Although the laptop did provide a certain degree of flexibility of location and time, it did not truly enable “full mobile capability” of the CPS staff. This result was partially expected since Phase I of the mobile technology project demonstrated that CPS work does not lend itself to full mobilizing due to nature of the work itself. The need to establish close contact with the client and the family prevents use of a laptop in the client’s home, so the need for hand-written notes cannot be fully eliminated. Additionally, the highly confidential nature of information that CPS caseworkers deal with dictates a need for privacy that is not always available outside of one’s office or home. Lastly, the need for frequent contact with supervisors and the need for close oversight of caseworkers’ decisions and actions dictates continual need for spending significant amount of time in the office.

Despite these limitations and despite some of the problems and issues encountered in the pilot, the laptop computer was used in a variety of locations and allowed caseworkers the flexibility of doing work on their own timetable and without the need to return to office. The degree to which this flexibility has been utilized varied from person to person depending on their personal preferences, their experience with the device, as well as their work practices and work ethic.