ICS: Expert panel in bid to simplify system

The Integrated Children’s System expert panel plans to simplify how information is recorded on the system and make future versions more user-friendly.

The ICS panel also plans to examine whether the way in which social workers record risk through existing assessment frameworks is clear enough.

At an exclusive meeting between Community Care and panel members, chairman Steve Liddicott said, “If what you’re doing isn’t clear, then it isn’t going to be clear when you translate it into a computerised system.”

According to panel members, social workers will start to see positive change this year.

“Change is coming,” said panel member Ida Cohen. “You may experience some this year, some the next year, some the year after.”

Panel members also said the amount of time social workers spent in front of computers could not be solely attributed to ICS, and that poor training and lack of computer literacy were beyond their power to fix.

The panel also endorsed ICS training becoming part of social workers’ qualifying courses.

Overall, the panel emphasised that change was coming.

Cohen said: “It’s an evolving process, but we are looking to make social workers’ experience of using the system a better one.”

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