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Mastering Complexity, Maximizing Impact
How Capabilities Streamlined Service Delivery Across 66 Counties & Increased Billability by 10% with SETWorks
About Capabilities
Capabilities is the largest private provider of vocational rehabilitation services in Ohio. Since 1997, this family-run organization has helped people with disabilities gain independence through personalized employment, driving services, and community-based support.
Services: Community Services, Day Programs, Employment Services
Company Size: 200 staff
Participants: 5,000 individuals
Location: Ohio
“SETWorks allows you to focus on the service rather than worrying about whether your forms and formulas work. I think every provider in Ohio could benefit from that.”
Katie Blumhorst, CESP // CEO, Capabilities
Challenges
Managing complexity across 66 counties
As a vocational rehabilitation provider serving 66 of the 88 counties in Ohio, Capabilities is no stranger to the complexity of operating within such a dynamic state.
Ohio is deeply invested in disability services, which means providers are held to a high standard — especially around documentation and reporting.
“The good part is our state is very active in disability services, and there are many departments involved,” explains Capabilities CEO Katie Blumhorst. “But those departments are also very demanding, because they know they’re paying a premium for services. The complexity of what they ask for, and the format they want it in, can be a lot.”
Over time, Capabilities’ Excel spreadsheets simply couldn’t keep up with the volume and variety of information required across programs and counties.
The team lacked visibility into what was happening across the organization, making it difficult to track basic information like authorizations and service data.
This lack of visibility didn’t just hinder day-to-day operations — it also limited Capabilities’ growth. Managing a caseload that spanned urban and rural counties, each with their own expectations and systems, was pushing their tools and team to the limit.
“There’s a big difference between how counselors are managed in Toledo versus Cincinnati,” Katie explains. “Each of the 88 counties in Ohio has its own funding sources and requirements, and whenever we picked up a new county, our tools couldn’t keep up.”
Capabilities’ first attempt to modernize their spreadsheets with a new software system didn’t pan out.
“We like to change. But when an idea would come up, we weren’t ever able to make the program work the way we wanted it to,” says Katie.
Katie and her team wanted a system that gave them more control and flexibility — one that felt like a true partnership, not a one-size-fits-all solution.
“It was important to find a software provider who would listen to us,” says Katie. “We wanted somebody who would partner with us to implement the product, not just say, ‘Here’s the box, you guys set it up and then let us know what questions you have.’ That was a lot of the conversations we had with other providers we interviewed before SETWorks.”
At one point, Capabilities even considered building their own system. They interviewed developers, created a budget, and explored interest from other Ohio providers — but time was not on their side.
“The database system that we were using was scheduled for an upgrade the following year that would make how we used it completely nonfunctional,” Katie explains. “We only had a year to export our data or it would be lost, and we were afraid we weren’t going to be able to get it done in time.”
With the clock ticking on their legacy system, Katie and her team knew they had to act fast to find a platform that could fit their unique needs. That’s where SETWorks came in.
Solution
A flexible, scalable system — and support from a dedicated partner
What stood out most about SETWorks wasn’t just its functionality, but the team’s willingness to dig in and problem-solve.
“We felt like SETWorks was truly committed.” says Katie. “Any problem that we had was going to have a solution, and we could call anybody and talk about that — from [SETWorks CEO] David down the line.”
That partnership proved especially important as they navigated the intricacies of Ohio’s requirements. SETWorks didn’t shy away from the challenges, working side-by-side with Capabilities to figure out how to import authorizations and tailor exports for different counties and payers.
It’s the same approach SETWorks takes in every state: working with providers and payers to ensure compliance while making improvements that benefit everyone.
“Simple things like how the authorizations come in from each county are different,” says Katie. “We needed to be able to import information however it was to us and then export the results in the right format for each county.”
Part of what makes SETWorks such an effective solution for Capabilities is that it can handle the complexity of diverse county requirements while still being simple and intuitive for their staff to use.
SETWorks also provides much needed visibility into what’s happening in the field — something that’s vital for a large, dispersed provider like Capabilities. With it, they have real-time access to everything from staff timesheets to activity records.
“SETWorks gives us access to live data at all times,” says Katie. “If somebody is in the field, we can see exactly what they’re putting in and how the appointment is going.”
Visibility and control were especially important to Katie when it came to payroll. “As a family business, we’ve always been dead set on doing our own payroll — right down to writing checks by hand in the early days,” explains Katie. “If there’s ever a problem with payroll, we don’t want our staff to have to go anywhere else.”
SETWorks worked with Capabilities to ensure data flowed seamlessly from their service documentation into Quickbooks, giving the team better oversight and reducing errors.
Data also flows seamlessly into SETWorks reports, giving leadership the insights they need.
“Before SETWorks, we had outgrown every system we had ever put in place to track things like authorizations and number of people served,” says Katie. “It got to the point where we’d just throw our hands up and say, ‘We’ll figure out the stats later — let’s just do the work.’ Now, I rely on SETWorks reports.”
Results
Less admin work, more time for what matters
With the right tools and a trusted partner in place, Capabilities began seeing results almost immediately.
Having access to live information has been a game changer. Katie and her team can instantly view authorizations, appointments, incident/event forms, and case notes from anywhere — whether they’re responding to a schedule change or supporting a staff member in a different region.
“If someone calls and says, ‘My driving instructor canceled on me yesterday,’ we’re able to look back at the notes and know exactly where the person is in the process without having to track that driving instructor down and find out what they know,” says Katie. “Even if you’re not in that area, you can quickly look up a case and get an idea of what’s happening.”
That visibility has also made a difference for frontline staff.
“It took away a lot of the administrative burden from their positions,” Katie says. “They don’t have to worry about creating the wrong Excel form. They can just see where all their cases are, what authorizations are coming, and what’s coming up next.”
With less time spent on paperwork and more time on direct services, Capabilities saw a measurable improvement in billability.
Back-office efficiency improved just as dramatically. Payroll, which used to take several days, can now be completed in a couple of hours.
“Prior to SETWorks, we had two and a half people doing payroll. Every time we hired someone new, their jobs got harder,” says Katie. “With SETWorks, they went from having way too much work to wondering if they had enough to do.”
The billing process, which previously required three full-time staff, saw a similar transformation. Today, just two staff manage billing — and it accounts for only a small portion of their roles.
Meanwhile, Capabilities’ caseload facilitators have also experienced a shift. Instead of spending their time reading reports, proofreading service documentation, and formatting everything for billing, they’re now active partners in service delivery.
“They take pride in the fact that they help facilitate services, not just double-check people’s work and clean up periods and capitalization,” says Katie.
Most importantly, SETWorks has enabled Capabilities to grow confidently and strategically. Opening new offices, once a major logistical challenge, is now refreshingly simple.
Looking ahead, Katie is excited to tap into SETWorks’ expertise and tools, including new SETWorks AI features.
“We know AI is coming to disability services, and even though we can’t use it yet in Ohio, I’m excited that SETWorks is already ahead of the game on that,” she says. “There’s so much potential for it to improve the services that people receive.”
Having compared SETWorks to other systems firsthand, Katie is grateful to have finally found the perfect partner to save them time and support their mission.
“We didn’t expect to see such a tangible increase in persons served,” says Katie. “Using SETWorks has allowed us to create new positions, add more services, and take some more risks with different services that we didn’t think that we were going to be able to provide. ”
Master the complexity, maximize your organization’s impact.
SETWorks helps organizations across the country like Capabilities to streamline service delivery, reduce administrative burden, and improve billability — so they can spend more time with the individuals they serve.
Let us show you how SETWorks can bring clarity and efficiency to every part of your organization, contact us today to learn more!
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