Reunify | 2024
Original App Design
Reunify 2024
Original App Design
Overview
Reunify is an application that allows social workers, parents and foster parents to schedule events on a shared calendar. The app focuses on creating an efficient process for scheduling events like visitations, doctor's appointments, and more.
Reunify was created with the overall goal of decreasing employee turnover rates with a streamlined case management system, and improving reunification rates by keeping both sets of parents connected.
Read More
Challenges
One of the greatest challenges of this project was designing for multiple user perspectives while ensuring that the needs of foster parents, case workers, and biological parents were all thoughtfully considered throughout the experience.
Additionally, worker turnover is a persistent issue in the Child Welfare system, the most recent studies estimate that 30% of employees leave their positions every year. This can cost the system over $54,000 per employee, and can strain the relationship between parents, foster parents, and children. Because only an average of 47% of families are reunified every year, reducing worker turnover could help increase reunification rates.
Read More
Solutions
From my extensive research and case studies I found that foster parents are usually handling the events of multiple children at once. Having a feature that shows a comparative chart of every party’s availability could help to build empathy between the parents, and reduce stress that is put onto the child.
While foster parents are required to have an established home, there are many parents who are homeless or do not have cars. This is why I chose to prioritize accessibility features like the location radius slider which will allow parents to choose a distance they have the physical and financial means to travel.
I was able to design a model that managed the many perspectives that this problem affects, and create an app that will be helpful for social workers, foster parents, and biological parents.
Read More
Deliverables
App Interface & Prototype
Case Study
User Research
Overview
Reunify is an application that allows social workers, parents and foster parents to schedule events on a shared calendar. The app focuses on creating an efficient process for scheduling events like visitations, doctor's appointments, and more.
Reunify was created with the overall goal of decreasing employee turnover rates with a streamlined case management system, and improving reunification rates by keeping both sets of parents connected.
Read More
Challenges
One of the greatest challenges of this project was designing for multiple user perspectives while ensuring that the needs of foster parents, case workers, and biological parents were all thoughtfully considered throughout the experience.
Additionally, worker turnover is a persistent issue in the Child Welfare system, the most recent studies estimate that 30% of employees leave their positions every year. This can cost the system over $54,000 per employee, and can strain the relationship between parents, foster parents, and children. Because only an average of 47% of families are reunified every year, reducing worker turnover could help increase reunification rates.
Current case management systems are outdated and poorly managed, case workers end up working overtime
to keep up with their caseloads due to back and forth communication. This can lead to strained relationships for the parents and foster parents which can ultimately harm the child and the chances of reunification.
Read More
Solutions
From my extensive research and case studies I found that foster parents are usually handling the events of multiple children at once, which can lead to stress and frustration when the biological parent has to work around their schedule. Having a feature that shows a comparative chart of every party’s availability could help to build empathy between the parents, and reduce stress that is put onto the child.
While foster parents are required to have an established home, there are many parents who are homeless or do not have cars. This is why I chose to prioritize accessibility features like the location radius slider which will allow parents to choose a distance they have the physical and financial means to travel.
From my investigation and design process I feel that I was able to solve a lot of user issues, and organize a more effective scheduling structure. I was able to design a model that managed the many perspectives that this problem affects, and create an app that will be helpful for social workers, foster parents, and biological parents.
Read More
Deliverables
App Interface & Prototype
Case Study
User Research
Use Case: Social worker scheduling a visitation with parent & foster parent
Use Case: Social worker scheduling
a visitation with parent & foster parent
Flow 1 (Social Worker): Proposing the Event
Flow 1 (Social Worker): Proposing the Event
Flow 2 (Parent/Foster Parent): Inputing Availability
Flow 2 (Parent/Foster Parent): Inputing Availability
Flow 3 (Social Worker): Scheduling the Event
Flow 3 (Social Worker): Scheduling the Event
Key Users
Can manage all of their case schedules, can propose any type of event, and supervises all event proposals.
Can manage all of their case schedules, can propose any type of event, and supervises all event proposals.
Can manage all of their case schedules, can propose any type of event, and supervises all event proposals.
Case Studies
-Social workers often mediate scheduling conflicts
-if parents don't have cars, social workers have to find them
-Foster parents sometimes manage multiple children at once
-Required to write transcripts of
phone calls
Outcomes
Back to top