The CARE/Vimes Update

Hey everyone!

If you’re on this list, you’ve come across Saul, Kevin, or Estella, at some point over the past year or two. We would love to share some updates with you about our new initiative to save children’s lives.

We’re thrilled to let you know that CARE (child at risk evaluation) officially launched on June 11th in Albany, Georgia. CARE is a public health intervention used by law enforcement to stop children from dying from preventable causes, while also managing children’s exposure to trauma.

CARE has been implemented using Vimes, a software tool that improves the way frontline professionals communicate with one another about children who are most at-risk. CARE & Vimes have launched with the Albany Police Department, Georgia, with 140 police officers, the entire county’s Child Protective Services (CPS), the local school district, and relevant nonprofits.

By the end of the first day we went live, we had proven efficacy. A two-year-old child was rushed to a hospital and found with significant levels of substance use in their system and, unfortunately, their information was sent to the wrong county. Fortunately, due to Vimes, the case was picked up almost immediately by local agencies and an ad hoc multidisciplinary meeting occurred within a day. This child would have otherwise fallen through the cracks, but due to this new system they will receive the attention they deserve.

Many of you have provided extremely helpful advice, which we are thankful for. We would like to keep you informed of our progress. Frankly, we know we’re tackling an extremely challenging issue and that we will fail many times going forward. But we hope to continue to receive your advice as we seek to improve, as this work is too important to give up on.

Please reach out for more information, to chat, or let us know if there’s anyone whose mission aligns with ours. If you would like to be taken off this chain, please let us know and we will oblige.

If you think of anyone who may be interested in our initiative, please don’t hesitate to forward this email. Enter your address here to be added to this chain.

Kind regards, Saul Glick, Estella Zhou, and Kevin Zhu The Vimes team