September 2023Vol. 24, No. 7Comprehensive Child Welfare Information Systems: Did You Know?
Comprehensive Child Welfare Information Systems (CCWIS) regulations (45 CFR § 1355.52) support continuous improvement and effective program management. CCWIS are more than data repositories and should be dynamic tools that evolve to support changing program needs. As such, agencies are encouraged to integrate CCWIS compliance strategies with the agency’s strategic initiatives, such as the Child and Family Services Review (CFSR) Program Improvement Plan. Project and system strategies that support CCWIS, as well as strong practice and CFSR performance, may include the following:
- Inclusive involvement of people with lived experience in project plans and implementation
- Automation to support timely, accurate, and complete data
- Innovative and easy-to-use contact and visit logs
- Real-time placement data access to ease system adoption and improve data accuracy
- Ease of correcting placement data and inserting placement episodes
- Portals for older youth, families of origin, foster families, and providers to improve data accuracy and involvement in case planning
- Actionable and accurate data reports to understand factors correlated with positive or poor program outcomes
- Service or case planning and monitoring that effectively supports agency staff and families and efficiently provides the data needed for prevention and foster care reporting
Agencies are encouraged to view the CCWIS Technical Bulletin #7: Technical Assistance, Self-Assessment Tools, and Monitoring Reviews. The most critical parts of the tools are the program goals and first sections that ask agencies to provide evidence the system supports efficient and effective program management and service data. The CCWIS self-assessment tools align with program needs and many of the CFSR objectives. In particular, these tools may offer agencies opportunities to streamline improvement efforts to meet shared CFSR program and CCWIS compliance goals.
- Appendix B: Case Management
- Appendix C: Foster Care and Service Provider Management
- Appendix G: Data Quality
- Appendix J: Data Reporting
- Appendix L: User Experience
If you have questions about CCWIS compliance evidence, please contact your assigned analyst.