Waveney District Council has been using E-CINS since November 2012 to manage their award winning Troubled Families Programme, Suffolk Family Focus. Troubled Families Intervention Officer Daniel Chapman spoke to us about how ECINS is enabling him to deliver better results.
“One of the best examples I can give of where ECINS has helped with my cases is when there have been updates posted on related cases which are linked to the family/case I am working on. This has provided me with information that is useful, relevant and which I would otherwise not have been privy.
One of the families I am working with would often cause issues on an estate that backed onto their home. This estate had a separate case created (I will call it Case A) as there were issues with local youths.
I would ask the family I was working with if there were any issues over the weekend for example. They would respond no, everything had been fine. Information updated on Case A would suggest otherwise, allowing me to have greater insight into what issues the family were causing, and as a result I could tailor my approach when dealing with the family.
The nature of the people we deal with means important information can be withheld so ECINS has been invaluable as a resource for keeping me ‘in the know’.
Another example where the system has aided me in my work is the ability to store the information in a chronological and ordered way. This allows the efficient dissemination of information amongst relevant parties as well as allowing everyone involved know what exactly has occurred and when.
I have found the ability to grant access to individuals in other departments most helpful and an extremely important part of forming and maintaining relations with counterparts and other professionals involved in my cases. It is also very effective in saving time. No longer is there a need to engage in the tedious task of sending the same piece of information out by email. With this system the individual enquiring can be granted access if need be and look at it themselves.
