North Yorkshire Council: Using AI to reimagine Children’s Social Care

North Yorkshire Council's successful proof-of-concept has positioned it at the forefront of AI-powered solutions for children's social care.

Artificial Intelligence

Cyber

03 Feb 2025

Overview: a proof of concept journey

Children's social workers are the linchpin of child protection, yet information overload can hinder their effectiveness. North Yorkshire Council identified a critical challenge: social workers dedicate 80 per cent of their time to administrative tasks due to the sheer volume of data they manage. This includes case notes, forms, assessments, and uploaded images, all stored in disparate formats within the case management system (Liquid Logic LCS).

This data sprawl creates two major problems:

Time-consuming searches: Finding the information needed often requires trawling through multiple sources, delaying timely intervention for vulnerable children.
Limited access to historical data: Crucial insights can be buried within years of casework data, making it difficult to draw on past experiences to improve outcomes.

Recognising these limitations, the council embarked on a bold initiative. Funded by the Department for Education's Data and Digital Solutions Fund, they developed a proof-of-concept project to reimagine case management using Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered by Microsoft Azure.

The proof of concept project aimed to:

Reduce social worker administrative burden through the development of a secure and scalable AI-powered infrastructure on Microsoft Azure.
Improve information retrieval efficiency by enabling advanced semantic search capabilities that can query both structured and unstructured data within the existing case management system (Liquid Logic LCS).
Enhance decision-making with data insights by creating auto-generated eco-maps that visualise the networks and relationships surrounding children and families.
Develop knowledge-sharing resources by creating comprehensive practice guidance and transferable "How-to" guides for other local authorities or organisations.

Strong stakeholder engagement and governance

North Yorkshire Council ensured project success through robust stakeholder engagement and governance. This included:

A diverse project team and board, with members from various services and disciplines provided comprehensive expertise.
Regular communication with stakeholders including open webinars, Department for Education events, and local events facilitated information flow.
The project adhered to the council’s existing transformation governance structure, reporting to relevant boards.
An AI Steering Group was created, the high-level group (Director and Assistant Director level) provided strategic oversight and aligned the project with the council's AI strategy.
An organisational communication plan ensured everyone at North Yorkshire understood the project's goals and implications.

Additionally, North Yorkshire employed a robust risk management approach aligned with its operating procedures. The project team and board maintained a centralised risk and issue log, outlining clear mitigation strategies and escalation processes for identified risks. Risk workshops were conducted to support in-depth analysis, and this process ran concurrently with the Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA), Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA), and Ethical Impact Assessment (EIA).

Ethical considerations at the forefront

Due to the data's sensitivity, the project prioritised ethical considerations. A comprehensive ethical impact assessment, based on the Socitm’s Ethical Framework, explored potential risks and benefits. The council engaged key stakeholders in various discussions around the ethical considerations of the project. Key ethical considerations shaping the project's outcomes include:

Child-centred focus: Prioritising the child's well-being by considering all caregivers in their network, not just family.
Strengthening existing support: Identifying and leveraging positive connections already established in the child's life.
Empowering social workers: Providing information and insights to support their decisions, not replace their expertise.
Improved access to information: Guiding social workers to find relevant information quickly and efficiently.
Ethical and professional use: Emphasising responsible application aligned with social work ethics and best practices.
Co-creation with social workers: Designing the tool with social worker input to ensure it assists rather than hinders their work.
Data-driven, person-centred approach: Combining data analysis with social workers' critical thinking for informed decisions.

Proof-of-concept benefits

North Yorkshire Council's proof-of-concept project has yielded significant benefits for both children's social care and social workers themselves. By leveraging Azure AI technology, the project developed a tool that can:

Analyse information from various sources (notes, images, system data) within the existing case management system. This empowers social workers to identify connections between cases and individuals that might be missed otherwise.
The pilot demonstrated a 90 per cent reduction in time and cost for some data retrieval tasks compared to the current system. It also quantified the previously unmeasured burden of data retrieval on social workers.
Social workers have the ability to automatically generate eco-maps that visualise the networks surrounding children and families. These can reveal hidden connections that could take days to discover manually, enabling proactive safeguarding and better network involvement.
Historical data remains accessible and understandable, even when the original staff member is no longer works for the council or unavailable.

The project's benefits extend beyond improved efficiency. By minimising administrative burdens, social workers can dedicate more time to direct engagement with families, building stronger relationships and potentially leading to better outcomes for children and families. The tool facilitates early risk identification, allowing for proactive interventions that improve child safety and well-being. Furthermore, user-friendly tools address frustrations with the current system, boosting worker satisfaction. Positive feedback from social workers and stakeholders highlights the project's potential to address key challenges in children's social care.

The project, funded by the Department for Education's Data and Digital Solutions Fund (ended March 31, 2024), employed a robust benefits mapping and realization approach to ensure efficient resource allocation. Future plans can leverage these successful outcomes to secure further support and wider implementation.

Technical hurdles

North Yorkshire's proof of concept provided valuable learnings as it navigated some technical hurdles. These challenges impacted the initial scope of user testing and implementation timelines. While the tool wasn't as feature-rich as initially envisioned, the council prioritised core functionalities, establishing a solid foundation for future development. Data refresh, data matching, LiquidLogic form integration, and auto-redaction are exciting possibilities the council will explore in subsequent phases.

Throughout the project, the Board and key stakeholders were kept informed, and these adjustments were deemed necessary for successful exploration within a new and innovative area.

Next steps

North Yorkshire Council's successful proof-of-concept has positioned it at the forefront of AI-powered solutions for children's social care. While further development is necessary, the project's advancements surpass existing workarounds within the sector.