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Child Protection: Digital Opportunities, Challenges and Innovations Across the Region

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Child Protection: Digital Opportunities, Challenges and Innovations Across the Region © UNICEF/UN0214701/BABAJANYAN VII PHOTO Child protection: Digital opportunities, challenges and innovations across the Region Introduction In June 2020, the Child Protection section of UNICEF’s The information gathered through this survey aims to Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (ECARO) conducted a survey across every country in the Region to • support learning across the region find out how governments and partners have been using • identify specific innovations that could be replicated digital technology to respond to child protection issues and adapted in other countries, and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey aimed to • identify trends and opportunities for efficiency gains enhance understanding of the use of digital platforms through greater collective work and regional for child protection and, in particular: coordination. • to examine if and how countries are moving from This note summarizes findings from all 23 of the paper-based case management to online systems countries in the Region that participated in the survey1. • to explore how digital technologies have been used It also draws on additional information from a rapid online to increase communication, training, exchanges, and review of literature and learning related to digital coordination among social work and social service technology and social work case management. It aims to providers, and capture the broad lessons emerging from the research so that other countries can review and expand upon the • to identify the innovations that have been introduced lessons learned. to overcome particular challenges related to the limitations and restrictions imposed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 1 Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Greece, Kazakhstan, Kosovo (UNSCR1244), Kyrgyzstan, Republic of North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan – in addition, the UNICEF Italy Refugee and Migrant Response team responded to the survey Child protection: Digital opportunities, challenges and innovations across the Region 1 © UNICEF/UN040551/CYBERMEDIA© List of Acronyms Nadia Bujor, 38 years old holding her girl, Sara, 3 years old, talking to Anozeta Arvinte, Community nurse. The community nurse is BASW - British Association for Social Work asking the mother questions using Aurora app. The app helps social workers and community nurses keep all the information on one CM - Case Management family in one place. The Bujor family are from Sohodor, Bacau CSEA - Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse county, Romania ECM/e-CM – electronic case management system GBV - Gender-Based Violence IT - Information Technology MHPSS - mental health and psychosocial support MoLSP – Ministry of Labour and Social Protection NGOs - Non-Governmental Organisations PPE - Personal Protective Equipment SCIE - Social Care Institute for Excellence SSWF - Social Services Work Force SocSkrb’ - a shortened version of ‘social welfare’ in Croatian UNICEF ECARO – United National Children’s Fund Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia UNDP – United National Development Programme USAID – United States Agency for International Development VAC - Violence against Children WFP – World Food Programme Child protection: Digital opportunities, challenges and innovations across the Region 2 Background: What we already knew There has long been debate in academic literature Work (BASW) pointed to key factors that can make the about how computerized data management systems transition from paper based to digital case management affect social work organizations and their employees. more effective.5 While the push toward digitalization has yielded benefits, challenges remain, including a pressing need for user- • Workplace systems “should prioritize relationship- centred design, robust safeguards, and approaches that based practice and person-centred care over use technology to complement – rather than supplant – performance management”. social work capacities. • Systems work better where both practitioners and service users have a genuine co-production role as Such challenges were highlighted by Australian social systems are designed and developed. workers participating in a large study, who reported that data collection technology made them feel less • New technologies should augment the work of social connected with clients and shifted their priorities from workers rather than trying to replace it. the quality of output to the quantity of output.2 This study • Service users must have a choice about how they underscored the importance of involving front-line social interact with services, and their right to self- workers from the outset, and particularly in the design determination should be enhanced – rather than stage of any digital platform or the digitalization of limited – by technology. case management. • Concerns about data security and problems caused by In the United States, 245 community social workers social media must be addressed, such as breaches of were surveyed to identify the factors that affected their the right to privacy and, in some cases, insults and willingness to use client information systems.3 The study threats being received. found that their use of data was affected by the extent of Social workers who participated in workshops as part their skills and experiences with computers and their of the SCIE and BASW study were in general agreement perceptions of both the user-friendliness of the systems that “digital technologies can enhance social work, and the usefulness of the data they were looking at. sometimes in unexpected ways” – with an example Similarly, a case study of how a social service being the use of social media to identify missing children. organization in Hong Kong practiced knowledge But participants also said that closer partnerships were management found that different types of knowledge needed between technology companies, employer IT have different degrees of usefulness in a digital format.4 departments, practitioners and service users to ensure The case study noted that information technology (IT) is systems “reflect practice realities”. The design of a digital useful for the storing of and access to items such as platform for case management or as a platform for meeting minutes and presentation handouts, while other interaction among social work professionals needs the forms of knowledge sharing, such as stories, are harder collaboration of social workers from the beginning, so to digitize because parts of the experience are lost when that they gain a sense of buy in and ownership, as well as shared electronically. confidence that the system will respond to the real needs of front-line workers. It is also critical that the digital A 2019 study in the UK by the Social Care Institute for skill-set of social workers is addressed comprehensively. Excellence (SCIE) and the British Association for Social 2 Burton, J. & van den Broek, D. (2009). Accountable and countable: Information management systems and the bureaucratization of social work. British Journal of Social Work, 39(7), 1326-1342. 3 Carrilio, T. E. (2007). Using client information systems in practice settings: Factors affecting social workers’ use of information systems. Journal of Technology in Human Services, 25(4), 41-62. 4 Leung, Z. C. S. (2009). Knowledge management in social work: Types and processes of knowledge sharing in social service organizations. British Journal of Social Work, 39(4), 693-709. 5 https://www.communitycare.co.uk/2019/10/14/social-workers-feel-training-provides-digital-readiness-practice-research-finds/ Child protection: Digital opportunities, challenges and innovations across the Region 3 Methodology and limitations To complement existing literature and gain a more COVID-19 pandemic suggests that this trend may be focused regional perspective, UNICEF ECARO evolving at speed to meet child protection challenges conducted a survey of UNICEF country offices across at a time of crisis, with reduced mobility and the loss the Region. The survey responses were obtained through of face-to-face contact. We anticipate a significant in-depth key informant interviews with UNICEF child acceleration of the use of digital tools further, and the protection professionals. While their responses give need for a follow-up survey after 12 months to shed valuable insights into the ongoing adaptation of digital light on its scale and nature. tools as of June, 2020, the protracted nature of the Trends emerging from the Regional Survey While every country in the region reports varying levels • Online platforms were used in all countries to of digital adaptation, they have all developed new ways increase communication across social service of working with digital technology during the COVID-19 providers and provide training, capacity building pandemic, including the use of digital solutions to better and mentoring. It is clear that digital platforms now reach migrants and refugees in Greece, Turkey and Italy. play a critical role in supporting social work practice, The only exception is Turkmenistan, where no cases of knowledge exchange, and capacity building. COVID-19 cases have been reported, and measures to • A number of digital innovations to support child restrict movements have not been seen as necessary. protection can increase cross-country learning and The following overall trends were observed. contact. In some cases, tablets were distributed to children in detention or
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