Baltimore Community Action Partnership Case Study

The Challenge

Baltimore's five Community Action Partnership (CAP) centers served 30,000+ low-income households annually with water assistance, energy assistance, and eviction prevention programs. But operations were entirely paper-based—applications filed manually, documents stored in physical filing cabinets, processes prone to errors and fraud.

When COVID-19 hit in March 2020, the centers faced an impossible situation: distribute $100M in federal emergency relief while unable to meet with residents in person. The city had just 8 weeks to build contactless distribution infrastructure or risk losing federal funding.

Key Challenges

Paper-based operations across 5 locations
Manual application processing creating delays and errors
Physical filing cabinets with 30,000+ resident files
COVID-19 requiring contactless operations
$100M in federal relief requiring rapid distribution
Strict federal compliance and reporting requirements
8-week deadline to deploy contactless system

The Solution

As Director of Technology & Innovation, I led the end-to-end digital transformation of the CAP centers. The project happened in two phases: emergency COVID response (8 weeks) and full digital transformation (18 months).

Phase 1: Emergency Response (8 weeks)

Designed and deployed contactless distribution system
Built online portals for water discount, energy assistance, and eviction prevention programs
Created virtual queueing system replacing in-person waiting
Implemented electronic document management
Enabled remote case worker operations
Established federal reporting infrastructure

Phase 2: Full Transformation (18 months)

Digitized all 5 CAP centers end-to-end
Created fully paperless workflows
Stored 90,000+ resident files electronically
Built comprehensive case management system
Implemented KPI dashboards for leadership visibility
Trained staff on new digital workflows
Established data governance and compliance frameworks

The Results

Immediate Impact (COVID Response)

Deployed contactless system in 8 weeks, meeting federal deadline
Distributed $100M in federal relief without losing any funding
Enabled 30,000+ households to receive assistance safely during lockdown
Zero interruption to essential services during crisis

Long-Term Impact

5 CAP centers operating fully paperless
90,000+ resident files digitized and securely stored
30,000+ households served annually through digital systems
Errors and fraud reduced significantly through automation
Productivity increased—case workers processing more applications
Leadership visibility through real-time KPI dashboards
Federal compliance simplified through automated reporting

Recognition

"A cardinal employee who transformed Baltimore's digital service delivery infrastructure."

"One of the leaders charged with making Baltimore the most innovative city in the United States."

— Executive Director, Mayor's Office of Children & Family Success

Key Takeaways

Crisis Requires Proven Frameworks

When you have 8 weeks to deploy, you can't experiment. We used proven approaches to deliver under pressure.

Change Management is Critical

Technology alone doesn't transform operations. Staff training and change management are equally important.

Build for Compliance First

Federal reporting requirements must be built in from day one, not bolted on later.

Quick Wins Build Trust

Delivering fast results during the crisis built the trust needed for long-term transformation.

Baltimore Community Action Partnership