SCADpro × Deloitte is an interdisciplinary studio connecting SCAD graduate designers with Deloitte innovation leaders to tackle complex social and public-sector challenges.
Our team worked to rethink the digital child welfare experience, developing research-backed design strategies to improve case management, communication, and service delivery for vulnerable families.
Objective
Redesign the child welfare case management system for US government to ease caseworker workload, improve cross-agency collaboration, and deliver a more human-centered digital experience for children and families.
Duration
11 Weeks
My Role
Production Lead
Presenter
Led creative direction and storytelling
Coordinated cross-functional teams
Tools
Figma
Miro
Adobe
PowerPoint
Notion
Slack
Team
12 multidisciplinary designers from SCAD University
Partnered with Deloitte Government & Public Services
Faculty mentor: Scott Horner
Challenge
The child welfare system was chaotic, fragmented, and emotionally exhausting for caseworkers.
There was no unified or systematic way to document or share information about children, parents, or their case progress — leading to data loss, duplicated work, and communication breakdowns between agencies.
Caseworkers often relied on manual spreadsheets, emails, or personal notes, resulting in delays and emotional strain for both workers and families.
75%
of case data is stored in isolated systems, leading to inconsistent and duplicated records.
Our challenge was to map this disjointed ecosystem, identify points of failure, and envision opportunities where digital design could simplify workflows and restore human empathy in the process.
4/5
caseworkers expressed frustration over not being able to access or update child histories in real time.
As Production Lead and researcher, I helped define key research priorities, visualize cross-agency pain points through journey maps, and conduct interviews to uncover emotional and operational challenges. I synthesized these insights into clear opportunity areas and “How Might We” questions, guiding Deloitte’s design direction. I also led storytelling, presentation design, and video production to clearly communicate our findings and align stakeholders around shared goals.
60%
of communication between agencies relied on manual emails or spreadsheets, creating information loss and workflow delays.
50%
Emotional strain and caseworker burnout rates above 50% directly impacted service quality and case follow-ups.
How might we create a unified, secure platform that enables agencies to manage and share child welfare data through a scalable communication model adaptable to diverse workflows and regulations?
Final Solution
The outcome guided Deloitte’s next steps in digital transformation for government services, establishing a research-backed framework for caseworker support systems. The experience strengthened my ability to navigate complex systems and communicate design value within corporate structures.
Due to confidentiality agreements with Deloitte, specific solution details and visuals cannot be publicly shared. If you would like to know more about this project, please contact me and I will let you know what I can do!
The following overview highlights my role, process, and key research outcomes from the project.
Process
Research & Insights
Our team initially determined the main unknowns influencing the system's failures before beginning any investigation.
I led an internal audit and brainstorming sessions to determine what actually required research, concentrating on areas where a lack of understanding directly hampered the design process.
We used a multi-layered research methodology to address issues, integrating system-level analysis (stakeholder mapping, process visualization, and service blueprinting) with qualitative techniques (interviews, journey mapping, and contextual observation).
This structure made sure that all of the information we collected was based on actual behavior, approved by relevant parties, and in line with Deloitte's long-term goals for digital transformation.
We prioritized three critical research questions:
Information Flow:
How is case data currently captured, stored, and shared across agencies?
User Behavior:
What emotional and operational challenges do caseworkers face daily?
System Constraints:
What legal, policy, or organizational barriers limit change?
I currently cannot share more information about this project due to NDA restrictions.
If you would like to know more about this project, please contact me and I will let you know what I can do!