Moving from paperwork to people-focused work for Fairfax County, Virginia

Child welfare agencies across the world respond to millions of referrals each year. In Australia, around 179,000 children came into contact with the child protection system in 2023–24. Last year in the UK alone, local authorities received around 633,000 referrals to children's social care. In the US, that figure exceeds 4 million.

Behind every referral is a complex process of screening, investigation, risk assessment, service coordination, and detailed documentation that must meet strict legal, policy, and practice standards.

Frontline practitioners spend a significant portion of their time producing this documentation, often reducing the time available for direct engagement with children and families.

At Fairfax County’s Department of Family Services (DFS), leaders recognised they needed to reduce the administrative burden without compromising documentation quality or legal accuracy.

So they launched a pilot with Notes, aiming to reduce manual documentation time, maintain the legal accuracy required for court, and give specialists time back to enhance their support for children and families.

The challenge

Admin overload 

For Child Protective Services (CPS) specialists and Family & Children’s (FC&A) workers, documentation was taking up a large part of the week. They were responsible for writing affidavits, assessment summaries, 24-hour contact notes, service plans, and home visit records.

Finding balance

With limited time, teams focused on moving cases forward and meeting court deadlines. This created challenges with balancing administrative demands and meaningful engagement with children and families.

Staff burnout 

Getting the work done often meant working overtime. Specialists were working late to finish notes or other documentation long after the traditional workday ended. That pressure made an already demanding role even harder, contributing to burnout and turnover. 

The approach

Fairfax County piloted Notes with 38 practitioners across two teams in the Children, Youth, and Families Division to see whether it could meaningfully reduce documentation time without compromising practice standards and legal accuracy.

Within Child Protective Services (CPS), 24 practitioners used Notes during contacts with families and client–centered meetings to draft notes and other documentation. They tested structured templates designed around their most time-intensive documentation, including affidavits, assessment summaries, and 24-hour contact notes. 

In the Foster Care and Adoption (FC&A) team, 12 practitioners piloted templates for several service plans and home visits. These templates were built to support structured case planning whilst capturing the nuance of family interactions. 

Two supervisors also participated, using supervision templates and assessing the tool’s broader impact on workflow, documentation quality, and team capacity. 

The impact 

40% less time spent on admin

"Notes has saved me so much time”

Across both teams, admin time fell by 40%.

For CPS specialists, the impact was even greater. They regained nearly two-thirds of the time they used to spend on documentation. Assessment summaries were completed 53% faster, 24-Hour contact notes dropped by 60%, and affidavits, some of the most detailed and high-pressure documents, were completed 76% faster.

In the FC&A team, documentation time fell by 39%. The Home Visit template saved an average of 51 minutes per practitioner, time that would previously have been spent typing late into the afternoon or evening.

As one specialist shared:

“It's helped me leave work on schedule, complete more interviews in a day without the stress of documenting afterward, and respond to cases much faster.”

More time for supporting children 

Caseworkers reported increased quality of visits, having more comprehensive and meaningful conversations, and developing a deeper understanding of family dynamics. 

“With Notes saving me more time, I have been able to be more present in visits with clients and more attentive to their needs.”

Client engagement was rated 9/10. 

“I am able to interact better with clients without having to worry about jotting down notes to type later since starting to use Notes."

Instead of thinking about documentation during visits, they could focus on the person in front of them.

Quality improved 

Faster didn’t mean lower quality. Documentation quality received a 9/10 overall rating. Caseworkers valued being able to review and refine drafts before finalising them, which increased confidence in court-ready documentation.

"I have been more detailed in my documentation. It feels like I have a mini assistant."

Confidence increased 

Before the pilot, only 21% of practitioners felt “definitely confident” in their documentation. After using Notes, that figure rose to 71%. Caseworkers said the increase in confidence came from better-quality drafts and having a full transcript to check, so they didn’t worry about missing important details. 

Work-life balance improved

78% reported an improvement in job satisfaction and 81% reported an improvement to work-life balance. Caseworkers described leaving on time more often, taking lunch breaks as scheduled, and feeling less anxiety during evenings and weekends.

“Notes has been a game changer for me… most importantly, it helps me leave work on time and significantly reduces my daily stress.”

100% said the stress related to documentation was eliminated during the pilot. 

“I've also been far less stressed about the administrative aspect of my job. I'm not spending a drive home from a late visit stressing about when to get my note done because most of the work has already been done for me!”

Supported employees with diverse learning styles 

Neurodivergent learners described feeling more capable of meeting the demands of the role without doubting their long-term fit in the profession. 

“Notes summarises notes much better than I can due to my neurodiversity. I used to include a lot of irrelevant information that caused massive time spent typing to complete my notes.”

A smarter way to manage child welfare documentation

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