A 2006 government-commissioned report into a database designed
to protect children at risk has revealed there were serious
concerns about whether it was fit for purpose.
The Integrated Children's System (ICS)was
launched nationally from 2004, after the death of Victoria
Climbie. The 8-year-old died in 2000 as a result of abuse and
neglect while living with her aunt and her aunt's boyfriend.
An enquiry into the case found that one of the reasons agencies
such as social services, police and health authorities did not
manage to save Victoria was that they did not share information or
communicate well enough.The ICS was part of the attempt to improve
this.
The
case management system allows professionals from different
organisations to enter information into a case file, which staff
from every relevant agency can see. The aim was to improve
communication and to stop information being gathered and entered
more than once.
Between 2004 and 2006, academics from the universities of York
and Southampton carried out a study into the system. They looked at
four pilot projects across England and Wales and reported their
findings to the Department for Education and Skills (now the
Department for Children, Schools and Families).
They found the system to be riddled with problems. While the
aims of the ICS were applauded, the authors had many concerns. The
report
said, "We believe that many aspects of the intentions of the ICS
policy are greatly to be welcomed. However, our evaluation raises
serious reservations about the design and use of ICS in its present
form and we believe that the ICS has yet to demonstrate the degree
to which and how it is fit for purpose."
The problems included underestimating the demands that such a
complex system would make upon the organisation, and the
significance of ensuring ICS's compatibility with existing
databases in councils, and other agencies.
There were also issues with the amount of time it took staff to
input data into the system, and the inflexibility of the electronic
file structures.
The report said that user friendliness was the aim that was
least well achieved. Half of those replying considered the system
"worse than useless" in this respect.
It said, "While the principle of sharing information with other
agencies was widely welcomed, there was uncertainty that
inter-professional difficulties would be resolved or addressed by
the ICS. Inter agency information sharing continued to be limited
due to incompatible information systems."