How Subtypes Categorise Cases

Subtypes are a way to identify and categorise cases. In the Fostering Hub, subtype is used to hold the name of the local authority the enquiry relates to. Subtypes can be set automatically in one of two ways. They can also be changed manually.

The default starting category for a fostering enquiry case is "Other".

Address to Custodian

If the form used to raise an enquiry asks for a postcode, that postcode can be used to look up the relevant local authority.

In the Configuration End Points, the custodians object maps codes to local authorities:

custodians: {
    5990: "Westminster City Council",
    5150: "LB Brent",
    5270: "LB Ealing",
    5450: "LB Harrow",
    5510: "LB Hillingdon",
    5600: "Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea",
    5390: "LB Hammersmith and Fulham",
    5540: "LB Hounslow"
}

For this to work, the address lookup needs to be able to return and set an ADDRESSLOOKUP_CUSTODIAN variable. The handler of the address lookup field can also check that the custodian return from the lookup is one of those set in the configuration.

The relevant local authority is then set as the case subtype in the start workflow action. The custodian name must match those set in the case configuration (see screenshot below).

Mapping URLs to Subtypes

Alternatively you might have dedicated local authority contact pages. If you do, the URL of the contact page can be used to lookup the authority and categorise the enquiry. For this to work, the following needs to be in place.

Create articles using the Forms Service template that displays the enquiry form for each authority. Each article should have friendly URLs in the following format:

• https://fosterwithwestlondon.org.uk/contact/harrow
• https://fosterwithwestlondon.org.uk/contact/brent
• https://www.fosterwithwestlondon.org.uk/contact/ealing
• Etc

In the Configuration End Points, mappings are set up between the final part of the contact URLs above, and the relevant local authority:

// Map friendly URL text to case subtype
friendlyUrls: {
    "brent": "LB Brent",
    "ealing": "LB Ealing",
    "harrow": "LB Harrow",
    "sharedservice": "Fostering Shared Service",
}

These mappings must match the local authorities set in the case configuration:

The relevant local authority is then set as the case subtype in the GETSUBTYPE variable field and start workflow action.

Changing Subtype

The enquiry case can be recategorised at any time by picking a new subtype from the case details screen: