8.15.2018
Case Management: Helping to Protect Young Lives and Strengthen Communities
Over the past decade Indigenous Peoples have accounted for approximately 4 percent of the Canadian population, yet nearly half of the 30,000 children and youth in care have been Aboriginal children. The result of over representation of Indigenous children in care has been devastating.
As a path towards healing, First Nations Communities have demonstrated a deep desire to have control over their own child welfare systems and have their children supported and protected in their communities.
The modern case management system, mCase, is helping Aboriginal Agencies deliver quality child welfare services to citizens of their communities. mCase supports their focus on prevention services to strengthen families and prevent children from coming into care. mCase also allows for comprehensive case management and caring for children in their communities when child protection is involved.
Helping More Children Faster
First Nations agencies are starting to discover how transitioning from paper to cloud-based case management systems are helping to assist more children quicker, and in doing so improve outcomes. One example is the Keyanow Child and Family Centre Inc.
Keyanow officials say they can manage cases much better with the automated solution. It’s easier for them to plan and meet deadlines. Their case management system even notifies them about missing information and upcoming deadlines.
Dashboards with pie charts, timelines, and stats showing key information have replaced the time-consuming process of reviewing manual notes and calendars.
They can access and update information, as well as view maps to get to a location or house on the reserve, from their mobile devices. “That helps save time, we can view that on our phone instead of having to go back to the office to try get directions for one of the communities we provide services to,” says Keyanow’s Joyce Starchief, Executive Assistant/Human Resources. Maintenance and support has been a breeze. The net result is more time helping children and families.
Securing Our Information
Muriel Matchee, Keyanow’s Assistant Supervisor, says using a paper system meant sensitive data could be lost and even possibly end up in the wrong hands. She says a modern case management system helped resolve those and other issues: “It’s great because we decrease the risk of losing case file changes.” She adds, “The information is secure, locked and there are permission-based passwords to determine who can input, change or view information.”
Meeting Cultural Needs While Adhering to Standards
Keyanow officials were also able to tailor reports to suit their needs. The reports help staff meet timelines that are outlined by the Province of Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Social Services. The Ministry has a special audit login to review case files and complete compliance reviews. The system highlights when a protection worker has done a case consultation with the manager. This improves accountability and supports good practice.
About RedMane
RedMane provides software solutions and systems integration services that address complex, real-world challenges in human services, health care, and the commercial sector. And we have significant experience with child welfare solutions. We are a problem-solving company. Technology is just one of our tools.
mCase is one example of our innovation – and it supports child welfare, including for the Keyanow Child and Family Centre. mCase is our flexible and powerful platform that easily supports any case management program involving intake, assessment, eligibility, service planning, financial processing, and/or ongoing service delivery. It works in the office and in the field, even without internet or cellular connectivity. And with its embedded analytics, you have insight to improve outcomes. To learn more about mCase, click here.