One of the results of the COIVD-19 pandemic has been an influx of paperless documents, which don’t require physical contact. Yet switching from hard copies to safer paperless alternatives has taken some adjustment. Especially for the staff at Revenue Maximization (RevMax) and Performance Analytics (PA).

Both departments typically work with hard-copy documents, including Title IV-E waivers, until March 9, 2020. That’s the date they switched to a paperless system through the shared resources drive.

The waivers, in particular, impact the agency’s revenue directly—by enabling state funding. When a child first enters the care system, RevMax and PA have 30 days to determine eligibility for the waiver. This gives staff limited time to examine income, taxes, child support, government assistance, pay stubs, and other documents pertaining to the biological parents, legal parents and others. The workload translates to about 100 pages of documentation per child. So speed and accuracy are essential to determine if the child qualifies for eligibility and funding from the state.

RevMax Manager Mark Rubens says the switch to digital worked out well, despite initial challenges. “The RevMax specialists have done a flawless job taking on a paperless system at home,” Rubens says. “Our team was hit with a double whammy taking on a paperless process in March and then learning how to work from home the following week.”

Since going paperless, both departments have been able to save money and resources while maximizing revenue for FSS.