How Ethical Technology Use Can Revolutionize Child Welfare Placements
It’s no secret that today’s social workers are often overworked and underappreciated. Agencies may try to streamline the complicated child welfare process and ease some of the burdens of case workers, but this can introduce another level of problems.
While technology has revolutionized social work practice, significantly enhancing social workers' capacity to support those in need, the information involved is highly sensitive — and not handling it properly can call the ethics of your agency into question.
Can ethical social work practice be enhanced by the use of technology?
We believe it can when you have the right tools at your fingertips. Keep reading to discover how ethical technology can be used in child welfare placements, common pitfalls to avoid, and which solution will provide everything you need to help your agency meet its goals.
Table of Contents
How Unethical Technology Use May Affect Child Welfare
The latest data from AFCARS (the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System) shows that nearly 400,000 children have been in the child welfare system at one time. The use of data and technology can certainly improve outcomes for these youth, but this also creates its share of concerns regarding privacy and irresponsible use.
Ensuring the safety and well-being of foster youth is a high-stakes responsibility for social workers and child welfare agencies, but they can also face many additional challenges — on top of everything else that’s hard about social work — introduced by the use of technology.
These issues, summarized by a Center for Democracy & Technology report on fostering responsible tech use, include:
Data/Algorithmic Bias – Black families and other historically marginalized communities can face disproportionate treatment in the child welfare system, with a significant overrepresentation of African American children in foster care and maltreatment investigations. Algorithmic tools used in decision-making, if trained on biased data, can exacerbate these disparities by reinforcing pre-existing societal prejudices, as seen in the racially biased outcomes of the Allegheny Family Screening Tool used in Pennsylvania.
Cybersecurity Risks – Data sharing and the use of technology in child welfare agencies, such as RPA systems, can increase the risk of data breaches and privacy violations, especially when sensitive information about foster children is exposed. Improperly secured systems may allow unauthorized access, putting children's privacy at further risk.
Transparency Risks – Child welfare agencies may face public backlash and distrust if they fail to be transparent and disclose how sensitive personal data, such as that of foster youth and their families, is being used in systems like PRMs.
Too Much Reliance on AI – Experienced caseworkers bring elements of nuance and human judgment to foster youth cases that AI tools just can’t provide, especially when assessing complex issues such as neglect or gender identity. Overreliance on AI tools such as PRMs (predictive risk models) may lead to inadequate support or unjust removal of children, so they should only be used with proper training to complement human decision-making.
Use of Unproven Technology – Not all child welfare technology is created equal! If the efficacy of a tool is unproven, it would be foolish to waste your agency’s resources on it. InReach Solutions provides a customizable software system for foster and adoption agencies that has been around for nearly 20 years. We know what works and what doesn’t!
Can Technology Ethically Improve Child Welfare Case Management?
Since 1996, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics has mandated that practitioners and institutions maintain accurate and timely documentation that protects the confidentiality of client records.
Funding from federal and state governments and insurance companies often requires documentation to verify the provision of services. This means there is both an efficiency and financial incentive to use effective, ethical technology for child welfare, adoption, and foster placements.
It’s entirely possible for technology to improve child welfare case management, but you have to find the right product — such as SAM from InReach Solutions.
How SAM From InReach Solutions Combats the Most Common Shortcomings of Other Child Welfare Technologies
Many agencies and providers report outdated systems and general shortcomings with tech and its place in social work. This can create miscommunication, faulty findings, and ethical conundrums.
As a result, many practitioners often keep their own documents and spreadsheets in addition to maintaining records in the electronic system. They’ve found that the available tools just don’t provide a robust solution to allow for the tracking of all required information.
SAM adds another safeguarding level of compliance and ethical practices. By having everything from client/family communication to vital documents and accounting information — essentially everything you need to handle family and child placements — in one central place, you can:
Be prepared for audits.
Reduce data entry errors.
Keep track of vital documentation.
Set reminders and tasks for adoption/foster care team members to double-check info/docs/paperwork.
SAM essentially weaves a vital web that ensures all compliance and ethical issues are caught before the children and families you serve fall through the cracks. This software can help you avoid:
Outdated interfaces
Duplicate data entry
Ineffective system integration
Difficulty comparing data across agencies
Lack of web-based or mobile access
InReach Solutions and SAM Can Help Empower Your Agency To Implement Ethical Technology for Case Management
Through SAM, InReach Solutions offers an ethical, intuitive, and customizable approach to adoption, foster care, and child welfare software. Your job as a case worker is hard enough — you don’t need inefficient technology to make it even more difficult.
SAM’s secure Family Portal offers:
Customizable client interfaces
Streamlined communication
Seamless document uploading/management
Tailored checklists
And more
The Family Portal allows case workers and other parties to safely share information without worrying about data corruption or leaking highly sensitive statistics. Store and access:
Important messages
Documents and forms
Placements and reporting
Task checklists
External resources
And anything else you might need to better perform your job
Ready to ethically transform your workflow using proven technology for child welfare placements? Contact InReach Solutions today to schedule a demo.