Receiving messages in a timely manner is important for all organizations, but especially so for those that deal with life-threatening situations. Police departments and social welfare agencies across the country have struggled to find a reliable way to send information that at the same time allows them to be flexible and mobile.
Head of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families Olga Roche resigned last month in the aftermath of a controversy caused by delayed communications and misplaced faxes between police officers and department case workers.
"At DCF, we face a caseload crisis that worsens each day," said Peter MacKinnon, chapter president for Massachusetts Human Service Workers Union, in a statement, according to CNN. "Policy changes and accountability measures are desperately needed. Communication barriers and outdated technology continue to slow our efforts in the field."
According to a Massachusetts DCF official, a designated supervisor is assigned to complete checks of the department fax machines for incoming messages. In the case in question, a fax regarding a child who had been monitored several times for neglect was received, but never made it to its intended recipient because the supervisor in charge of checking the machines misplaced it. The child died a few days later of apparent abuse, causing the department head to resign over allegations of departmental mismanagement.
"The challenge across the country is how do child welfare agencies take advantage of modern technology," Charles Simon, policy director for nonprofit Case Commons, told the Boston Globe. "The tools are there. The tools exist. The challenge is bringing those tools to bear."
Simplifying and Creating Effective Communication in Social Work
Fax over IP is a reliable solution for agencies that need to send information in a timely manner but still require the security of a traditional fax. FoIP employs the Internet, so records can be sent to a personal email address, eliminating the possibility of documents being lost or given to the wrong person. Case workers in the field can receive updated documents and reports from officers, and vice versa.
Internet faxing also utilizes the cloud to store sent data, meaning personal information being sent is secure in transit. All faxed information is stored on an organization's dedicated server, creating an archive of records and documents that can be searched at any time. Each group's database is protected with back-end encryption, creating a more secure way to keep sensitive files.
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