CANW Enhanced Child Welfare with Mobile-Friendly Power Apps

Child Action Northwest (CANW) is a long-standing charity supporting vulnerable children, young people, and families across the Northwest and beyond. The organisation supports over 10,000 individuals annually, working to help them achieve their full potential, succeed in school, and access healthy relationships, training, and employment.

CANW previously relied on a costly third-party system to manage session outcomes and reporting, but the platform lacked flexibility and failed to provide the level of detailed reporting the team needed.

Appropriate adults capturing information in the field faced challenges using the old system, which wasn’t mobile-friendly. Data was fragmented and difficult to consolidate, and hours were spent manually pulling together reports for billing and compliance purposes.

Staff turnover during the project also led to evolving requirements and a need for clear documentation and a user-friendly system that could be easily picked up by new team members.

Valto replaced the legacy system with a custom-built model-driven Power Apps solution tailored specifically for CANW’s needs.

The solution allows appropriate adults to record session outcomes via responsive, mobile-friendly forms that adapt dynamically based on the police region or type of activity.

The app supports editing of existing forms within the current month, improving flexibility and data accuracy. Customisable security roles were introduced to ensure users could only access relevant data sets while allowing multiple users to work simultaneously.

The application was designed with future adaptability in mind, allowing CANW staff to adjust and operate the system themselves as their needs evolve.

CANW now benefits from a significantly more flexible and cost-effective solution.

The new system streamlines the process of capturing outcomes in the field and reduces manual admin by enabling more efficient data review and automated reporting.

It has improved data accuracy, reporting capabilities, and GDPR compliance, while also reducing reliance on external licences.

The new platform sets the foundation for further digital enhancements, with plans to integrate Power BI to deliver model-driven reporting and analytics. Future updates will continue to improve billing processes and allow for greater insight into the services CANW provides, ensuring the team can focus on supporting the young people and families who need them most.