Assessing storage and retrieval of active records at Sanyu Babies’ Home

Abstract

A study was undertaken to assess storage and retrieval of active records at Sanyu Babies’ Home. The objectives were to establish the current status of storage and retrieval of active records at Sanyu Babies’ Home, to find out how storage and retrieval of active records at Sanyu Babies’ Home is managed, to identify the challenges of storage and retrieval of active records at Sanyu Babies’ Home and to make suggestions for the best practices in storage and retrieval active records at Sanyu Babies’ Home. The study adopted a case study research design. Purposive sampling method was used and permitted the researcher to gather information from the targeted population without undertaking a complete inventory. The study considered 3 respondents; secretary, bursar and head section SWSA. Data was collected using observation, interview and document analysis. The findings revealed that babies at Sanyu Babies’ Home were found abandoned in garbage heaps, pit latrines, hospitals, clinics, ditches, taxi parks, trenches, markets, bush, Sanyu Babies’ Home gate and on the road side. Sanyu Babies’ Home maintained records about babies’ origin records, donation records, adoption records, babies’ medical records, staff records and record from police especially police reports, letters from the probation officers, care order issued by the court, police and criminal clearance reports. At Sanyu Babies Home, all active records about the staff and babies were stored in soft copy on computers and external hard drives and hard copies were kept in cupboards. The study established that records at Sanyu Babies Home were retrieved when tracing identity and during assessment by The Ministry of Gender Labour and Social Development to ensure that Sanyu Babies Home conforms to the relevant policies. Management of storage of active records was ensured by backing up of records on external hard drives, records were placed box files and file folder before placing them in wooden cupboards. Retrieval was managed by chronological arrangement of records, labeling of files and alphabetical arrangement of files. Sanyu Babies’ Home faced challenges of inadequate funding, inadequate space, limited storage equipment and misplacement of records. The study recommended that Sanyu Babies Home should recruit trained records management personnel as a crucial element to enable effective storage and timely retrieval of requested records because the study established that most the people dealing with records are not qualified nor trained in records management practices