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Every child deserves a safe and loving home, and we’re committed to leveraging modern technology and AI to help social workers make that a reality,” says Felicia Curcuru, co-founder and CEO of Binti. As the first workflow software in child welfare, Binti empowers social worker’s daily workflows, saving them time and driving outcomes for children and families. Today, Binti partners with over 550 agencies across 36 states – including 12 statewide systems – serving 46 percent of children in care nationwide. At the heart of Binti lies the personal journey of its co-founder and CEO, Felicia Curcuru. She witnessed the emotional toll of the adoption process firsthand when her sister adopted two children. During that time, Curcuru was also volunteering as a court-appointed special advocate for foster youth and witnessed the nine-year-old she was working with being placed in a group home due to the shortage of foster families. “I wanted to start a company and I made a list of the problems I cared most about. Child welfare was at the top of that list, so I decided to do something about it,” says Curcuru. The gap between children in need and available families highlights urgent challenges within the system. Over 400,000 U.S. children are in foster care, 50 percent of which will be homeless and 50 percent of which will enter the criminal justice system by age 17. In addition, the majority of sexually trafficked youth have experienced foster care. Determined to address this gap, Curcuru spent months shadowing frontline teams and witnessed social workers hampered by overwhelming paperwork and outdated systems. Using Technology to License More Foster Families More Quickly Binti began by helping prospective foster and adoptive parents apply online, while supporting social workers in licensing those families. Agencies see immediate impact, with social workers using Binti spending 20–40 percent less time on administrative tasks. On average, agencies see a significant increase in the number of families licensed per year and a reduction in the time to license families. For example, Rhode Island saw a 75 percent reduction in time to approve families after implementing Binti, and since 2022, DePelchin Children’s Center has leveraged Binti to reduce the average time to license foster caregiver applicants by 48 percent, adapting to evolving post-COVID challenges. Between 2023 and 2024, DePelchin also licensed 65 percent more foster families by streamlining processes and strengthening recruitment strategies.
Federal contractors are investing in AI to gain speed, scalability, and operational efficiency. However, most tools provide surface-level assistance and fall short of addressing the complexity of federal proposal work. They offer general-purpose capabilities, rely on step-by-step instructions, and require constant human oversight. For federal teams navigating complex solicitations, compressed timelines, and cross-functional coordination, this kind of intermittent support fails to drive meaningful impact. Vultron is changing that. Rather than serving as another AI assistant wrapped around a general-purpose model, Vultron acts as a specialized co-worker that automates complete workflows with proprietary models trained on licensed proposal data and federal-specific knowledge. It understands complex solicitation requirements and is built specifically for federal pursuit workflows, covering opportunity search, opportunity assessment, capabilities matrices, compliance matrices, proposal templates, pink team drafts, proposal reviews, compliance checks, and more. The platform integrates with tools federal teams already use, including Microsoft Word and SharePoint. Vultron customers are compressing proposal timelines from weeks to days, getting to an initial pink team draft 92% faster, and seeing a 2–3x increase in submitted proposals. Some teams are saving 20 hours per user per week. “Our platform is designed to evolve alongside our customers,”says Mac Liu, Founder and CEO of Vultron. “It understands each organization’s data, learns how they operate, adapts to their workflow, and automates up to 70% of the proposal process while improving overall quality.” One federal contractor aimed to triple their annual proposal volume from 80 to more than 270 submissions. Instead of scaling their team, they turned to Vultron. The platform was up and running in a day, and within weeks, employees were saving 10–20 hours per week. Proposal throughput doubled, with impact seen immediately and no steep learning curve. Behind that level of impact is the operational depth of the team that built it. Vultron was created by a team that scaled a defense contractor from startup to $200M+in revenue in under three years. They brought that hard-won experience to bear and designed Vultron to reflect the real pressures of proposal work: tight deadlines and must-win pursuits.
Alex Hempton, Acting Director & Chief Innovation Officer, Performance & Analytics Department (PandA), The City of San Diego
James Grimsley, Executive Director, Advanced Technology Initiatives, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; and Karen DiMeo, CEO, AERODiMEO
Eric Hayden, Director of Technology and Innovation and CIO, City of Tampa
Craig Poley, Chief Information Officer, City of Arvada
Emily Martuscello, Director of Emergency Management in Nashua, City of Nashua, New Hampshire
Dan Coldiron, CIO, City of Loveland
Kevin Wilkins, Chief Information Officer, City Of Fort Collins
Child welfare services are overhauled by specialized software, which enhances case management, supports families, and improves outcomes through centralized data and collaboration.
AI is transforming federal procurement by enhancing proposal accuracy, compliance, and clarity, reshaping standards and expectations in government contracting and fostering a more efficient acquisition process.
Empowering Public Service through Smarter Technology
Governments today are navigating a fundamental shift in how they serve the public. Technology is no longer just a support tool; it has become central to driving trust, transparency, and efficiency across agencies. From human services to procurement, CIOs are expected to lead with innovation while staying grounded in mission delivery. In this edition, we explore how digital tools are helping governments work smarter and more responsively. Two areas that illustrate this transformation are child welfare and federal proposal development. While different in purpose, both are being redefined by technology that reduces friction and enhances decision-making. In child welfare, the demands on frontline workers are immense. Legacy systems often slow them down, taking time away from families and loved ones. Companies like Northwoods, led by CEO Paul Joiner, are changing that by delivering software solutions designed specifically for human services. These platforms help streamline documentation, improve collaboration, and bring vital context to every case. Meanwhile, the landscape of government contracting continues to evolve. Agencies and vendors alike face pressure to respond quickly and accurately to increasingly complex federal solicitations. Proposa.ai, under the leadership of CEO Kevin Wilkins, is helping organizations meet that challenge with AI-driven proposal tools that automate repetitive tasks, ensure compliance, and support smarter strategy in less time. The common thread in these examples is not just better software. It is a deeper focus on empowering the people behind the services—those making decisions, supporting communities, and keeping systems running. Technology is not replacing the human element; it is reinforcing it with speed, clarity, and purpose. As you read this issue, we hope you discover ideas that reflect the future of public service: one where innovation serves people and impact is measured in trust.
