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- Statewide Intake
Statewide Intake
The Statewide Intake (SWI) division is the “front door to the front line” for all DFPS programs. It's Statewide Intake’s job is to assess all reports of abuse, neglect, or exploitation and route them to the right local office.
That’s why Statewide Intake is the program that never sleeps – operating “around-the-clock” every single day of the year, including nights and holidays.
Statewide Intake (SWI) division responsibilities includes receiving reports for:
•Child abuse and neglect.
•Abuse, neglect, self-neglect, and exploitation of the elderly or adults with disabilities living at home.
•Abuse of children in child-care facilities or treatment centers
•Abuse of adults and children who live in state facilities or are being helped by programs for people with mental illness or intellectual disabilities. These are run by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) or Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS).
That’s why Statewide Intake is the program that never sleeps – operating “around-the-clock” every single day of the year, including nights and holidays.
Statewide Intake (SWI) division responsibilities includes receiving reports for:
•Child abuse and neglect.
•Abuse, neglect, self-neglect, and exploitation of the elderly or adults with disabilities living at home.
•Abuse of children in child-care facilities or treatment centers
•Abuse of adults and children who live in state facilities or are being helped by programs for people with mental illness or intellectual disabilities. These are run by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) or Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS).
Purpose
Statewide Intake (SWI) is the Texas Abuse Hotline for the entire state of Texas. SWI operates 24/7/365 assessing all reports of abuse, neglect, or exploitation. SWI routes intakes to DFPS local offices and provides other information and referrals as appropriate.
Vision
To be the world’s model for safeguarding the vulnerable by providing quality protective contact center services.
Mission
Providing professional and compassionate assessment of abuse, neglect and exploitation 24 hours a day, every day.
Additional Culture Details
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) Statewide Intake (SWI) operates the Texas Abuse Hotline, which is the largest, most comprehensive, abuse hotline system in the world. SWI accepts calls and online contacts from anyone needing to report abuse, neglect, or exploitation of children, the elderly, or adults with disabilities anywhere in Texas. SWI operates 24 hours a day every day of the year.
Texas Legislative Budget Board (LBB) sets strict performance measures for SWI. One standard is that SWI must maintain an annual average hold time of 8.5 minutes or less on the English queue. In fiscal year 2019, SWI assessed 768,004 contacts (more than 2,100 per day), while achieving an average hold of 7.8 minutes. That was a 34% improvement over the previous year.
SWI strives to be as efficient as possible, while supporting its staff. SWI has two satellite offices (El Paso and Texarkana) and secure telework accounts for about 50% of all work performed. This provides better continuity of operations and gives staff flexibility and savings from not commuting to headquarters. Plus, it reduces traffic congestion and pollution in the Austin, TX area. SWI also has programs to help staff deal with secondary trauma. There are wellness programs, debriefing sessions, therapy dogs, free food events, yoga, low-cost massage, giveaways, and other activities which support SWI staff. There is a true sense of family at SWI, which contributes to a comparatively low employee turnover rate. Through May of FY 19, SWI turnover was only 14.9% compared to 18.6% for DFPS as a whole. Typical contact center turnover runs 20-40%. SWI employees are very dedicated to the cause, and it shows in the hard work they do every day.
In closing, the work done by SWI staff is invaluable to the state of Texas. The staff at SWI exemplify the mission and vision of DFPS and are a beacon of hope to the many citizens and clients they assist on a daily basis. SWI workers deserve to be recognized for the hard work they do every day because they truly protect the unprotected each and every day.
Texas Legislative Budget Board (LBB) sets strict performance measures for SWI. One standard is that SWI must maintain an annual average hold time of 8.5 minutes or less on the English queue. In fiscal year 2019, SWI assessed 768,004 contacts (more than 2,100 per day), while achieving an average hold of 7.8 minutes. That was a 34% improvement over the previous year.
SWI strives to be as efficient as possible, while supporting its staff. SWI has two satellite offices (El Paso and Texarkana) and secure telework accounts for about 50% of all work performed. This provides better continuity of operations and gives staff flexibility and savings from not commuting to headquarters. Plus, it reduces traffic congestion and pollution in the Austin, TX area. SWI also has programs to help staff deal with secondary trauma. There are wellness programs, debriefing sessions, therapy dogs, free food events, yoga, low-cost massage, giveaways, and other activities which support SWI staff. There is a true sense of family at SWI, which contributes to a comparatively low employee turnover rate. Through May of FY 19, SWI turnover was only 14.9% compared to 18.6% for DFPS as a whole. Typical contact center turnover runs 20-40%. SWI employees are very dedicated to the cause, and it shows in the hard work they do every day.
In closing, the work done by SWI staff is invaluable to the state of Texas. The staff at SWI exemplify the mission and vision of DFPS and are a beacon of hope to the many citizens and clients they assist on a daily basis. SWI workers deserve to be recognized for the hard work they do every day because they truly protect the unprotected each and every day.