CHARMS™ for Higher Education Institutions

News ID: 700

CHARMS™ - the secure, online case management system for social care, is used by 90% of independent fostering agencies in the UK and Ireland; scores of adult services providers; around 50 local authorities; and many not-for-profit organisations such as Barnardo's, Action for Children and the Royal Society for Blind Children. It is one of the most widely used case management systems in the care sector.
 
From the outset, CHARMS™ was designed to mimic the best features of paper files. A simple case record, in chronological order, with separate sections for each stage of the referral, assessment and care processes.
Over recent years we have worked in conjunction with universities to demonstrate how CHARMS™ can be used to assist social work students, in the first instance, to access a real system for case recording and has now progressed further to assist Higher Education Institutions (HEI's) in preparing Students to be ready for practice placements and of course for employment in care.
 
Working with universities we have created a platform whereby simulated scenarios or case studies are created within CHARMS™ and this assists in two areas in particular:
 
HEI
- Lecturers/tutors can create case studies/simulated scenarios
- Students learn how to navigate a computer system including logging into the system
- Students have to search for and find relevant records
- Students update the system with case records - which are immediately visible to tutors
- Tutors can manage student activity on case records in real time and with no need for emails and files back and forth
- Students gain experience of what they will see when they go out on placement
 - Lecturers can see every case recording by all Students
- The system can be set up so that Students may (or may not) see each other's case recording(s)
- Ability to utilise throughout various modules

On Placement
- Experience of using CHARMS™
- Navigating a computer system
- Searching for and finding relevant records
- Case recording
 
If you would like a demonstration of the system, we would be happy to provide it, free of charge of course.
Just email lorna.sturgess@socialcarenetwork.com and christine.lewis@socialcarenetwork.com and we can book a time.
 
If you would prefer a quick conversation on the phone you can speak to our Managing Director, Jim Moores on 07930 541 248.
 
We look forward to hearing from you.

08/08/2023

FFTA Conference 2023 - Columbus, Ohio

News ID: 699

We had a CHARMS booth at the  Family Focused Treatment Association (FFTA) Conference in Columbus, Ohio on 10th - 13th July 2023.
 
After an inauspicious start - none of our marketing giveaways had arrived on Monday 10th, neither had the popup stand - all was well as it all turned up at 11:00 on Tuesday morning and by Wednesday afternoon almost all of our CHARMS™ branded freebies had been snapped up.
 
The big message we heard was that there are a limited number of case management systems in the US designed specifically for adoption and foster care agencies. Data security/privacy was also a concern. In that regard we were able to reassure the community that CHARMS™ has it covered.
 
 
ISO 27001 - information Security Management
 
With CHARMS™, all sensitive data on children and vulnerable adults is held securely in data centres in the UK which comply with the ISO27001 international standard described by the ISO themselves as:
 
"ISO/IEC 27001 is the world's best-known standard for information security management systems (ISMS). It defines requirements an ISMS must meet.
 
The ISO/IEC 27001 standard provides companies of any size and from all sectors of activity with guidance for establishing, implementing, maintaining and continually improving an information security management system.
 
Conformity with ISO/IEC 27001 means that an organization or business has put in place a system to manage risks related to the security of data owned or handled by the company, and that this system respects all the best practices and principles enshrined in this International Standard.!" - https://www.iso.org/standard/27001
 
CHARMS™ is hosted in data centres which are operated by a company called ANS and they are ISO27001 certified. We maintain full disaster recovery so that even in the event of a complete failure of one of the data centres, the backup data centre takes over so that the service continues - vital for the child welfare environment.
 
 
Cyber Threats (Ransomware)
 
Cyber threats are also now much more prevalent and at CHARMS™ we renew our Cyber Essential Plus certification in the UK on a yearly basis to ensure that your data is as safe as possible from dangers such as ransomware attacks. The Cyber Essentials Plus certification includes a rigorous, yearly inspection of our infrastructure and an in-depth analysis of our security procedures.
 
The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, CISA, offers up-to-date advice at https://www.cisa.gov/cyber-guidance-small-businesses.
 
With CHARMS™ you can also connect remote users securely and seamlessly using multi-factor authentication (MFA) and single sign-on (SSO).
 
All of these measures are implemented with CHARMS™ and we have your data secuirty needs covered, all the time.
 
Forbes offers advice on data privacy:
 
"Data privacy in the United States is notably different than in the European Union, which has a comprehensive data privacy law—General Data Protection Regulation—though some states have passed their own comprehensive data privacy laws that have drawn comparisons to the EU system.
 
Since data collected by many companies is unregulated in most states, these companies can use, sell or share your data without notifying you." - https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2023/04/21/us-data-privacy-protection-laws-a-comprehensive-guide/?sh=5a6554e75f92
 
Lots of delegates were intrigued by the CHARMS™ Carer Login. This gives foster parents access to CHARMS™, configured so that they can engage in the process as much as others stakeholders do. In particular instead of doing daily logs on paper, which the social worker might not see for weeks of even months, they complete them, securely, online. When a daily recording is complete the foster parent signs it off and the social worker can read it immediately and sign it off. They can even add their own feedback. It's CHARMS™' very own chat facility.
 
For more information you can call 0161 237 1872 or email info@socialcarenetwork.com

24/07/2023

New CHARMS™ Customer - We Care Nursing Services

News ID: 698

A very warm welcome to our newest CHARMS™ customer, We Care Nursing Services!
 
 We Care Nursing Services provide domiciliary care, independent supported living placements, and supply healthcare professionals within the NHS as well as private companies. To find out more about the services they offer, please check out their website: https://www.wecarenursingservices.co.uk/

27/06/2023

CHARMS™ at 2023 FFTA Conference

News ID: 697

Just two weeks to go until we'll be at the Family Focused Treatment Association (FFTA) conference in Columbus, Ohio! We're proud to support the FFTA as a platinum sponsor and can't wait to be there. Come find us at booth 36 for a chat about CHARMS™!
 
In other news - check out our ad at the top of the latest Fostering Media Connections newsletter!
https://mailchi.mp/fosteringmediaconnections/3nasw1ljvr-2855121?e=a5bca2732d

26/06/2023

New CHARMS™ Customer - The Bettermeant Group

News ID: 696

Welcome to our newest CHARMS™ customer, The Bettermeant Group.
 
East Midlands based The Bettermeant Group provide residential care to vulnerable young people. In their own words, "The Bettermeant Group is on a mission to continue on a life-affirming journey that builds on providing richness of morals, skills, pedagogy in all of the various forms to young people."

To find out more about their services please visit  https://www.thebettermeantgroup.com/

14/06/2023

FFTA 37th Annual Conference

News ID: 695

We're excited to announce that CHARMS™, the secure online case management system for child welfare, will have a booth at the Family Focused Treatment Association (FFTA) conference taking place in Columbus, Ohio 10th - 13th July 2023!
 
https://www.ffta.org/page/Conference23
 
For more info or to arrange a remote, informal demonstration of CHARMS™, please feel free to contact our US Coordinator, Alicia Gibson on:
Tel: 480-884-1757
Cell: 805-722-7703
Email: alicia.gibson@socialcarenetwork.com
 
More details are to follow soon and we look forward to meeting you at our booth!

05/06/2023

New CHARMS™ Customer - CFS Care

News ID: 694

Welcome to new CHARMS™ customer CFS Care!
 
CFS Care provider of care services for vulnerable young people across the North West of England across 3 core areas - fostering, supported accomodation, and residential care.
 
To find out more about their services visit https://www.cfscare.co.uk/

23/05/2023

New CHARMS™ Customer - Tutis Foster Care

News ID: 693

A very warm welcome to our newest CHARMS™ customer, Tutis Foster Care.

Established in 2015, Tutis Foster Care is an independent fostering agency based in Whitehaven, Cumbria. To find out more about their service you can visit their website: http://tutisfostercare.com/

17/05/2023

Response from Social Care Network (SCN) to the study entitled 'Care leavers’ transition into the labour market in England'.

News ID: 692

Social Care Network ('SCN'), providers of the widely used CHARMS™ system, works with more than 300 registered independent children's services providers across Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, The Republic of Ireland and Scotland. More than 250 independent fostering agencies use CHARMS™, securely, online to manage all aspects of recruitment, assessment, training and approval of foster carers, and thereafter to enable all stakeholders to keep records, securely, on the progress of the children and young people they support.
 
Many of the largest children's residential providers also use CHARMS™, and with the new regulations with regard to supported accommodation an increasing number of organisations who provide semi-independence housing are also joining the CHARMS™ family.
 
We at SCN see therefore, as we support our user community, how young people leaving care can struggle to access employment.
 
Given that CHARMS™ is also used by a number of supported employment agencies across the UK, we are also ideally placed to see the opportunities for children's services and supported employment providers to work together make the path from the transition into adulthood slightly easier. Or as the authors of the study say, in their executive summary:
 
'The purpose of our study was therefore to explore risk and protective factors for care leavers as they enter early adulthood and begin their employment journeys. Studies of young people suggest that deprivation, low qualifications and disability are strongly associated with being NEET, alongside parenthood, offending and mental health issues. Care leavers have a greater likelihood of appearing in all these groups, partly explaining their high propensity to be  NEET. However, specific factors associated with care may also be salient, including type and stability of placements and the forms of support offered by the state.'
 
Also in the executive summary of the study  'Care leavers’ transition into the labour market in England' (https://www.education.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/CareLeaversLabourMarket.pdf) we are told:
 
'Relatively little is known about the factors that impact pathways into employment for care leavers. Existing knowledge tends to come from small-scale qualitative studies and those focused on education outcomes. These have suggested that care leavers often face precarious employment conditions in marginal or insecure jobs, magnifying the realities of the prevailing youth labour market. Many of them can find themselves under considerable pressure to take work with limited prospects to meet essential costs in the absence of family safety nets. It is also, however,  important to recognise that many care leavers do make positive adult transitions – for example, around 13% currently access higher education by the age of 19.'
 
SCN is engaging with Laura Davis, the Chief Executive of the British Association for Supported Employment ('BASE' https://www.base-uk.org/home), to look at ways of bringing together children's services providers with supported employment agencies to address the employment barriers faced by young people leaving care.

09/05/2023

Spotlight on Supported Internships - Free Webinar

News ID: 691

On Thursday 18th May the National Development Team for Inclusion (NDTI) are hosting a free webinar, 'Spotlight on Supported Internships', for parents and carers of young people preparing for adult life.
 
For more information and to book your place please visit NDTI’s website: https://www.ndti.org.uk/news/webinar-spotlight-on-supported-internships

02/05/2023