The overall objective of deploying the laptops was to provide caseworkers with opportunities to work outside the office environment in new ways. This section reports on how participants used those opportunities in terms of 1) type of work done, 2) location of use, and 3) factors influencing use. Additionally, this section reports on the major technical problems reported by the caseworkers. See Appendix A for a full description of the data collection and analysis methods used.

During the first data collection period, survey respondents reported using the laptop during normal work hours, after hours, on-call, and while working overtime. Therefore, the full range of CPS-related work was completed using the laptops. The laptops were used in case investigation and interventions, documentation and reporting, and court-related activities. Case documentation was the most frequent use identified by respondents including entering and updating notes, completing safety assessments, and court reports. Other work reported included accessing: government Web sites, email, outside database sources (i.e., the Welfare Management System) and driving directions. During the second data collection period, respondents reported using the laptops in similar ways.

In the first data collection period, caseworkers’ reported the following benefits to laptop use: 1) access to information while in the field was very important, and 2) needing to return to the office to access case information less frequently. In the second data collection period, respondents reported these same benefits. Lastly, in the first data collection period, some caseworkers reported taking the laptop into the field regularly and other caseworkers reported less consistent or sustained use. This pattern again emerged in the second data collection period. For example, some caseworkers continue to take their laptops into the field and use them before or after their client visits and some caseworkers do not take their laptops in to the field at all.

As part of the first data collection period, caseworkers were surveyed on where they used their laptop, as well as the average length of time they used it. Table 2 below represents findings from the first data collection period.

Table 2 - Location and Hours of Laptop Use per Week

	Use of Laptop (n)	Average length of use per week
Field	69% (9)	1.70 Hours
Court	31% (4)	0.40 Hours
Home	77% (10)	3.45 Hours
Do not use at all	0% (0)	--

* Based on survey respondents who took the post survey n=13. Total number of testers n=14.

As noted from the table above, the majority of caseworkers used the laptops from their home, followed by use in the field. The data gathered also indicates that caseworkers used the laptops from home for approximately three and a half hours a week. While no survey was used for the second data collection period, interviewed caseworkers still reported using the laptops primarily from their homes after normal working hours. All the caseworkers emphasized the value of having the laptop with them at home during on-calls. If they are not behind on their work or not on-call, caseworkers interviewed reported they generally do not take laptops home.

Caseworkers in the first data collection period reported using the laptops while at the court house. However, technical and privacy barriers were noted. Respondents reported during the second data collection period that many prefer not to use their laptops at court. Several cited too many distractions and lack of privacy as reasons court houses are an unfavorable place to use laptops.

Using the laptops while in the field was reported during the first data collection period. However, some caseworkers reported use in the field while others reported never using the laptops in the field. This pattern remained in the second data collection period. While some caseworkers take their laptops with them in the field, others leave them at their office. In both periods, weather conditions, lack of places to work in rural settings, personal preferences, and policies not supporting field use were reasons for not taking the laptops in the field. Some caseworkers also expressed concern about leaving their laptops in the trunk of their cars; especially in the hotter and colder weather. Although there is currently no statewide policy prohibiting using the laptops in clients’ homes, caseworkers indicated that they do not take their laptops into the clients’ homes.

Examples in both data collection periods revealed innovative locations for using the laptop. One caseworker used the laptop in a public library to enter notes between appointments. The benefits of the public library included its quiet and relatively private environment to use their laptops while out in the field.

During the first data collection period, participants were asked about ease of logging-on to the device. Overall, 91% of respondents said it was “Easy” to “Extremely easy,” compared to 9% of respondents who rated the log-on process as “Difficult,” none of the respondents rated it as “Neither difficult nor Easy.”

Overall, during the first and second data collection period, respondents reported relatively few technical obstacles to laptop use – including 1) relatively little interruption with respect to establishing a connection, slow connection speeds, or losing connections in any locations or 2) relatively little interruption using docking stations. Caseworkers stated they adjusted fairly quickly to the new docking stations. The only technical challenge that was most frequently reported was the length of time needed to boot-up the system and establishing a wireless connection.