Jon Swatsburg explains how this youth services organization is improving quality by taking things one step at a time.

With 26 locations across seven states, what differentiates Pennsylvania-based Abraxas Youth & Family Services from others in the industry is the variety of treatment programs for troubled kids and the division’s steadfast commitment to customer service. However, with such scale comes great responsibility, and since his appointment as senior vice president two years ago, Jon Swatsburg has focused on maintaining a high level of quality while not forgetting the most important piece of the puzzle: the youth the company serves.

Jon Swatsburg

Process evaluation
In January 2007, Cornell Companies made the decision to re-brand its treatment division as Abraxas Youth & Family Services. Since then, the Abraxas division has been evaluating its operational processes, encouraging the entire team of 2,800 employees to focus on improved customer service to their referral agencies.

“Along with providing quality treatment to the youth in our care, we also want to have streamlined processes for the agencies we work with,” he said. “If a youth is in court and needs placement, we want our process to be simple so the child can be removed from detention and quickly placed into a treatment program.”

Part of that improvement involves the company’s proprietary, real-time incident reporting system. Developed, designed, and built from the ground up by the company’s IT department, the system allows on-site employees to type an incident report into the computer system and send instant notification to staff and senior leadership. The incidents are categorized on a scale of one to four, with four being the most serious. Not only does this notification system improve internal communication, but it also allows Abraxas to be informed and timely in responses to its customers.

“As soon as an employee hits complete, the computer sends out an e-mail notification,” Swatsburg said. “I receive every notification of all category three and four incidents that occur.”

The system also gives upper management the ability to process the data in a number of ways. Abraxas has an online dashboard Swatsburg and his team can access to compare the rate and severity of incidents between facilities, allowing them to stay on top of trends that might be forming in certain facilities. The company is also evaluating its medical process as a way to streamline any facility variations.

“We look for best practices and strive to implement those across the company,” he said. “By implementing the computerized incident reporting and medical projects, we’re conducting in-depth evaluations of our current practices and identifying what to improve.”

Abraxas also has a customer service and admissions team, whose specific job is to meet customer needs. “Referral agencies are broken up into territories, so if they have issues, they know who to call,” Swatsburg said of the probation officers, judges, and social workers that make up Abraxas’ customer base.

Most of Abraxas’ 26 sites have multiple treatment services such as behavioral health, mental health, sex offending, fire starting, detention, and shelter care. Many customers refer youth to multiple programs at any given facility. Rather than making those customers contact numerous program staff, the customer service and admissions liaisons act as the primary point of contact.

“That department gives us a bit of an advantage,” Swatsburg said. “We have people with their ear on the ground to identify what customer demands are and how we can act on them. If a customer is unhappy, we can quickly resolve the issue.”

Maximizing assets
Abraxas Academy, which has recently reopened, is a state-of-the-art secure facility for youth with severe behavioral issues. The program has prevented these youth from having to leave the state for specialized treatment.

In the past eight months, Abraxas Academy has accepted 27 youth, although it can hold more than 200. “I’m filling the facility at a slower pace this time around,” Swatsburg explained, “ensuring we have the right team on the ground and are in constant communication with our licensing agency.” Although this slower approach has put Swatsburg in some difficult positions because he had to say no to customers, he believes his actions are responsible.

For the future, Abraxas recently opened its Colorado Southern Peaks facility and is in the process of reactivating a facility in San Antonio, Texas. Swatsburg is also working closely with Mary Deaton, his research and development director, doing state-by-state research, and identifying what markets will fit into the Abraxas model. “While I expect the company size to double in the next five years, most of our growth will be organic and at a healthy pace that will benefit both our employees and the youth we serve,” Swatsburg concluded.