GAO-04-267T Child Welfare: States Face Challenges in Developing Information Systems and Reporting Reliable Child Welfare Data

ثبت نشده
چکیده

To view the full product, including the scope and methodology, click on the link above. HHS reported that 47 states are developing or operating a SACWIS, but many states continue to face challenges developing their systems. Most state officials said they recognize the benefit their state will achieve by developing SACWIS, such as contributing to the timeliness of child abuse and neglect investigations; however, despite the availability of federal funds since 1994, states reported a median delay of 2½ years beyond the time frames they set for completion. States reported that they encountered some difficulties during SACWIS development, such as challenges receiving state funding and creating a system that reflected their work processes. In response to some of these challenges, HHS has provided technical assistance to help states develop their systems and conducted on-site reviews of SACWIS to verify that the systems meet federal requirements. Despite efforts to implement comprehensive information systems, several factors affect the states' ability to collect and report reliable adoption, foster care, and child abuse and neglect data. States responding to GAO's survey and officials in the five states GAO visited reported that insufficient caseworker training and inaccurate and incomplete data entry affect the quality of the data reported to HHS. In addition, states reported technical challenges reporting data. Despite HHS assistance, many states report ongoing challenges, such as the lack of clear and documented guidance on how to report child welfare data. In addition, although states were mandated to begin reporting data to the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis Reporting System (AFCARS) in 1995, few reviews of states' AFCARS reporting capabilities have been conducted to assist states in resolving some of their reporting challenges. Some states are using a variety of practices to address the challenges associated with developing SACWIS and improving data reliability. For example, 28 states reported using approaches to help caseworkers identify and better understand the data elements that are required for federal reporting. In a related report, we recommended that the Secretary of HHS consider ways to enhance the guidance and assistance offered to states to help them overcome the key challenges in collecting and reporting child welfare data. These efforts could include a stronger emphasis placed on conducting AFCARS reviews and timelier follow-up to help states implement their improvement plans or identifying a useful method to provide clear and consistent guidance. HHS generally agreed with our findings but, in response …

برای دانلود رایگان متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

منابع مشابه

Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and State Child Welfare Systems.

In several states, commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) is now a reportable child abuse offense. Illinois has taken the lead in tackling the issue and the Illinois experience illuminates valuable lessons. This article delineates the protection, practice, and policy implications that evolve when CSEC falls under a state child welfare system. The specific aims are to (a) discuss CSEC...

متن کامل

Methodological challenges in measuring child maltreatment.

OBJECTIVE This article reviewed the different surveillance systems used to monitor the extent of reported child maltreatment in North America. METHODS Key measurement and definitional differences between the surveillance systems are detailed and their potential impact on the measurement of the rate of victimization. The infrastructure requirements, quality of information, timely access to dat...

متن کامل

It's not as simple as it sounds: Problems and solutions in accessing and using administrative child welfare data for evaluating the impact of early childhood interventions.

In recent years, there has been increasing interest in using administrative data collected by state child welfare agencies as a source of information for research and evaluation. The challenges of obtaining access to and using these data, however, have not been well documented. This study describes the processes used to access child welfare records in six different states and the approach to co...

متن کامل

Adapting systems of care for child welfare practice with immigrant Latino children and families.

Recent reform efforts in the child welfare system have called for child welfare agencies to provide community-based services and to increase the involvement of external stakeholders in identifying and developing services within the community. At the same time, child welfare agencies are faced with the challenge of providing services to an increasingly diverse population of children and families...

متن کامل

Children with parents in prison: child welfare policy, program, and practice issues.

As the rate at which adults are being incarcerated in the United States escalates, child welfare professionals are encountering growing numbers of children who have parents in prison. Current estimates indicate that as many as 1.5 million children have an incarcerated parent; many thousands of others have experienced the incarceration of a parent at some point in their lives. These vulnerable c...

متن کامل

ذخیره در منابع من


  با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید

عنوان ژورنال:

دوره   شماره 

صفحات  -

تاریخ انتشار 2003