As a former public school teacher, I was in contact with CPS (Child Protective Services) more frequently than I would have liked. Each and every case I was involved in was devastating to me. The thought of what some children have had to endure during their short lifetimes is unbearable to think about and I am so thankful that there is a system in place to help these children escape to safety.
Looking back, I have observed that the CPS Caseworkers I worked with had three main commonalities.
- They were friendly and showed true compassion to my students/their clients.
- They wanted to get to the bottom of the problem and find a solution.
- Their job involved a tremendous amount of “red tape” and loads of paperwork.
Now for me, as a special education teacher, to admit that another profession has a lot of paperwork says a lot in itself, since anyone who knows anything about special education knows that it is a job fraught with paperwork!
But CPS caseworkers definitely have their hands full.
In fact, according to estimates in one study by Tiffany Taylor at Kent State University, caseworkers spend 50-60% of their time doing paperwork. It isn’t hard to understand why, seeing how CPS caseworkers are probably managing at least 10-15…or even up to 68 cases at one time!
Caseworkers are responsible for paperwork surrounding field visits, investigations, family interviews, legal proceedings, removal of children into protective care, and more. Unfortunately, this paperwork can be repetitive. Think about when you go into some sort of government agency or healthcare facility and have to fill out a couple of forms that ask you for your name, address, birthdate, and more. Now, consider what this must be like for a CPS caseworker to do for each and every client! Click to learn more about the paperwork burden here.
The ChildFirst Mobile Solution was created to eliminate the repetition of filling out forms, as well as:
- Capturing multimedia, signatures, GPS, timestamps, datestamps, and location stamps
- Electronically managing progress notes, court orders, medical records, and other case file documents
One of my personal favorite features of ChildFirst is the “Voice-to-Text Converter” that allows the caseworker to orally dictate information into forms and reports. I would have loved that feature when I was filling out lengthy special education forms and reports!
Watch a video below to see “voice/dictation-to-text’ in action:
Contact us to learn more about the features of the ChildFirst Mobile Solution – and how it can benefit your agency.
Call 800-830-9523 or 
Email info@L-Tron.com
About the Author:
Carmella Giancursio is L-Tron’s Public Relations Specialist & Content Editor. When she’s not working, spending time with her husband, or taking care of her 3 young kids, she can be found in the kitchen, channeling her Italian heritage! Email info@L-Tron.com with questions, or call us at (800) 830-9523.