OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Binti, the software company dedicated to partnering with state and county child welfare agencies to help every child have a safe and loving family, announced today that the state of New Mexico launched Binti this week to transform its foster and adoptive family matching and approvals system. In a historic partnership, New Mexico will be adopting the Binti software along with nearby tribal nations for use in their independent child welfare systems. New Mexico and neighboring tribes, like much of the country, experience a shortage of foster and adoptive families. The software simplifies the application process by enabling potential foster and adoptive families to apply online, and helps streamline the family approval and matching workflow for social workers.
New Mexico has the second highest Native American population per capita of any state. While the state and each tribal nation operate independent child welfare systems, they are aligned in their goals of using software to support the families and youth they each serve. By adopting Binti, the state of New Mexico and the tribes will benefit from the same powerful technology that has already expedited the approvals of more than 18,000 foster and adoptive families across 15 states. Binti will help New Mexico and the tribes comply with the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), which ensures that every effort is made to keep tribal youth in their community of origin.
“Binti will help us modernize the process to become a foster/adoptive family, which will help us recruit more families and better support youth in New Mexico,” said Brian Blalock, Cabinet Secretary for Children, Youth & Families Department in New Mexico. “We are thrilled that Binti is willing to build a system for all New Mexicans, including tribes who want to be a part of the project. Binti will also save our staff time on administrative paperwork meaning they will get to spend more time with youth and families.”
Since launching in 2017, Binti has been employed by more than 100 child welfare agencies, increasing the number of foster and adoptive families while decreasing the average time for approval. On average, agencies using Binti approve 80% more families per year compared to before by making the process so much easier for families and social workers. With Binti’s modern and mobile-ready software, agencies also estimate a time savings of 20 to 40 percent of social worker time which can be reallocated to their work with children and families. By adopting Binti, New Mexico’s state and tribal child welfare agencies will be able to reduce the shortage of foster and adoptive parents and aid social workers in their efforts to increase family permanency for children.
“It’s an honor to partner with New Mexico and neighboring tribal nations to help recruit more foster and adoptive families for youth,” said Felicia Curcuru, Co-founder and CEO of Binti. “We’re really excited to have launched this week and looking forward to the road ahead using technology to improve outcomes for youth in New Mexico.”
About Binti
Binti is a mission-driven software company designed to revolutionize the child welfare system by providing modern tools to empower social workers in their effort to help every child have a safe and loving family. Binti is used by more than 100 child welfare agencies to increase family permanency for children by streamlining the adoption and foster care process, freeing social workers to focus on children and families in need instead of paperwork. Learn more at www.binti.com.
