Community Action Partnership of Kern

Making it easier to access housing assistance

The Community Action Partnership of Kern (CAPK) needed to stand up a rental assistance program in just a few weeks, before CARES Act funding expired.

The Challenge

CAPK and partner agencies quickly designed a rental assistance program to disperse CARES ACT funding. But the intake process was almost entirely manual. Applicants had to speak with call center employees, who keyed in information, scanned supporting documents and used Excel to determine eligibility and calculate assistance. Then there was a paper application. Intake was redundant and overwhelming for staff, and it was frustrating for applicants. It took 3-5 days for staff to return intake calls and submit applications.

The Solution

CAPK asked Wipfli to use Microsoft Dynamics 365 to streamline the application process — and to complete the project in three weeks. Wipfli was already working on Dynamics 365 infrastructure for another CAPK program, so the team used that foundation to create a digital intake workflow that met the local housing authority’s requirements.

The Wipfli team has been amazing. I’ve had experience with testing and building out similar projects, and this has been my best experience.

Rebecca Moreno, Program Services Supervisor at CAPK

The results

In about two weeks, Wipfli created a new application process that allowed applicants to provide all their information and supporting documentation online. It also automated scoring, verification, eligibility and rental assistance calculations. In one click, CAPK employees can compile the entire application packet in the format required by the housing authority. Now, rental assistance applications can be completed in about two hours — instead of 2-3 days. And it cut 3-5 days off the backlog of applicant phone calls to return. Completed applications are automatically sent to the Housing Authority within the next day, and the whole process is easily reported and audited against.

hours cut from application processing time

days cut from call center backlog

Making it easier to access housing assistance

The Challenge

The Solution

The results

Services Engaged