Technology has come on in leaps and bounds over the past decade and it’s helping to transform the way in which kids learn. While too much technology is proven to have negative effects on child development, such as too much screen time, when used correctly it has the power to really aid in development.
Technology has also really helped to transform the child social care sector. The industry is renowned for struggling with funding, particularly after the most recent NHS cuts. So, technology is an ideal way to help improve efficiency within the market, while helping to keep costs low.
How is the child social care sector utilising technology?
The child social care sector has implemented technology in numerous ways. At the very basic level, technology helps providers to better engage with children. Young people today are highly experienced with tech and prefer to use it as a convenient and fast communication tool; particularly when dealing with their social care providers.
However, it isn’t just communication that technology is helping to improve within the sector. It’s also extremely effective at helping to access and manage patient case files in real time, no matter where the social worker is. This ability to foster easier and more effective case management is a huge benefit to the sector.
Improving case management
Social care teams have a lot of data to capture and manage. Therefore, they need a streamlined case management system to handle these increasing caseloads. Technology has helped to deliver case management systems which can be fully developed to fit each individual care teams.
The NHS has been one of the major commissioners to incorporate case management technology into its workforce. It’s unsurprising given its sheer size and power within the industry. It is expected that the NHS would deliver a high-tech service to its users, yet budget cuts do threaten to hold back its digitalisation. However, when implemented correctly, the right technology could help to actually cut costs within the sector.
Overall, technology is really helping to shape the child social care sector. From aiding in communication, to case management and decision making, it has the power to totally transform the industry and help to make it more accessible and effective to both social care staff and patients. However, more work needs to be done to make this kind of technology accessible to smaller organisations and social care sectors.
Image Credits: Child Social Care from sew cream/Shutterstock