Action for Children invests in mood tracking app for kids

A charity has invested in an app which encourages children in care to express how they are feeling.

Action for Children has introduced Mind of My Own’s apps as a way for children to digitally share worries and concerns, directly with their social workers.

The technology also allows young people to share such information in confidence.

Following a successful pilot in Bolton Children’s Rights Services last year, Action for Children is now rolling out the use of the technology to fostering services UK-wide as well as select residential services in Wales.

It is estimated that up to 1000 children and 200 Action for Children workers will be using the apps by the end of the year.

John Egan, national director at Action for Children, told Digital Health News that the charity was on a “bit of a journey” with regards to digital.

He added: “Children’s voices are at the heart of all our services.

“We need to get young people to amplify their voice which is something digital has the potential to do which is why we have introduced the app.”

Egan also added that he believed the app could help with mental health as the app gives young people the chance to “offload” their thoughts.

Looking towards the future Egan said Action for Children is looking to “create a spectrum of digital products”.

He added: “We need to need to change – there are children now who have grown up with digital and we have to keep up with that.”

The driving force behind Mind of My Own is to ensure children’s voices are heard.

Jill Thorburn, director at Mind of My Own, told Digital Health News that the app helped children and young people “structure their thoughts”.

She added: “It [the app] can give a real image of what a particular child’s life is like, where they need support and how they feel.”

It is not just children and young people who can benefit from the app as information gathered from it can also be saved to individual case files.

This saves care workers time and means they can have “more rewarding interactions”, according to Thorburn.

Action for Children is not the only charity looking towards apps.

In February 2018, Digital Health News reported on how Breast Cancer Care was awarded £655,000 to further develop an app which supports women once their cancer treatment has ended.