Latest update on ChildStory - Public Service Association

Latest update on ChildStory

Latest update on ChildStory – November 2017 (PDF version)

PSA’s meeting with Michael Coutts-Trotter on 1 November 2017

The PSA met with FACS Secretary Michael-Coutts Trotter to discuss our deep concerns about ChildStory and the need to defer implementation until defects in the new system are rectified.

The PSA has advocated for many years for a new system that supports staff and frees them up to spend more time with the children and families they support.

ChildStory must meet these needs.

The PSA advised the consistent feedback we have received from our members is that ChildStory is neither yet fit for purpose, nor user-friendly and that in its current state, will seriously impact members’ ability to do their core work.

The Department acknowledged the problems that have occurred in training sessions and stated that data migration continues to be the most complex and difficult aspect of ensuring readiness for the system to Go Live. There was also an acknowledgement that clear communication with staff had been far from optimum.

The PSA highlighted concerns the training provided to date had been significantly compromised due to myriad problems, resulting in members not receiving adequate training prior to Go Live. The Department acknowledged this and stated it will consider what additional training may be required for those staff.

The PSA would like to thank members who provided us with feedback about their experiences with ChildStory during training sessions. We made extensive use of your feedback at this meeting.

The briefing note which summarises our concerns about ChildStory is attached HERE. We provided the briefing note to the Secretary and deputies. The Secretary gave an undertaking to provide us with a detailed response.

The PSA also made the point that work, health and safety issues have been consistently raised but no response has been provided to us. This is despite the Department’s clear legislative obligations under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011. There has also been no process in regard to developing a risk assessment.  Again, the Department agreed to investigate and provide a response to us. Members can be assured that we will continue to raise work, health and safety issues during and after implementation of ChildStory.

The Executive advised that a decision will not be made to Go Live until it is confident the platform works, data migration issues have been addressed and districts are ready. Despite the serious concerns raised by the PSA, the Department was adamant Go Live would be not be delayed beyond Christmas and that there would be no further changes made to ChildStory for the first release.

The FACS Executive advised a decision will be made by the end of this week as to whether they will proceed with the current Go Live date of 14 November 2017.

The PSA will continue to advocate for our members and emphasise the need for common sense to prevail in the roll-out of this significant reform. As soon as we know any more details about the Go Live date, we will provide a further update to members.

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