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We already know that parents can use GPS tracking to keep up with their kids. And now, some child welfare workers in Florida are also using this technology to manage their caseload as they look out for the best interests of children in the child welfare system.

Now, before you ask, the child welfare system will not be outfitting all of the children in its jurisdiction with GPS tracking devices in their backpacks. Rather, they will be supplying caseworkers with tracking devices that they will use to file and track information.

Before this it could take up to 60 days to file paperwork. Now caseworkers can record data to indicate how long they’ve spent looking in on a family instantly. The system is set up to give alerts to let supervisors know if no one has been to see a family in a certain number of days. This should cut down on the numbers of instances where no one checks on children for inordinate amounts of time.

Caseworkers will be able to spend a lot more of their time actually visiting families and coordinating services. They won’t be stuck in the office filling out and filing paperwork. The tracking system should make the child welfare system in Florida much more efficient and help them keep much better track of the children in their care.

The new technology will also support caseworkers since supervisors will be able to send alerts to employees out in the field. If there is an update that they need to be aware of before they make a visit, they will not be in the dark. Whether it is to warn them of danger or to give them benign, but necessary information, GPS tracking will be a two-way conduit of communication.