Not-for-profit organisation the Jourg Child Welfare (JCW) has rolled out phase one of its digital case management system.
This, in a move away from relying on manually recorded case files to track critical information.
In a statement, JCW says the move aims to alleviate the challenges of manual case management, which have often hampered its capacity to provide timely and effective support to vulnerable children and their families.
It explains that case notes, home assessments, and court updates - all essential for decision-making - often need to be meticulously documented and shared across departments. In a manual system, this meant mountains of paperwork, time-consuming data transfers, and the constant risk of missed updates or delayed responses.
Abubakr Hattas, CEO of JCW, says: “One of the biggest challenges with the work that we do in ensuring child safety and protection often hinges on effective communication and prompt prioritisation of cases.
“In many instances, when a telephone or e-mail notification is received about a vulnerable child, if it’s not appropriately addressed, it can lead to delays in ensuring the safety of the child, and result in many children remaining in unsafe environments, medical institutions, or police stations due, to delays in assessing a case.”
Established 115 years ago, JCW has contributed to protecting over 40 000 children a year.
According to the organisation, the integration of the Kaseya BMS ticketing software allows it to streamline workflows to offer a faster, more reliable service to children and families.
Upon system enrolment, caregivers and clients will receive an immediate acknowledgment of their case, and a unique ticket number to track each step. For JCW's beneficiaries – often children who have already faced hardships – this system provides an efficient way to manage and monitor the journey to placing vulnerable children in safety more promptly.
“The Kaseya BMS ticketing software addresses some of the most pressing challenges faced in manual case management, including delays in response times, maintaining complete case histories and cross-department coordination.
“With manual systems, emergency cases can take longer to be routed, which is particularly crucial for children in unsafe situations. This new system categorises and prioritises cases immediately to ensure that high-priority cases, such as those requiring immediate intervention or placement, are flagged and attended to within 24 hours.”
Hattas explains that the JCW often encounters cases where a child’s history spans several years and multiple departments. “With physical files, crucial updates could be overlooked or lost over time, leading to gaps in understanding the child’s needs, journey, and past experiences.
“The system schedules and monitors follow-up activities, such as foster care visits and complies with legal and welfare obligations. It also provides robust case management for social workers, to help them balance caseloads, track effectiveness, and reduce errors that could impact a child’s well-being.”
Hattas highlights that a lot of the time cases involving children with disabilities or cases deemed as complex are the most affected by manual processes, as a result, many children are left in hospitals or inappropriate facilities, with no traceable plan for their care.
“This new digital system creates an auditable, timestamped history of each case, providing a clear and accurate timeline of every interaction, decision, and transfer between departments to the final phase where a child is adopted. This means we will also be able to keep track and record the child’s information throughout their lives,” he states.
“Once the testing phase is complete, JCW plans to roll the system out across all its departments. Feedback from social workers will guide ongoing adjustments, ensuring the platform continues to meet the needs of children in JCW’s care. The goal is to build a case management system that not only supports efficient workflows for JCW but can also be used by other government departments.”
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