Who Is Lark Enterprises?
For over six decades, Lark Enterprises Inc. has been a beacon of hope and opportunity for adults with disabilities. Their mission is straightforward but profound: help individuals with cognitive, developmental, social, behavioral, and mental health challenges achieve greater self-reliance. Through community engagement, skills development, and employment support, Lark doesn’t just provide services, they change lives.
But behind every great mission is an operational backbone that either supports it or holds it back. For Lark, that backbone needed serious reinforcement.
The Problem: A Game of Telephone
Before partnering with Vertex Systems, Lark’s team described managing their day-to-day operations as playing a never-ending game of Telephone. Data was being manually recorded and re-entered three or four times across disconnected systems, with no guarantee the numbers would ever match up. Case notes lived in different places. Client records were scattered across multiple books. Critical information simply wasn’t reaching the people who needed it.
For an organization whose work depends on coordinated, compassionate care, this wasn’t just an inconvenience, it was a barrier to serving clients well.
As CEO Susan Lautenbacher, Ph.D. put it: “Before Vertex, everything was a headache. I had my paper, my team had their papers, but they never got to see my paper, and I never got to see theirs. There was no continuity of care.”
The challenges were clear:
- No reliable way to track client hours and wages
- Case notes siloed across departments
- Technology that couldn’t keep pace with operational demands
- Data loss due to outdated paper-based processes
- Poor communication across the organization
Finding the Right Partner
Lark knew they needed a digital solution, but finding the right one wasn’t easy. Their team skewed toward an older demographic, so any new technology had to be approachable and easy to implement without triggering anxiety around cybersecurity. When they began reaching out to vendors, many responded with dismissive, one-size-fits-all pitches that made Lark feel like an afterthought rather than a valued customer.
That experience sharpened their criteria. They narrowed their search to organizations that shared their values, dignified, responsive, and genuinely invested in their success. When multiple companies presented their solutions, none could match what Vertex Systems brought to the table.
20 Years of Growing Together
Lark’s relationship with Vertex didn’t start with a massive overhaul. About 20 years ago, they adopted Vertex’s Case Manager as their first step, a targeted solution to bring client data management into the digital age. It worked, and it stuck.
As Lark grew and technology evolved, so did their ambitions. About seven years ago, under the leadership of new CEO Susan Lautenbacher and Senior Director of Support Services Wendy McCutcheon, Lark began exploring how Vertex could do even more for them. When they discovered that Vertex had transitioned to a Windows-based environment, the pieces clicked into place: the comprehensive solution they needed wasn’t somewhere else out there, it was already their partner. They just needed to expand the integration.
The Solution: One Ecosystem, Total Visibility
What makes Vertex’s software so powerful for Lark isn’t any single feature, it’s the way everything works together. Data entered once flows seamlessly across the platform, eliminating the redundant, error-prone manual entry that plagued their old system.
Today, when a Lark team member working in Supported Employment updates a client’s case notes, a colleague on the production floor can read those notes in real time and adjust their approach accordingly. That kind of cross-departmental visibility enables truly coordinated care, the kind that makes a real difference in a client’s life.
Deb Leddon, Director of Administrative Services, sums it up well: “Case Manager is my go-to. There’s so much information I can get from there. From monthly progress info to extensive reports, there’s so much data!”
CEO Susan Lautenbacher stated: “I really appreciate that each piece of the software speaks to the other pieces of the software, so you’re not going in and putting the same data in three, four times. You just have to put it in once!”
Lark’s Favorite Vertex Features:
- EVV Advocate — Electronic Visit Verification made simple
- Case Management — Centralized, accessible client records
- Vocational Time Vault — Accurate tracking of client time and wages
- Client Payroll — Streamlined compensation management
When It Mattered Most
Perhaps the most telling measure of a technology partner is how they show up when things get hard. When Pennsylvania changed its service definitions, rendering Lark’s existing systems obsolete and directly impacting their largest revenue stream, Vertex didn’t flinch. We went back in, made the necessary adjustments to accommodate Lark’s new requirements, and committed to continuing those updates as legislation evolved.
That’s not just good service. That’s partnership.
The Results
The transformation Lark has experienced goes beyond cleaner data. It has fundamentally changed how their team operates and, by extension, how well they can serve the individuals who depend on them. The key outcomes include:
- Minimized errors across all data entry and reporting
- Greater visibility into client progress and organizational performance
- Personalized service that adapts to Lark’s unique and evolving needs
- True continuity of care, every team member has the information they need, when they need it
A Partnership Built to Last
Lark Enterprises’ story is one of mission-driven work supported by the right technology at every stage of growth. From a scrappy, paper-dependent organization two decades ago to a fully integrated operation today, Lark has never had to outgrow Vertex, because we’ve grown right alongside them.
If your human services organization is navigating similar challenges, we’d love to talk. At Vertex Systems, we deliver information management solutions built not just for where you are today, but for where you’re going. Talk to our team today or read the full Lark Case Study.