Olmsted County receives CarePortal’s 2023 Agency of the Year award
CarePortal has announced Olmsted County as the recipient of its 2023 Agency of the Year award. Olmsted County was nominated by a CarePortal volunteer from a local church in our community and selected as the award recipient out of a group of other nominees across the country.
CarePortal is a software system that helps organizations like Olmsted County connect with local churches and volunteers willing to provide material goods and resources to people we serve (primarily children and families). Common examples of goods donated include beds, furniture, bicycles, and anything that could support child well-being and stability.
All teams in Olmsted County’s Child and Family Services department, as well as other teams in Olmsted County’s Health, Housing, and Human Services division, use the CarePortal system.
Below is an excerpt of the nomination submitted for Olmsted County:
“From day 1, they have been very supportive of the church response teams meeting directly with the families being served and encouraging an on-going relationship with them. The agency workers are very responsive to questions and are always offering to help if assistance with reaching the family is needed. The stories about each family have been respectful and well-written – they touch the hearts of the response team members reading them …
[The agency workers] have been awesome! They are very timely in responding to the delivery teams, and very respectful. They clearly love the families they serve, and they show us how much they trust us to help – by demonstrating kindness and the willingness to share pertinent information. They are also very generous with their thankfulness – often writing thoughtful words of thanks to the responders.”
According to the CarePortal website, as of May 2, 2024, Olmsted County’s statistics were as follows:
- Total children served: 1,219
- Total number of individual children that professionals, local churches, and community partners have served since CarePortal launched in Olmsted County).
- Total economic impact: $320,074
- This dollar amount incorporates the total volunteer hours and tangible resources provided through CarePortal to meet the critical needs of kids and families in Olmsted County, as well as the avoided public spending cost for foster care services and interventions.
- Total response teams: 13
- This is the total number of teams, each made up of several volunteers from either a local church, company, or community group, that have been activated to respond to needs on CarePortal in Olmsted County.
The CarePortal 2023 Agency of the Year award will be presented to Olmsted County at the Olmsted County Board of Commissioners meeting this morning.