A New Innovation Partnership

Version 1 is delighted to announce a new partnership between the Innovation Labs and Cafcass (the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service), a non-departmental public body in England set up to represent the voice of children in family court cases. Together, they are teaming up to explore a new technology solution to help automate part of their critically important Case Management System.

The Cafcass Case Management System is used by over 2,000 people across 335 offices. This system enables staff to record case information (such as C100 applications for court orders) on a centralised database. Currently, the C100 application form, which makes the basis for each new case, is manually inputted by Cafcass staff into the Case Management System. With over 60,000 such cases recorded each year alone, this manual process is resource-intensive which prevents caseworkers from concentrating on higher-value tasks in an organisation that experiences an ever-increasing demand on its resources.

Automating the Case Creation Process with the Version 1’s Smart Data Capture
The deployment of Version 1’s Smart Data Capture will aim to drastically reduce the manual effort and time needed to process each new case. Smart Data Capture will use Optical Character Recognition (OCR), Handwriting Recognition and Data Validation techniques to build a Case Review and Input Tool for the Central Intake Team automating several steps of the intake process.

Smart Data Capture can deliver several benefits such as:

  • Reduced costs in form processing
  • Operational efficiencies – enables staff to focus on more valuable work
  • Improved employee engagement
  • Reduced risk of human error due to data input transcription errors
  • Produces clear codified rules of how to handle a business process

Smart Data Capture is part of the Innovation Lab’s Smart Action Suite, a set of enterprise-ready productivity apps focused on addressing common challenges many organisations face, using innovative technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Robotic Process Automation. The Smart Action Suite has been developed using the latest, cutting edge technology, with a clear focus on increasing productivity for enterprises. Using both Cloud and Open-Source technology, the Smart Action Suite can be delivered and tailored to your organisation’s needs.

About Cafcass

Cafcass stands for Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service. Cafcass provides an independent voice for children in the family courts, ensuring that the arrangements which are proposed to the court are in children’s best interest. It puts children’s needs, wishes and feelings first, making sure that children’s voices are heard at the heart of the family court setting. Operating within the law set by Parliament (Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000) and under the rules and directions of the family courts, it is independent of the courts, social services, education and health authorities and all similar agencies. Cafcass was formed in April 2001 under the provisions of the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 and is accountable to Parliament through the Ministry of Justice. Cafcass is independent of the courts, social services, education, health authorities and all similar agencies.

Innovation at Version 1
Set up in 2018, Version 1’s Innovation Labs develop innovative solutions and proof of value projects for customers to ensure Version 1 (and our customers) remain at the forefront of disruptive technologies. Version 1 uses innovation to drive customer success, delivering tangible business benefits to public sector organisations and commercial businesses across the UK and Ireland. The Innovation Labs explore cutting-edge technology to showcase the value and impact it can have on our customer’s businesses. As technology emerges, Version 1 is committed to, and actively investing in exploring the most valuable applications of innovation in a repeatable and relevant manner for our customers.