Case Study - Dorset Advocacy
Case Management Software Design
Dorset Advocacy helps people who have learning difficulties to speak up, protect their rights, and be part of the local community. A network of volunteer advocates works with Dorset Advocacy's clients, speaking up for them when necessary to ensure that the clients' wishes are taken into account and their rights respected so that they have access to the same choices as everyone else.
Dorset Advocacy needs to keep track of the whereabouts of volunteers and clients. They have a group of co-ordinators who support and guide the work of the volunteer advocates. These co-ordinators need to be able to keep track of the progress of their volunteers' work. A range of funding partners provide funding for different situations, and require various types of reporting to show how their funds are being used.
Regular risk assessments must be made and recorded, and the related information must be conveyed to the relevant parties. Volunteers must have up-to-date CRB checks to enable them to work with the clients. Regular review meetings are held to ensure that partnerships are progressing satisfactorily through a range of milestones.
Clearly, in a sensitive area such as this, careful record-keeping is required. Dorset Advocacy asked Software-Matters to design an Access database for them to help with their case management, from initial enquiries to long-term partnerships, to ensure that administrative tasks are carried out at the right times, and to provide the necessary reporting for their funding partners. With a complicated system like this it is vital to understand the way in which Dorset Advocacy works, so Philippa Turnbull of Software-Matters spent some time working with Dorset Advocacy to ensure that the bespoke Access database would fulfil their requirements, before starting work on the database itself.
The completed case management Access database holds details of clients, volunteers and co-ordinators, and tracks the history of the relationship with the client, from initial enquiries to ongoing partnerships. Dorset Advocacy's staff can easily establish which volunteer is working with a particular client, and can see who is co-ordinating this volunteer. Their staff can use the case management Access database to find out when various tasks are due: for example, when review meetings are required, when someone needs a new CRB check, or when information is required for funding partners.
As a charity, Dorset Advocacy's funding depends on showing that it is providing value for money, so the database allows easy access to reports showing the volume of activity in a period, with a breakdown into age, gender and ethnicity of clients helped. The case management database facilitates the collection and collation of anonymous feedback from clients to help Dorset Advocacy to audit and improve their service.
The case management Access database is now an essential part of Dorset Advocacy's operation. They have been so impressed with it that they are keen to extend its use to similar organisations.