Caseworker Guide

On this page

This guide walks you through the everyday tasks you perform in CRAIG — from logging in and reviewing your dashboard, through intake and investigation, to managing cases, placements, and interstate requests. Everything described here reflects the current system. Screen labels and button names match exactly what you see in the application.

Getting Started

Logging In

  1. Open CRAIG in your browser. You see the login page with the agency branding bar at the top and a Sign In button in the center.

  2. Click Sign In. You are redirected to the agency identity provider (Keycloak) to enter your username and password.

  3. After successful authentication, you land on the Dashboard.

Your session expires after 30 minutes of inactivity. If you receive an unexpected login prompt or a blank page, your session has timed out. Sign in again — any unsaved form data will be lost.

Dashboard Overview

The Dashboard is your landing page after every login. What you see depends on your role.

Table 1. Caseworker view
Tile What it shows

My Caseload

Number of active cases assigned to you.

Overdue Tasks

Tasks that have passed their due date and require your action.

Upcoming Events

Court hearings, plan reviews, and other events scheduled this week.

My Placements

Number of children currently in placement on your caseload.
Table 2. Supervisor / Admin view
Tile What it shows

Total Cases

System-wide count of all cases.

Open Investigations

Number of pending investigations across all workers.

Active Placements

Total children currently placed.

Pending Reviews

Items requiring supervisor sign-off (highlighted in red).

Below the tiles, you see a welcome card showing your username and assigned roles (displayed as badges).

Navigation

The navigation bar runs across the top of every page. The links you see depend on your roles:

  • Dashboard — always visible.

  • Intake — visible to caseworkers, supervisors, and admins. Opens the Investigation Worklist.

  • Cases — visible to caseworkers, supervisors, and admins. Opens the case list.

  • Placement — visible to caseworkers, supervisors, and admins. Opens the Placement Matching page.

  • Exchange — visible to supervisors, admins, and ICPC coordinators.

  • Financial — visible to eligibility workers, supervisors, and admins.

Your name and initials appear at the far right of the navigation bar, along with a Logout link.

A breadcrumb bar beneath the navigation shows your current location and lets you navigate back to parent pages.

Intake and Referrals

Intake is the entry point for new child welfare concerns. You access it by clicking Intake in the navigation bar, which takes you to the Investigation Worklist.

Viewing the Investigation Worklist

The worklist shows all open investigations in your assignment area.

  1. Click Intake in the navigation bar.

  2. The Investigation Worklist page loads, showing a table of investigations.

Filter tabs

Use the tabs at the top of the table to narrow results:

  • All — every investigation regardless of status.

  • Open — investigations currently being worked.

  • Pending Review — investigations submitted for supervisor sign-off.

  • Closed — completed investigations.

  • Mine / All Workers — toggle between your investigations only and all workers' investigations.

Table 3. Table columns
Column Description

Investigation

Link to the investigation detail (shows area and response due date).

Status

Badge showing Open, Pending Review, or Closed.

Worker

The assigned caseworker.

Area

The assignment area (typically the county).

Response Due

The date by which the initial response must occur.

Disposition

The investigation outcome (shown after closure).

You can sort by any column with a sort arrow by clicking the column header. Use the Search box at the top right to filter by keyword.

The worklist header also includes quick-access buttons:

  • Referrals — jump to the referral list.

  • Public Reports — jump to the public report review queue.

  • + New Referral — create a new referral (if you have write access).

Viewing Referrals

  1. From the Investigation Worklist, click Referrals in the header.

  2. The Referrals page shows all referrals in a sortable, searchable table.

Table 4. Referral table columns
Column Description

Referral

Link to the referral detail page.

Received

Date the referral was received.

Reporter Type

Mandated Reporter, Professional Reporter, Anonymous, Self Report, or Law Enforcement.

Admin Unit

The county or administrative unit.

Priority

Immediate (red), 24-Hour (yellow), or 72-Hour.

Screened

"In" (green) if accepted for investigation; "Out" if screened out.

Created By

The worker who entered the referral.

ICWA

Displays an ICWA badge if the referral is flagged for the Indian Child Welfare Act.

Use the Mine / All tabs to switch between your referrals and all referrals in the system.

Creating a New Referral

  1. Click + New Referral (from either the Referrals page or the Investigation Worklist).

  2. The New Referral form opens with two sections.

Table 5. Reporter Information
Field Notes

Reporter Type (required)

Select: Mandated Reporter, Professional Reporter, Anonymous, Self Report, or Law Enforcement.

Reporter Name

Optional. Leave blank for anonymous reports.

Reporter Phone

Optional.

Reporter Relation

Optional. Examples: teacher, neighbor, doctor.
Table 6. Referral Details
Field Notes

Admin Unit (required)

The county where the child resides (e.g., "Fulton").

Priority (required)

Immediate, 24-Hour, or 72-Hour. Defaults to 72-Hour.

Screen In

Checked by default. Uncheck to screen out the referral (it will be retained for pattern detection but will not generate an investigation).

ICWA Flag

Check if the child may be a member of or eligible for membership in a federally recognized tribe.

  1. Click Create Referral.

  2. You are redirected to the referral detail page with a confirmation message.

Viewing Referral Details and Adding Allegations

After creating a referral (or clicking an existing one from the list), you see the Referral Detail page. This page shows:

  • The referral’s screening status, priority, and ICWA flag as badges at the top.

  • A Referral Information card with the received date, reporter type, reporter name, admin unit, and creator.

  • An Allegations table listing all allegations linked to this referral.

To add an allegation:

  1. Scroll down to the ADD ALLEGATION section beneath the allegations table.

  2. Fill in the fields:

    Field Notes

    Victim Person ID (required)

    The UUID of the child (victim).

    Perpetrator ID

    Optional. The UUID of the alleged perpetrator.

    Abuse Type (required)

    Physical Abuse, Sexual Abuse, Neglect, or Emotional Abuse.

    Description

    Optional brief description of the allegation.

  3. Click Add Allegation.

  4. A confirmation message appears and the allegation is added to the table.

Opening an Investigation from a Referral

If a referral is screened in, an OPEN INVESTIGATION form appears on the referral detail page.

  1. In the OPEN INVESTIGATION section, fill in:

    Field Notes

    Assigned Worker (required)

    Pre-filled with your username. Change if assigning to another worker.

    Assignment Area (required)

    Pre-filled with the referral’s admin unit.

    Response Due (required)

    Select a date and time. This is the deadline for initial contact.

  2. Click Open Investigation.

  3. You are redirected to the investigation detail page.

Working an Investigation

The Investigation Detail page shows:

  • The investigation ID and status badge (Open, Pending Review, or Closed) at the top.

  • An Investigation Details card with: linked referral (clickable), assigned worker, area, status, response due date, first contact date, disposition, and closure date.

  • An Actions card (visible while the investigation is open) with available actions.

Table 7. Available actions by status:
Current Status Action Who Can Do It

Open

Safety Assessment — navigate to the safety assessment form.

Any worker with write access.

Open

Submit for Review — changes status to Pending Review.

Any worker with write access.

Pending Review

Close Investigation — select a disposition and close.

Supervisors only.

Completing a Safety Assessment

  1. From the investigation detail, click Safety Assessment.

  2. The Safety Assessment page loads, showing an info banner with the investigation details.

  3. Fill in the two JSON fields:

    • Safety Threats (JSON) — enter threat indicators as key-value pairs. Example:

      {"caregiver_substance_abuse": true, "domestic_violence": false, "inadequate_supervision": true}

    • Protective Capacities (JSON) — enter protective factors. Example:

      {"extended_family_support": true, "parent_cooperative": true, "stable_housing": false}

  4. Optionally, use the WORKER OVERRIDE section:

    • Override Decision — select "Override to SAFE" or "Override to UNSAFE" to override the Rules Engine recommendation.

    • Override Reason — required if you select an override. Document your professional justification.

  5. Click Submit Assessment.

  6. The threats and protective capacities are evaluated by the Rules Engine. Both the engine’s decision and any worker override are recorded.

The Rules Engine decision is advisory. Your professional judgment is always the recorded decision. The rule set version is tracked for audit purposes.

Submitting for Supervisor Review

  1. On the investigation detail page, click Submit for Review.

  2. The status changes to Pending Review and a confirmation message appears.

Closing an Investigation (Supervisors)

  1. Open an investigation that is in Pending Review status.

  2. In the Actions card, select a disposition from the dropdown:

    • Substantiated

    • Unsubstantiated

    • Inconclusive

  3. Click Close Investigation.

  4. The status changes to Closed and the disposition is recorded.

Reviewing Public Reports

Members of the public can submit concern reports through the public intake portal. These appear in the Public Report Review Queue.

  1. From the Investigation Worklist, click Public Reports.

  2. The review queue shows a table of submitted reports.

Table 8. Report columns
Column Description

Code

The confirmation code given to the reporter.

Status

Pending, Screening, Converted, or Screened Out.

Admin Unit

County or area.

Type

The type of concern reported.

Danger

Displays a red "DANGER" badge if the reporter indicated immediate danger.

Reporter

The reporter type.

Submitted

Date and time the report was submitted.

Use the Status and Admin Unit filters to narrow results. Click Review next to a report to open its detail page for screening.

Case Management

Viewing Your Case List

  1. Click Cases in the navigation bar.

  2. The Cases page loads with a sortable, searchable table.

Filter tabs

  • All / Open / Closed / Transferred — filter by case status.

  • Mine / All Workers — toggle between your caseload and all cases.

Table 9. Table columns
Column Description

Case Number

Link to the case detail page. Format: ADMINUNIT-YYYYMMDD-XXXX.

Status

Open (green), Closed (gray), or Transferred (yellow).

Admin Unit

The county.

Worker

Assigned caseworker.

Opened

Date the case was opened.

ICWA

Displays an ICWA badge if applicable.

Use the Search box to find cases by case number, worker, or admin unit. Column headers with sort arrows can be clicked to sort ascending or descending. If there are many cases, use the pagination bar at the bottom to navigate pages.

Creating a New Case

  1. On the Cases page, click + New Case.

  2. Fill in the form:

    Field Notes

    Admin Unit (required)

    The county (e.g., "Fulton").

    Assigned Worker (required)

    Pre-filled with your username.

    Supervisor

    Optional. Enter the supervisor’s username if applicable.

    ICWA Eligible

    Check if ICWA applies.

  3. Click Create Case.

  4. You are redirected to the new case’s detail page with a confirmation message. The system generates a case number automatically.

Case Detail Page

The case detail page displays the case number and status badge at the top, along with an ICWA badge if applicable. Below is a row of five tabs:

  • Summary

  • Household

  • Case Plan

  • Contacts

  • Court

Click a tab name to switch between them. All tabs load without leaving the page.

Summary Tab

The Summary tab is selected by default. It shows a Case Details card with key-value pairs:

  • Case Number, Status, Stage, Admin Unit, Assigned Worker, Supervisor, Opened date.

  • If the case is closed: Closed date and Closure Reason.

Closing a case:

If the case is open and you have write access, a red Close Case button appears at the bottom of the Summary tab.

  1. Click Close Case.

  2. The case status changes to Closed and a confirmation message appears.

Household Tab

The Household tab shows a table of all people associated with the case.

Table 10. Household table columns
Column Description

Person ID

The person’s UUID.

Role

Parent, Child, Caregiver, Sibling, or Other.

Primary Caregiver

Yes or dash.

Active

Whether the person is currently active on the case.

Added

Date added to the household.
To add a household member:

  1. Click + Add Member below the table.

  2. Fill in:

    • Person ID — the UUID of the person.

    • Role — select Parent, Child, Caregiver, Sibling, or Other.

    • Primary Caregiver — check if this person is the primary caregiver.

  3. Click Add Member.

  4. The new member appears in the table.

To cancel without adding, click Cancel.

Case Plan Tab

The Case Plan tab shows all case plans for this case. Each plan is displayed as a card with a gold left border, showing:

  • The permanency goal as the heading.

  • A status badge: Active (green) or Draft (yellow).

  • Strengths, Needs, Review Due date, Approved By, and Created By.

Supervisor actions:

If you are a supervisor and a plan is in Draft status, an Approve Plan button appears. Click it to approve the plan and change its status to Active.

To create a new case plan:

  1. Click + Create Plan below the existing plans.

  2. Fill in:

    Field Notes

    Permanency Goal (required)

    Reunification, Adoption, Guardianship, Long-Term Foster Care, Emancipation, Relative Placement, or Not Yet Established.

    Strengths

    Optional. Describe the family’s strengths.

    Needs

    Optional. Describe identified needs.

  3. Click Create Plan.

To add a task to a plan:

  1. Within a plan card, click + Add Task.

  2. Fill in:

    Field Notes

    Description (required)

    What needs to be done.

    Responsible (required)

    Agency, Parent, Provider, or Other.

    Due Date

    Optional. When the task should be completed.

  3. Click Add Task.

Contacts Tab

The Contacts tab shows a Contact Log table. Click any row to expand it and see the narrative and attachments.

Table 11. Contact log columns
Column Description

Date

When the contact occurred.

Type

Home Visit, Office Visit, Phone Call, Video Call, School Visit, or Collateral.

With

The person contacted.

Duration

Length in minutes.

Recorded By

The worker who logged the contact.
Expanded row

When you click a contact row, a detail area opens showing:

  • Narrative — the full contact notes.

  • Attachments — files attached to this contact (loaded automatically). Each attachment has a download link and a delete button.

To add a new contact:

  1. Click + Add Contact below the table.

  2. Fill in:

    Field Notes

    Contact Type (required)

    Home Visit, Office Visit, Phone Call, Video Call, School Visit, or Collateral.

    Contact With (required)

    Name or role of the person contacted.

    Date (required)

    Date and time of the contact.

    Duration (minutes)

    Optional.

    Notes

    Optional narrative describing the contact.

  3. Click Add Contact.

To upload an attachment:

  1. Click on a contact row to expand it.

  2. In the Attachments area, use the file input to select a file.

  3. Click Upload.

  4. A confirmation message appears.

Court Tab

The Court tab shows a Court Orders table.

Table 12. Court orders columns
Column Description

Date

The date of the court order.

Type

Removal, Shelter Care, Adjudication, Disposition, Review Hearing, Permanency Hearing, or Termination of Parental Rights.

Court

Name of the court.

Judge

Name of the judge.

Next Hearing

Date of the next scheduled hearing.
To add a court order:

  1. Click + Add Court Order below the table.

  2. Fill in:

    Field Notes

    Order Type (required)

    Select from the list above.

    Order Date (required)

    The date of the order.

    Court Name

    Optional. Example: "Fulton County Juvenile Court".

    Judge

    Optional.

    Next Hearing Date

    Optional.

  3. Click Add Court Order.

Placement

You access placement features by clicking Placement in the navigation bar, which opens the Placement Matching page. From there, you can also reach the Foster Homes list and the Placements list using the navigation.

Placement Matching

The Placement Matching page helps you find available foster homes for a child.

  1. Click Placement in the navigation bar.

  2. The Placement Matching page loads with a Search Criteria form.

  3. Enter search filters:

    Field Notes

    Child ID

    The UUID of the child to match.

    Child Age

    Age in years.

    ICWA Required

    Select "Yes" to show only ICWA-compliant homes, or "Any" for all.

  4. Click Search.

  5. Results appear in a table below.

Table 13. Matching results columns
Column Description

Home Name

Link to the foster home detail page.

Admin Unit

County.

License

Active (green), Expired (red), or Pending (yellow).

Type

License type (e.g., regular, therapeutic).

Capacity

Current occupancy / maximum capacity.

Siblings

Whether the home accepts sibling groups.

ICWA

Displays an ICWA badge if the home is ICWA-compliant.

Viewing Foster Homes

  1. Navigate to the Foster Homes list (accessible from Placement pages).

  2. The Foster Homes page shows a sortable, searchable table.

Table 14. Foster homes columns
Column Description

Name

Link to the home detail page.

Admin Unit

County.

License Status

Active, Expired, or Pending.

Type

License type.

Capacity

Current occupancy / maximum.

Phone

Contact number.

ICWA

ICWA compliance badge.

Foster Home Detail

Click a home name to open its detail page, which shows:

  • The home name, license status badge, and ICWA badge at the top.

  • A Home Details card with: address, admin unit, phone, license type, license expiration date, capacity (current / max), whether the home accepts sibling groups, and primary contact.

  • A Training Records table.

Table 15. Training records columns
Column Description

Training Type

Pre-Service, CPR / First Aid, Medication Management, Trauma-Informed Care, Cultural Competency, or In-Service.

Completed

Date the training was completed.

Expires

Expiration date (if applicable).

Hours

Number of training hours.

Verified By

The person who verified the training.
To add a training record:

  1. Click + Add Training below the table.

  2. Fill in:

    Field Notes

    Training Type (required)

    Select from the list.

    Hours (required)

    Number of hours (minimum 0.5, in 0.5-hour increments).

    Completed Date (required)

    When the training was completed.

    Expires

    Optional expiration date.

  3. Click Add Training.

Viewing Placements

The Placements page shows all placement records.

Filter tabs

  • All / Active / Ended / Planned — filter by placement status.

Table 16. Placements table columns
Column Description

Case

Link to the associated case.

Child

The child’s name or ID.

Type

Foster Care, Kinship, Therapeutic, Group Home, Residential, Pre-Adoptive, Trial Home Visit, or Supervised Independent Living.

Status

Active (green), Ended (gray), or Planned (yellow).

Started

Placement start date.

Ended

End date (if applicable).

Permanency Goal

The permanency goal for this placement.

Creating a New Placement

  1. Click + New Placement on the Placements page.

  2. Fill in:

    Field Notes

    Case ID (required)

    The UUID of the case.

    Child ID (required)

    The UUID of the child.

    Foster Home

    Select from the dropdown. Each option shows the home name, county, and current capacity.

    Placement Type (required)

    Foster Care, Kinship, Therapeutic, Group Home, Residential, Pre-Adoptive, Trial Home Visit, or Supervised Independent Living.

    Start Date (required)

    When the placement begins.

    Permanency Goal

    Optional. Reunification, Adoption, Guardianship, Long-Term Foster Care, Emancipation, Relative Placement, or Not Yet Established.

  3. Click Create Placement.

Ending a Placement

  1. On the Placements list, find the active placement you want to end.

  2. Click the red End button in the last column.

  3. A form expands inline:

    • Enter the end date.

    • Select the end reason: Reunification, Adoption, Guardianship, Emancipation, Transfer, Aging Out, Disruption, or Runaway.

  4. Click Confirm.

  5. A confirmation message appears and the placement status changes to Ended.

Data Exchange (ICPC)

Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) requests are managed under Exchange in the navigation bar.

The Exchange section is visible to supervisors, admins, and ICPC coordinators only. As a caseworker, you may view ICPC details through case links but cannot directly access the ICPC worklist.

Viewing ICPC Requests

  1. Click Exchange in the navigation bar.

  2. Navigate to the ICPC Requests page.

Filter tabs

  • All / Pending / Approved / Denied — filter by request status.

Table 17. ICPC table columns
Column Description

Case

Link to the ICPC request detail page (shows case number or ID).

Direction

Outgoing (yellow) or Incoming (green).

Sending State

The state sending the child.

Receiving State

The state receiving the child.

Type

Foster Care, Adoption, Parent/Relative, or Residential.

Status

Approved (green), Pending (yellow), or Denied (red).

Submitted

Date the request was submitted.

Deadline

The 60-business-day completion deadline.

ICPC Request Detail

Click a case link to open the ICPC Request Detail page, which shows:

  • The sending and receiving states in the page heading.

  • Status badges: Draft, Submitted, Home Study Completed, Approved, Denied, or Closed.

  • A Request Details card with: direction, sending/receiving states, request type, linked case, child ID, submission date, deadline, and creator.

  • A Home Study section (when applicable) showing:

    • Home Safety status (Approved, Denied, or Pending).

    • Background Checks status.

    • Coordinator decision (if rendered).

    • Completion date and assessor.

If no home study has been recorded yet, the section displays "No home study recorded yet."

Financial (View Only)

The Financial section lets you view payment and claiming information. It is accessible to eligibility workers, supervisors, and admins.

As a caseworker, you may not see the Financial link in the navigation bar unless you also have the eligibility_worker role. If you need to check payment status, ask your supervisor or eligibility worker for assistance.

Viewing Payments

  1. Click Financial in the navigation bar.

  2. The Payments page loads with a sortable, searchable table.

Table 18. Payments table columns
Column Description

Period

The payment period (start — end date). Click to open the payment detail.

Type

Payment type (e.g., board, clothing, special).

Day Count

Number of days in the payment period.

Gross

Gross payment amount.

Net

Net amount after adjustments.

IV-E

"Yes" (green) if Title IV-E eligible; "No" (yellow) otherwise.

Status

Pending, Approved, Issued, Cleared, or Voided.

Payment Detail

Click a payment period to open the detail page, which shows:

  • Status badge and IV-E eligibility badge at the top.

  • Payment Information card with: payment type, period, daily rate, day count, gross amount, adjustments, net amount.

  • If IV-E eligible: FFP rate and FFP amount.

  • Approval and issuance details (if available).

  • An Adjustments table listing any payment adjustments with: reason, amount, requested by, status, and approved by.

Viewing Claims

Navigate to the Claiming Records page from the Financial section.

Table 19. Claims table columns
Column Description

Period

The claiming period. Click to open claim details.

Type

Payment type.

Total Expenditure

Total dollars spent.

IV-E Eligible

Dollar amount eligible for IV-E reimbursement.

FFP Claimed

Federal Financial Participation amount claimed.

Status

Submitted or Accepted.

Common Tasks Quick Reference

Task Steps

Log in

Open CRAIG, click Sign In, enter credentials.

Create a referral

Intake > + New Referral > fill form > Create Referral.

Add an allegation

Open referral detail > scroll to ADD ALLEGATION > fill form > Add Allegation.

Open an investigation

Open screened-in referral > fill OPEN INVESTIGATION form > Open Investigation.

Complete a safety assessment

Investigation detail > Safety Assessment > fill threats and protective capacities > Submit Assessment.

Submit investigation for review

Investigation detail > Submit for Review.

Close an investigation (supervisor)

Investigation detail (Pending Review) > select disposition > Close Investigation.

Create a case

Cases > + New Case > fill form > Create Case.

Add a household member

Case detail > Household tab > + Add Member > fill form > Add Member.

Create a case plan

Case detail > Case Plan tab > + Create Plan > fill form > Create Plan.

Approve a case plan (supervisor)

Case detail > Case Plan tab > Approve Plan.

Add a task to a plan

Case detail > Case Plan tab > + Add Task > fill form > Add Task.

Log a contact

Case detail > Contacts tab > + Add Contact > fill form > Add Contact.

Upload an attachment

Case detail > Contacts tab > click contact row > select file > Upload.

Add a court order

Case detail > Court tab > + Add Court Order > fill form > Add Court Order.

Close a case

Case detail > Summary tab > Close Case.

Find a foster home

Placement > Placement Matching > fill search criteria > Search.

Create a placement

Placements > + New Placement > fill form > Create Placement.

End a placement

Placements list > End button > fill end date and reason > Confirm.

Add a training record

Foster home detail > + Add Training > fill form > Add Training.

View ICPC requests

Exchange > ICPC Requests.

View payment details

Financial > Payments > click a period.

All list pages support sorting (click column headers), searching (type in the Search box), and pagination (use the page numbers at the bottom). Tables have resizable columns — drag the column borders to adjust widths.
Edit this page · latest