We Gave Our Outreach Workers Tablets. Here's What Happened.

The Clipboard Era Is Over

Look, I was skeptical. Our outreach workers had been using paper forms for 15 years. They knew every crease in those intake sheets. But our ED came back from a conference with stars in her eyes, talking about "mobile-first case management," and suddenly we were testing tablets.

The first week was rough. Marcus, our most experienced outreach worker, nearly threw his iPad into the Trinity River. "This thing keeps logging me out," he said. "By the time I get back in, the person I'm trying to help has walked away."

Then Something Clicked

Around week three, our newer staff started showing the veterans shortcuts. Swipe here, tap there, voice-to-text for notes. And then Marcus had his moment.

He encountered a woman he'd seen months earlier—couldn't remember her name, but remembered she'd been resistant to shelter. Pulled up her record in seconds. Saw that she'd since connected with our partner agency for mental health services. Used that as a conversation starter.

"She's in housing now," Marcus told me last month. "I don't know if that happens without the tablet."

What Actually Changed

Our numbers tell part of the story:

• Intake time dropped from 12 minutes to about 6
• Duplicate records fell by 40%
• Referral follow-through jumped—hard to say exactly how much, but noticeably

But the real change was harder to measure. Our team started thinking of themselves as part of something bigger. When you can see that another agency already tried housing this person twice, you approach the conversation differently.

What I'd Do Differently

We should have involved frontline staff from day one. We had IT and leadership pick the platform, then trained everyone after. Backwards. Marcus and his team know what they need in the field—we should have asked them first.

Also: battery packs. Buy more than you think you need.