When Safeguarding Case Management (SCM) Goes Wrong

When Safeguarding Case Management (SCM) Goes WrongWhen safeguarding goes wrong the consequences are frequently catastrophic and life-changing.Whether it's sports, education, charities, health, or the workplace, there is no shortage of examples of the devastating impact of sub-standard Safeguarding Case Management (SCM).Increasing commissions to review SCM highlight the inter-dependancies of proactive and reactive phases of SCM. Only when the proactive goes wrong or is found wanting is the relationship between them scrutinised and the reactive phase triggered.That phase is NOT just about apportioning blame, 'putting a head on a stick', it is as much about WHY something has gone wrong, what was done well, what could be done better and how a repeated issue can be mitigated.What is SCM?SCM is simply a process that travels a journey from a safeguarding issue to an outcome. The issue might be as simple as monitoring DBS checks within an organisation, basic compliance rules, or as complex as a senior manager or sports coach sexually abusing staff or young people.The latter cases deserve specialist investigative skills and support yet are all too often entrusted to unskilled managers based on their position within an organisation.It is key to understand that investigative skills are much less about blame, more about an open-minded collection and collation of reliable detail that can be evaluated to inform decision-making. It IS NOT about only searching for the detail that supports the narrative we want to believe in or that suits an organisation.As the diagram illustrates, SCM can be unacceptable, acceptable, or extraordinary.There can never be an excuse for unacceptable whereas it is reasonable and proportionate that many cases can be fulfilled at an acceptable level, the 'tick and flick' favoured so much in compliance.There are some cases and issues that deserve to be managed 'extraordinarily'.Experience has taught the author that most safeguarding cases are inconsistently managed using an array of spreadsheets and word documents with little attention to security, consistency, and information sharing to better manage risk.A SolutionAt Intersol the engine of our case management is Polonious. A secure joined-up IT solution that best enables the creation, retention, and evaluation of information to better deliver safety and security to ALL stakeholders.It does this proportionately whilst significantly decreasing risk and cost for the organisation, managing the entire journey from report to outcome(s).The diverse team at Intersol support with training to better enable acceptable case management, training that attracts a recognised qualification, and can work WITH you operationally to deliver SCM that is 'extraordinary', proportionate, and 'lean'.If you are a decision-maker in a position to change the lives of those you manage how confident do you want to be that the facts you are being presented with to inform that decision are accurate and reliable?With a diverse team of 25 investigators and trainers globally we have a wealth of experience of research-based practice. If you want to know more about the services and support we can help with please contact the team at info@dev.intersolglobal.com