Jefferson County CYF, the division of Children, Youth and Families, an around-the-clock investigator of child abuse and neglect allegations, reportedly estimated it will save more than $100,000 annually using TeleNav Track, a cell phone-based GPS navigation and tracking service.

In 2008, the organization responded to more than 6,000 calls of concern. Its social workers travel throughout Colorado, and appreciate the TeleNav (News - Alert) Track's turn-by-turn GPS directions -- and being able to save the location for future visits.

Since implementing TeleNav Track and accessing the information directly on their mobile phones, Jefferson County CYF estimates that each caseworker is saving an average of one hour per week.

Prior to implementing TeleNav Track, Jefferson County's caseworkers would depend on calling local police within their jurisdiction to come to a location when a situation escalated. However, employees would often call for police support too late. The organization determined it needed a safety system put into place that would be appropriate and effective for situations a caseworker might face.

Jefferson County CYF officials said the system lets supervisors track the location of caseworkers, how long they were on each site, and their last location should the caseworker lose contact for an extended period of time. Caseworkers can easily report a problem by pressing designated "hot keys," generating emails that are issued to a pre-determined group alerting management that the employee is in trouble or in an uncomfortable situation.