Mobile resource referral technology for preventive child welfare services: Implementation and feasibility

As state and local jurisdictions in the United States prepare to implement the provisions of the 2018 Family First Preventive Services Act (FFPSA), they are faced with the large-scale challenge of making effective linkages between geographically dispersed clients and local preventive services. This pilot study applies a conceptual framework (Proctor et al., 2011) to describe implementation of a scalable, mobile community resource referral tool for use by child and family welfare caseworkers serving intact families with allegations of abuse or neglect. The study also demonstrates how data generated by use of the resource referral technology can be applied to visualize the geographic distribution of resource needs in relation to availability. Caseworkers from one urban agency were trained and given access to the mobile referral tool for a three-month observation period. Implementation data were obtained using mixed methods, including self-administered surveys, semi-structured focus group interviews with caseworkers, and metadata generated by the referral technology. Appropriateness, acceptability and feasibility outcomes were assessed. Findings establish that a mobile referral technology can be implemented with minimal training into caseworker workflows, and identify challenges that can be addressed in future iterations and implementations to reduce redundancy and prevent interruption in referral communication. Additionally, the use of mobile referral technology improved the ability of child welfare professionals to document referrals, and can provide child welfare systems with geographical information about need that will be essential for refining the preventive service continuum. Overall, the functionality of the tool and the data it generates will be important for optimizing resource referrals for preventive case management of child welfare-involved families.