debrasol
commented
8 years ago I think some public agencies and nonprofit organizations may have concerns about filling in PDF's through an online form because they are dealing with sensitive personal data (including social security numbers but also including information about whether someone is in the foster care system, or whether clients are eligible for public benefits like SNAP or TANF). In some cases, social service agencies are faxing that information and have actually been told by privacy officers that faxing is preferred over emailing because of concerns over email security. But it is also common to hear about fax machines that are left unattended and cases where personal information is left sitting on a fax machine. For agencies that are concerned about employees entering information via web forms, it could be important to explain how this tool maintains security of client information (through not storing that information).
Paper forms are still very common for government agencies and nonprofit organizations that are providing social services. I have seen instances where social workers are filling out paper forms by hand or filling in Word documents and then faxing documents to nonprofit organizations in order to refer clients for services. If the social worker were able to quickly fill in an online form, they might be able to provide information quicker and link clients to services faster.