The primary objective for the use of surveys was to collect the perceptions and attitudes regarding testers experiences using the laptops. Two separate surveys, a baseline and post-pilot survey, were administered to assess the effect of mobile technology use in Child Protective Services. The surveys were developed over a period of a few months. During this time, the surveys were modified based on the project team’s past-knowledge of the initial pilot study and its understanding of the objectives set forth in this extended pilot study. An online survey was developed using commercial software (Survey Monkey).

The surveys were administered to caseworkers and supervisor I. The names, email addresses, and titles of participating CPS caseworkers were collected from the two participating field offices (Williams Street in Manhattan, and Staten Island). Personalized survey invitations were emailed to participants. This measure was necessary to ensure that only the intended participants were in fact those taking the survey. Both surveys were sent to a total of 135 CPS caseworkers and supervisors I, of which 70 were from the Williams Street field office and 65 were from the Staten Island field office.

The baseline survey was administered prior to the test period and the deployment of laptops to CPS caseworkers and Supervisors I. The baseline survey was open for eight weeks; starting on June 25 2007 and ending on July 20 2007. The survey was designed to collect data from the following thematic categories: CPS work practice, CPS work time, demographic information, mobility, skill and stress levels, technology acceptance, training, and use of technology. The overall response rate for both field offices was 86% (n = 116). William Street’s response rate was 83% (n = 58), whereas Staten Island’s response rate was 89% (n = 58).

The post-pilot survey was administered three months following the deployment of laptops. The survey was open for one week; starting on October 15 2007 and ending on October 23, 2007. Data was collected from three new thematic categories, namely the impact of laptops on CPS Caseworkers and Level-I Supervisors’ daily activities, mobility-related issues, and technical difficulties experienced during the pilot. The post-pilot survey also collected data to compare participants’ pre- and post. The overall response rate for both field offices was 78% (n = 105). Williams Street response rate was 76% (n = 53), whereas Staten Island’s response rate was 80% (n = 52). After both surveys were closed, participants’ responses were downloaded and a data quality check was performed by choosing randomly-selected surveys. Following the data quality checks, the data variables and responses were relabeled and coded.