Raptor Technology and JDP Transform Volunteer Background Checks for Houston ISD

In this case study, we’ll review the challenges the district faced—and how Raptor worked with their team to overcome them.

“The automation of the process reduced staff workload and improved productivity by allowing the team to focus on individuals who require attention, rather than processing already cleared volunteers. The integration between JDP and Raptor enables the department to focus on individuals with criminal records, ensuring that only eligible volunteers are cleared to be on campus.”

Christal Perez, Background Fingerprinting Tech at Houston ISD

The Challenge

Overwhelming Workload and Slow Processes

The process of clearing background checks for volunteers was manual, slow, and labor-intensive. It took up to three weeks to clear a volunteer, with the department handling frequent calls from volunteers inquiring about their clearance status. With nearly 42,000 active volunteers, this not only delayed volunteer onboarding but also placed a heavy workload on the department’s 4-person staff.

Lack of Insight into Department Workload

The department lacked the ability to effectively report on and analyze its workload. This made it difficult to provide upper management with data on the department’s efficiency and the volume of work being processed. Without insights into the department’s operations, making informed decisions and improvements was challenging.

How the Raptor and JDP Integration Helped

Streamlined and Automated Background Checks

The integration of Raptor and JDP greatly improved the volunteer clearance process’s efficiency. Automating background checks to verify a volunteer met state requirements significantly reduced the time to get volunteers through the process. This allowed the department to swiftly focus on individuals with hits on their criminal records, speeding up decision-making on volunteer clearances. Automating the application and review process with leading technology removes countless hours of tedious work.

And, because Raptor Volunteer Management also instantly screens each applicant against the sex offender registry in all 50 U.S. states and territories and custom databases, they can rest assured knowing their volunteers meet state requirements and district protocols for safe individuals working in Houston ISD schools.

Enhanced Reporting Capabilities

The ability to pull reports from Raptor provided the department with valuable data that could be shared with upper management, showcasing the volume of work and the efficiency improvements gained through the integration. These insights were instrumental in highlighting the department’s achievements and areas for further optimization.

The Results

Reduced Clearance Time

The integration cut the volunteer background check process from up to three weeks and manual review process to an automatic procedure, saving time and effort.
The turnaround time for completion of background checks ranges:

Level 1 background screenings take an average of 8 hours.
Level 2 background screenings take an average of 12 hours.
Level 3 background screenings take an average of 30 hours.

Decreased Inquiries

There was a noticeable decrease in phone calls from volunteers regarding the clearance process, indicating clearer communication and expectations.

Efficiency in Handling Cases with Hits

The team can now quickly focus on individuals who require further review, improving the speed and accuracy of clearance decisions.

Valuable Data for Management

The ability to generate reports provided insights into the department’s workload and the impact of the integration, supporting data-driven management decisions.

Houston ISD Usage of Raptor Volunteer Management

Total number of active volunteers: 41,937
Total number of individual volunteers who have signed in at least once: 16,545
Total number of denied volunteer applications this school year: 1,070
Total number of volunteer sign-ins this year: 47,072
Total number of volunteer sign-ins since 2007: 117,745

Houston Independent School District serves 193,727 students across 280 buildings. They implemented Raptor Volunteer Management in 2007 and added the JDP integration in August 2020 .

Overwhelming Workload and Slow Processes
Lack of Insight into Department Workload

Raptor Volunteer Management

Streamlined and Automated Background Checks Accelerating the Clearance Process
Enhanced Reporting Capabilities Allowed for Focusing on Workload Efficiencies