November 2023Vol. 24, No. 9Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System News
Written by Children's Bureau Division of State Systems staff
We were delighted to present Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System (CCWIS) training at the September 2023 American Public Human Services Association IT Solutions Management Conference in Kissimmee, FL. If you couldn’t attend, here are key messages we shared with states and tribes developing or thinking about developing a new CCWIS:
- In our review of CCWIS projects, the most successful projects support regular and frequent program and information technology (IT) collaboration. Agencies that do so promote active learning to build capacity and strengthen system implementation. Agencies should reinforce the view that CCWIS is a tool to implement and support the child welfare program, not a typical start-to-finish IT project.
- We encourage proactive use of the CCWIS Self-Assessment Tools to support internal reviews and continuous improvement while ensuring alignment with federal regulations applicable to CCWIS and agency program needs.
- Organizational change management is a critical and often overlooked or underfunded aspect of implementing CCWIS. The involvement of multiple partners and system users throughout the system life cycle helps to ensure positive and successful user experiences. Find information about change and implementation in practice on the Capacity Building Center for States website.
- Agencies may wish to consider how automation can be used to provide information to the agency (and/or federal entities) at any point in time to understand potential compliance issues as well as program needs. Agencies should also discuss these activities with their assigned federal analyst during monitoring calls.
Recent Webinar:
- "Fundamentals of Change and Implementation in Child Welfare Information Systems" - Webinar recording from August 30, 2023
Recent and Upcoming Publications:
- CCWIS Technical Bulletin #10: Low Code Solutions - Published August 23, 2023
- Mapping Change and Implementation to CCWIS Projects Tip Sheet - Published TBD
If you have questions and are unsure who to contact, please email CCWIS.Questions@acf.hhs.gov. You may also be interested in our CCWIS Announcement Listserv.