Community Action Agency of St. Louis County Streamlines Operations with DocuWare

• Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration

• Business Operation

• System Integration

Community Action Agency of St. Louis County (CAASTLC) was facing a significant challenge due to its paper-intensive programs. The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), for instance, received up to 500 applications during peak times, generating about 20,000 paper files. Each application required proof of income, a utility bill, and other personal information, which were rarely submitted together. As bills and other documentation arrived, staffers had to retrieve the physical files and add new information. When the state’s requirements for LIHEAP grew stricter while the number of applicants increased, CAASTLC became buried in paper. Another challenge was CAASTLC’s drug and alcohol education program that stored some older files offsite, which cost money to retrieve.

Community Action Agency of St. Louis County (CAASTLC) is a non-profit organization that assists low-income community members via assessment and referral services, serving 44,000 customers each year. CAASTLC runs a community supported agriculture program, a drug and alcohol education program, plus employment development and energy services. One of their key programs is the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, which helps qualified community members pay electricity, heating or gas bills in times of need. LIHEAP and other programs require vigorous record keeping, which was done manually.

CAASTLC implemented DocuWare, a document management system, to digitize and automate their manual processes. This allowed them to register applications within three days of receipt, as required by Missouri law. Document retrieval and automated workflows saved time as staff could scan multiple applications and use barcode separation to route them to the right staff member’s inbox. They no longer had to search for files manually to add new documents. When applicants called, the staff no longer had to look through physical files, but could search in DocuWare. The files previously kept offsite are now stored in DocuWare and can be found instantly without incurring extra fees. When the agency had to shift to telecommuting due to COVID-19, instant access to documents and automated workflow allowed CAASTLC to continue serving community members remotely.

• Improved efficiency in document management and retrieval
• Enabled remote work during COVID-19 pandemic
• Reduced costs associated with offsite storage of files

• Reduced file registration time from 24-48 hours to less than 24 hours