Historically, school districts have used different tools for managing investigations at each school and sometimes several tools within each school. Navigating among paper forms, software, applications and other tools results in lost data and wasted time. Failure to maintain a single source for case information makes it impossible to spot trends and issues.

To remedy this, many school districts are turning away from the fragmented approach toward a more comprehensive case management solution to manage investigations across all units, teams and schools.

An all-in-one case management system offers a competitive advantage in the ability to address the case management and investigation needs of units or departments district-wide. Below, we describe a few of the biggest benefits for schools that make the switch.

Learn more about incorporating case management into your processes with this eBook: Keeping Schools Safe with Case Management Software.

Collaborate Across Roles, Departments and Schools

An all-in-one solution makes it easier for various roles to collaborate on investigations and communicate with others from anywhere at any time. School investigators use it to manage their cases, superintendents use the data to identify hot spots and administrators reporting tools to share recommendations and suggestions with the board.

Plus, a comprehensive solution works for any school department, no matter what it is you’re investigating. Case management software is used to manage and investigate incidents relating to attendance and enrolment, safety and security, student and teacher conduct, academic dishonesty, policy violations and theft.

From a September 2019 report detailing Colorado's school safety programs:

"The existing patchwork of school safety programs creates a risk of uncoordinated efforts, gaps in services, and challenges in determining reach and impact"

The report does not provide recommendations for corrective action. However, it does highlight the lack of coordination and the associated risks.

Valuable Case-Linking Features

Some case management solutions provide a case-linking feature. This feature makes it much easier to stay on top of growing risks or hot spots. Link cases manually by searching across the entire investigation database or within a single field to find the specific information you’re looking for.

Enter the keyword, whether it’s a student name or a certain type of incident, into the search function to bring up related cases. Then, narrow down the cases even further by using a search filter to find what you need.

A sophisticated case management solution will offer a case-linking artificial intelligence tool. The software automatically flags links between cases based on criteria you set. The AI engine can even be trained to look for recurring subjects, locations or incidents.

Every Piece of Data in One Central Database

Using an all-in-one case management solution means no more lost data and no more misplaced evidence. Every piece of data, including scrap notes, digital evidence and interview recordings, can be securely and conveniently saved in one central and accessible database.

Centralizing and organizing all case information makes it easier to stay on top of upcoming tasks and outstanding activities, especially for larger school districts with several open cases at any time.

Plus, case management software makes it easy to integrate existing databases, eliminating the need for time-consuming data entry tasks and making sure all systems have up-to-date investigation data.

Trend Monitoring for Risk Management

With all investigation data stored in a central repository, powerful data reporting and analysis is fast and easy. Summary reports improve oversight and reduce risk with easy in-depth analysis.

Case IQ’s all-in-one case management system has a drag-and-drop report builder to create flowcharts, line graphs, bar graphs, pie charts and heat maps. These insightful reports help school officials manage risk and spot trends.

Schools can combine maps with any report or dashboard for meaningful location intelligence, such as school-specific incident trends and “trouble areas”. Then, use this intelligence to send additional resources to these schools.

Since switching to the all-in-one Case IQ solution, Union County Public Schools (UCPS) has the information needed to monitor and address issues before they become larger problems. With more than 40 schools, 40,000 students and 5000 staff members, that's a huge step forward.

Compliant Security and Privacy Controls

All incident responses, investigations and reporting must comply with local, state, federal and sectoral laws that protect human and civil rights. These rights are particularly important when children are involved.

All-in-one case management software can be configured to help schools comply with their unique requirements.

A cloud-based all-in-one case management solution houses your case information in an off-site database, so you can be sure that your files are secure and protected from unauthorized deletion, copying, alteration, theft and corruption. Case data is automatically backed up daily and stored in multiple locations to ensure it’s never lost.

Who Needs an All-in-One Case Management Solution?

All-in-one case management solutions offer benefits embraced by school districts of any size and complexity.

Learn more about incorporating i-Sight (now Case IQ) case management into your processes by downloading this eBook: Keeping Schools Safe with Case Management Software.