August 31, 2023

In March 2023, People Incorporated received the opportunity to expand our case management services into Saint Louis County. In just a few short months, the program has experienced immense growth, speaking both to the unique needs of the community and the County’s trust in People Incorporated. The team is thrilled to be able to offer case management services to a new demographic and geographic region in the state of Minnesota.

Program Supervisor Jenna Gilbert was a part of the original three employees who started in this program earlier this year. But in just five months, the team has grown to be much larger. On average, the People Incorporated team is gaining between 20-30 additional cases each month, and this pace will continue through June of 2024. The average caseload for one case manager is about 30-35 people, so to keep up, the team intends to onboard one new case manager per month until next summer.

The partnership began when Saint Louis County initiated the process of restructuring how it operates case management, trading most of its in-house roles for contracted assessor roles. People Incorporated was chosen as one of three contracted agencies, and we have been successfully bridging the gap ever since.

“We’ve already gotten a lot of great feedback from the county, and they like how People Incorporated is doing things,” said Gilbert. “Because of the positive feedback, they’re asking us to take more things on.”

At this rate, the small but mighty original team of 3 employees will grow to 10 plus by the end of the calendar year.

People Incorporated, along with the 2 other contracted partners working with the county, have established a collaborative system with open lines of communication to St. Louis County employees. Representatives from all parties attend a weekly coffee hour chat where workers can check in with each other, collaborate, brainstorm, and ask questions. Gilbert has found the County’s processes to be extremely organized, which has allowed People Incorporated to seamlessly integrate its services into this new geographic area.

Gilbert’s team has already built great connections with community providers and the clients in their caseloads. As far as she’s concerned, they’re achieving their goals: since the program started, People Incorporated’s name is a recognized one in this community, and they are successfully building a reputation of recognition and trust.

“The case managers are doing a really good job of representing People Incorporated,” said Gilbert. “They uphold the values of trust and integrity and respect – not only towards the providers we partner with, but towards the clients. They’re sitting down and listening to the people they’re providing services to. We’re just listening; we’re here.”

People Incorporated relies on donations from community members to sustain our growth in the years to come. This growth allows us to extend our impact to new geographic areas like St. Louis County, reaching the individuals who need compassionate support the most. One of the best ways to support People Incorporated’s long-term mission is to commit to a recurring donation; you can do so through the Give page on our website.