We are developing a case management system for attendance services. This system will support monitoring and reporting requirements. It will replace the attendance service application used by current providers.

The case management system's main functions will be available from the start of 2026. It will be further developed during 2026.

The new system is being designed to make it as easy as possible to enter, retrieve and analyse information. Service providers and case managers will be able create their own views and dashboards to support their day-to-day workload management.

The case management system will:

• support referrals for chronically absent students from schools and non-enrolled (NEN) referrals from us to reach the right provider
• help with the transfer of cases to a different provider, including information of previous casework, when required.

The system will use statuses and other factors to manage workflow and report on progress. There will be clear criteria around what status a case should be marked as, such as active or closed.

Providers, schools or case managers will be able to:

• see how attendance is tracking for students during their engagement with the service provider
• upload documents
• create records of phone calls, meetings, case notes, referrals made to other agencies or social services
• create customised plans for each student and share these with schools and students or caregivers.

The case management system will also support:

• collaborative working with the school’s primary contact person for that student
• administration of the Unmet Basic Needs Fund
• operational and contract reporting, including pre-built reports and dashboards.

Data protection

The case management system will use role-based access controls to protect data entered by service providers, schools and by us. This means only those with genuine business need will be able to access it. This includes, for example, controlling which case records can be seen, and which fields within those case records can be seen by different users.

Quarterly reports

The case management system will be able to generate quarterly performance monitoring reports. They will be pre-populated with key data so providers can add commentary. These reports will then be used to inform meetings between the provider and our contract and relationship manager. The reports will form the basis of the quarterly reports that the provider must submit.

Outcomes measures

Reports will include data showing the impact the service has had on student attendance. These outcomes measures will be reported at the end of the following term. This is because it takes time to confirm the attendance data. For example, attendance outcomes measures for Term 2 will appear in the Term 3 report.

Reporting and analysis

The case management system allows reporting and analysis by the provider. This includes pre-built reports and the ability for providers to create their own view and dashboards.

We will publish referral criteria to support schools to determine which chronically absent students to refer to an attendance service. This will be continuously reviewed. It may be adjusted if there are significant differences from the forecast number of referrals.

We will also:

• monitor the rate of referrals across the catchment
• identify where there are unexpectedly low referral rates
• support providers and schools to strengthen relationships and promote referral rates.

We will identify and refer non-enrolled (NEN) students to the provider as quickly as is reasonably practicable.

We will make every effort to identify and close NEN cases that are not valid. This is to make sure students referred to the provider have genuinely met the criteria for a NEN-referral.

The case management system will enable providers to flag students with no current contact details, and to record the actions being taken to locate them. We will provide clear advice for providers in terms of what action should be taken when all contact tracing options have been exhausted and contact details have still not been obtained.

We are strengthening the process by which information is sought from other agencies (Immigration NZ, MSD etc) to make sure this work is undertaken in a timely fashion.