A new app is designed to cut down time spent on paperwork, here Annemie Van Reenen stands in the registry room at the DSDs office in Langa. The registry has hundreds of case files. Photo: Marecia Damons
▶️ This post first appeared on Groundup
As Marecia Damons reports the Western Cape Department of Social Development (DSD) launched a new app called the Social Work Integrated Management System (SWIMS) on Thursday. This app helps social workers spend less time on paperwork. Since April, 1,054 social workers, supervisors, and managers in the Western Cape have used it. In June, 5,698 forms were uploaded, and 2,157 cases were opened.
MEC for Social Development Jaco Londt said the app reduces the time to fill out forms for child protection cases from 15 minutes to 8 minutes. This saves each social worker 420 minutes per month. Elarna Siljeur, a social worker for 17 years, said the app helps manage up to 300 clients and fill out forms more easily. Siljeur said the app lets social workers scan documents like IDs and birth certificates and access case information quickly. This allows them to do more early intervention and prevention work.
Annemie Van Reenen, chief director for service delivery management, said a team visited 45 offices to learn about the challenges social workers face. The main issue was too much paperwork. Van Reenen proposed the app in 2021 and received three years of funding. R1 million was used to develop the app, and R2 million to buy smartphones for social workers.
The app will be used by 602 social workers and 189 social auxiliary workers regularly. Managers and supervisors will also use it. The app will be available to other provincial departments and welfare organizations. It can be used offline, so social workers can upload documents during home visits and sync the information when they have internet access. The department is also considering working with the National Department of Social Development to expand the system
