New app rollout helps reduce paperwork for NSW frontline child protection caseworkers

March 3, 2021 TH Author

The New South Wales government has announced the state-wide rollout of a new app designed to help frontline child protection caseworkers reduce paperwork so they can spend more time supporting vulnerable children.

The ChildStory Mobile is the modified version of the ChildStory desktop system used by the Department of Communities and Justice for child protection and out-of-home care. It enables caseworkers to complete home visit records and upload files, access client information, complete safety assessments, and instantly create digital safety plans that can be signed and instantly shared with families.

“This Australian-first app will provide caseworkers with real-time access to vital information, allowing faster responses and better outcomes for vulnerable kids,” Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services Gareth Ward said.

In addition, the department has signed a four-year deal with the CSO Group, valued at AU$16 million, for the delivery of new cybersecurity solutions for the cloud, endpoint, and email.

Under the deal, CSO Group will deliver an integrated managed security service designed to deliver insights and protection for the department.

Meanwhile, New South Wales Police has signed New York-based Mark43 to become what it has dubbed its “designated” technology partner that will see it provide and implement the call-taking, dispatch, records, investigations, and forensics components of the new Integrated Policing Operations System (IPOS) for the force.

The partnership between the pair was initially forged last April when the force said it would adopt the company’s cloud-based records management software and its computer-aided dispatch system, through Unisys Australia.

At the end of last year, the force, together with Mark43 and Unisys, said it would be kicking off its mainframe modernisation project that will see the force’s central database, which is used for everyday operations, including logging criminal incidents to intelligence gathering, and pressing charges, be replaced with the new IPOS. The project is expected to take five years to complete and will be carried out in three phases.

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