Primero Case Management for Humanitarian Child Protection Training Course

Course overview

Humanitarian child protection teams need case-management information that is timely, protected, and usable for decisions without exposing children or caregivers to further harm. When teams rely on disconnected spreadsheets, inconsistent intake forms, or poorly configured systems, they risk duplicate records, unsafe access, missed follow-up actions, and reporting that does not reflect the quality of services delivered. This course prepares practitioners to use Primero as a structured case-management platform within child protection responses, from initial registration through case closure and aggregate reporting.

Participants learn to translate child protection case-management workflows into Primero configurations and daily operating practices. They work with survivor- and child-centred data principles; service types; forms; workflows; user roles; agency and location hierarchies; referrals; approvals; follow-up actions; and reporting dashboards. The course also addresses consent, informed data sharing, role-based access, data minimisation, secure case notes, duplicate management, and data-quality checks. Participants practise making operational decisions that balance programme visibility with the confidentiality required for sensitive child protection information.

Delivery combines instructor demonstrations in a Primero training environment with guided configuration labs, realistic humanitarian response scenarios, peer review, and facilitated discussions on implementation choices. Teams work through a simulated response involving separated children, children at risk of exploitation, and referrals to specialised services. Each participant leaves with a documented Primero implementation blueprint containing a workflow map, draft form and field design, user-access matrix, referral pathway, data-quality routine, and initial reporting specification that can be adapted for their programme.

The course is best suited to professionals who already understand humanitarian child protection programming and now need to administer, configure, supervise, or govern case-management data in Primero.

Course objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Configure a Primero case workflow from registration, assessment and case planning through follow-up and closure
• Design child protection forms, fields, validations and mandatory-data rules for a defined response context
• Apply informed-consent, data-minimisation and confidentiality controls to sensitive child protection records
• Set up user roles, permissions, agency structures and location hierarchies using least-privilege principles
• Create and manage referrals, transfer requests, approvals and service follow-up actions in Primero
• Use duplicate detection, record-review routines and data-quality checks to improve case-file reliability
• Produce disaggregated case-management reports and dashboards without exposing identifiable child data
• Develop a Primero implementation blueprint with workflow, access, form, referral and reporting specifications

Benefits of attending

Target competencies

Who should attend

• Child Protection Case Management Coordinators — who must standardise workflows and supervise case-management quality across response teams
• Primero System Administrators — who configure forms, permissions, user accounts and reporting structures for operational users
• Child Protection Information Management Officers — who maintain data quality and produce safe, decision-ready aggregate analysis
• Child Protection Managers — who need governance controls and reporting that support programme oversight without compromising confidentiality
• Case Management Supervisors — who review case progress, referrals and follow-up compliance across caseworkers
• Humanitarian Programme Managers — who approve digital case-management processes and need to assess operational and protection risks

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have practical experience in humanitarian child protection case management, casework supervision, information management, or programme implementation. They should understand core concepts including the best interests of the child, informed consent, confidentiality, referrals, case plans, follow-up, and case closure. Familiarity with web-based data systems and spreadsheet review is expected, and prior access to a Primero instance is helpful but not essential. This is not a beginner course in child protection case management; it focuses on translating established practice into secure Primero workflows. Participants do not need programming, database administration, or software-development experience.

Training methodology

The course uses a Primero training environment throughout the five days. The instructor introduces each configuration decision through short demonstrations linked to the Inter-Agency Case Management Guidelines and realistic response constraints. Participants then build forms, workflows, access controls, referrals and reports in guided labs. Small groups analyse case-management scenarios to decide what should be recorded, shared, approved or withheld. Daily exercises produce components of an implementation blueprint, and the final workshop consolidates these into an application plan for each participant’s programme, including risks, owners and next actions.

Course outline

Day 1: Child Protection Case Management and Primero Foundations

• Primero architecture, modules and navigation in a humanitarian response environment
• Child-centred, survivor-centred and best-interests principles for digital case records
• Inter-Agency Case Management Guidelines and CPMS requirements relevant to system design
• Case-management lifecycle from identification and registration to closure
• Data-minimisation decisions for child protection intake and case documentation
• Informed consent, assent and safe information-sharing thresholds
• Mapping existing paper or spreadsheet workflows to Primero process stages

Workshop: Participants map a simulated child protection response workflow and identify the records, decisions, actors and safeguards required at each stage.

Day 2: Forms, Workflows and Case-File Configuration

• Creating Primero forms, subforms, field types and field help text
• Designing mandatory fields, validations, conditional logic and controlled vocabularies
• Configuring registration, assessment, case plan, follow-up and closure record structures
• Defining service types, protection concerns and referral outcome categories
• Using workflow status, approvals and task assignments to control case progression
• Configuring alerts and due-date logic for follow-up actions
• Testing forms against usability, data-quality and safeguarding criteria

Workshop: Participants build and test a draft registration and assessment form set for the simulated response, including validation and conditional-display rules.

Day 3: Access Control, Confidentiality and Information Sharing

• User accounts, role groups and role-based permissions in Primero
• Agency, location and organisational hierarchy configuration
• Least-privilege access design for caseworkers, supervisors, managers and administrators
• Record ownership, team visibility and supervisor review arrangements
• Safe referral, transfer and information-sharing workflows between agencies
• Managing sensitive case notes, attachments and restricted fields
• Duplicate detection, merge decisions and audit-trail review

Workshop: Participants create an access matrix and configure a referral scenario that permits necessary service coordination while restricting sensitive case details.

Day 4: Case Operations, Data Quality and Reporting

• Caseload views, task lists and overdue follow-up monitoring
• Supervisor review routines for assessments, case plans and closure decisions
• Data-quality dimensions: completeness, validity, timeliness, consistency and uniqueness
• Building data-cleaning queries and exception lists for operational follow-up
• Designing disaggregation by age, sex, disability, location and protection concern
• Creating Primero reports and dashboards for programme management
• Applying disclosure control to aggregate reporting and external data requests

Workshop: Participants use a sample caseload to identify data-quality issues and produce a safe management dashboard with agreed operational indicators.

Day 5: Implementation Governance and Applied Primero Design

• Primero implementation readiness assessment and phased rollout planning
• Standard operating procedures for registration, referrals, supervision and case closure
• User onboarding, training plans and administrator support arrangements
• Data protection governance, retention periods and incident-response responsibilities
• Interoperability considerations with CPIMS+, KoboToolbox and partner reporting processes
• Monitoring adoption, workflow compliance and user feedback after go-live
• Presenting a configuration rationale to protection leadership and partner agencies

Workshop: Participants finalise and present a Primero implementation blueprint containing workflow maps, forms, permissions, referral rules, reports, governance actions and a 90-day rollout plan.

Tools & standards covered

Primero, CPIMS+, KoboToolbox, Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action (CPMS)

A typical training day

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in the East Africa Time zone, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

How you can take this course

Certification

Participants who complete the full five days receive the Skillset Development Certificate of Completion, stating the course title, course code, dates and delivery format — suitable for professional-development records and employer reimbursement.

Frequently asked questions