget. 

 

“As far as we know we have not dropped any calls but this will definitely be a safety net for Bedford County,” Cairo said. 

 

The new system will also help in updating the county’s jury selection process, turning it, too, into an automated process.  County commissioners said doing that alone will save the county up to $8,000 over the next five years.