THE JOURNEY TO TRIBAL DATA COLLECTIONMaking Informed

Decisions

MCWIC Tribal GatheringTama, Iowa

August 27-28, 2009

Why Collect Data?

How Many Children are in Care Today? Last Year?

Number of Licensed Foster Homes? Total Number of CA/N Reports Last

Month? How Many Were Substantiated Last Year? Children with Multiple CA/N Reports? How Many Tribal Children are in State

Custody? – ICWA Compliance? How Many Children were Returned

Home?

Why is Data Collection Important?

Informs practice--data should reflect the client’s experiences through contact with the agency.

Allows the agency to document actions taken and services provided to children and families.

Ultimately allows the agency to determine the impact/outcome of services to the client.

Permits the agency to proactively plan for the future.

Why is Data Collection Important?

It provides the ability to validate that change is needed in policy and/or practice.

Example: The number of open child abuse/neglect reports is increasing to the point where each worker has 35 open cases.What change is needed?

Why is Data Collection Important?

It provides the ability to track and monitor all children and families served by the agency. Where are the children in foster care placed? What types of services are being provided to

their parents through the treatment plan? Of the currently licensed foster homes, how

many are new this year? How many didn’t renew their licenses? Why?

What percentage of the children are in State custody? When is the next Permanency Hearing? Is the ICWA worker scheduled to attend?

Why is Data Collection Important?

Gives the ability to create specific reports to access information that helps monitor/manage specific areas of need.

Manager: “How many children in foster care need a higher level of care? Do we need to give foster parents additional training?”

Training

Data can help answer the following training questions: Who needs to be trained?– Supervisors, line

workers, support staff, others? New workers? What kind of training do they need? –

Different curriculum for each? Where shall we train? – Training Lab, Office,

Remote (self taught), University? When do we train? – During Normal office

hours, Nights, Weekends? How often? Why – Improved Outcomes for Children and

Families!

Tribal Data Collection

The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-351), was signed into law by the President on October 7, 2008. 

The law provides federally-recognized Indian Tribes with the option to apply to operate a title IV-E program and seek Federal reimbursement of a share of allowable Tribal expenditures made pursuant to an approved title IV-E plan.

Tribal Data Collection As specified by the law, the IV-E

requirements apply to Indian Tribes in the same manner as they apply to States…. an Indian Tribe wishing to operate its own title IV-E program must adhere to the following requirements…. Mandatory Title IV-E Requirements (8) Section 479 of the Act and regulations at

45 CFR 1355.40 and 1356.20(b) require title IV-E agencies to report data to the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) as a condition of the title IV-E plan.

Briefly…what is AFCARS?

Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS)

Don’t Worry, it isn’t a system, it’s just a report!

Requires case-level data on children in foster care, and children who were placed for adoption and on those who receive adoption assistance.

66 data elements on every child in foster care, and 37 data elements for every child adopted.

Reported two times a year.

Why is Data Collection Important?

How Many Children in Care, Today? How Many Children in Care, Last Year? Number of Licensed Foster Homes? Number of CA/N Reports Last Month? How Many Were Substantiated, Last Year? Children with Multiple CA/N Reports? How Many Tribal Children are in State

Custody? – ICWA Compliance? How Many Children were Returned

Home?

How Many Children in Care, Today? - 17 How Many Children in Care, Last Year? -

46 Number of Licensed Foster Homes? - 31 Number of CA/N Reports Last Month? - 8 How Many Were Substantiated, Last Year?

- 22 Children with Multiple CA/N Reports? - 17 How Many Tribal Children are in State

Custody? – ICWA Compliance? – 47%, No How Many Children were Returned

Home? - 9

What Does “System” Mean?

Definition: A structured method to collect, store,

retrieve, and manage information.

Which is Better?

Which is Better?

Points to Consider…

Benefits Costs Political Climate Change Management Training Policy Development and Consistent

Application of Policy System of Record Sustainability

Benefits Information possibilities!!

More, new , better, timely, and consistent. Readily available to those who need it. Can actually be more secure (than paper), and

limited to those with a need to know. New Abilities!!

To measure/improve outcomes for children and families.

Ability to manage effectively by using all the information.

Ability to meet Federal, State, BIA, or Tribal reporting requirements.

Costs to consider…

Initial equipment purchase Initial software purchase Software customization Software license and maintenance Training, training, and more training Data conversion from old system

(automated or paper) Requirements development Policy development

Political Climate

Is funding available for initial purchase, and all future maintenance needs?

Do you have, or are you willing to develop policy that supports the business rules in the system?

Are you willing to make decisions based on what the information in your system tells you?

How willing are your staff to conform to using a system?

Change Management

"It's easiest to ride a horse in the direction it is going." In other words, don't struggle against change; learn to use it to your advantage.

Change management, or the lack of, is always the most overlooked aspect of system implementation.

“Managing change” refers to making changes in a planned and managed or systematic fashion.

Change Management (con’t)

Awareness – of why the change is needed Desire – to support and participate in the

change Knowledge – of how to change Ability – to implement new skills

and behaviors Reinforcement – to sustain the change

Policy Development and Consistent Application of Policy Every system has built in “rules.” These

rules generally monitor, prompt, or require a user to perform a function, enter information, or prohibit the same.

Likewise, Agencies generally have written policy that dictates a certain “practice model.”

In order for a “system” to work there must be developed policy (standards), and the system rules must be consistent with policy.

System of Record

A continuation of policy and its consistent application.

If it isn’t in the system, it didn’t happen.

Opportunity to guide, monitor, require, and enforce certain actions that reflect written policy.

SustainabilityPutting all the Pieces

Together!Click icon to add picture

Even if you Know… What’s really better for you?

THIS? OR THIS?

Which example is easier to share with decision makers and stakeholders?

In the planning stages…

With so many competing needs, it is important to be as clear as you can about why a “system” is needed and what it is expected to accomplish.  Are you trying to meet the performance and

reporting requirements of funding sources? Are you trying to help program staff stay on

top of their cases, and/or help supervisors better manage resources?

Is your goal to gather research data and/or document participant outcomes?

Requirements for System Users

Who will use the System? How often will it be used? What will it be used for? How big are caseloads? What type of support and

training is required?

Data Requirements

Systems can store many different types of data, but they don’t automatically collect it!

When you are deciding what information to collect consider: Where the information will come from; How it will be collected; How often it will be collected; The quality and integrity of the available

data; And the effort needed to collect it.

System Requirements

Technical ArchitectureWI-FIInternetWAN or LAN

Mistakes to Avoid!

Be clear, in any contract, about what the vendor expects from you, and what you expect from the vendor.

Make sure that you understand who “owns” the system (software code).

Mistakes to Avoid!

A common saying in this line of work is that “a system is never completed.”

We don’t all think alike. It is often difficult to get programmers to understand users needs.

Some Lessons Learned from NM…

Strong Team Need to have a strong champion at the

executive leadership level to drive the project. Need to have a proficient programmatic lead

who can make decisions on behalf of program. IT should work at direction of and in support of program, otherwise you get an automated system which does not meet programmatic needs.

Training Start training your own IT staff once platform

and products have been determined and include them in the project, so that they are planning for implementation and maintenance of the system.

Whatever you plan for training of user staff - double it.

NM Lessons Learned… Communication

Keep communication flowing constantly. Keep users involved at every point in the

process. Keep executive leadership informed on a

regular basis. You will need more resources and will need a top manager to support your requests.

Keep federal partners informed. Submit regular communications to all staff on

project progress. Consider adding program subject matter

experts to your IT staff to serve as liaisons between program and technical.

NM Lessons Learned…

Reality Do not sell the system as an answer

to all problems. If you have process issues before automation and do not resolve them, you will just be doing things wrong quicker.

Realize up front that you are re-engineering both programmatic jobs and technical jobs. Do not turn everything over to a contractor, as you will not be able to maintain the monster you have created.

Whatever you initially plan for expenditures for the system will not be enough.

NM Lessons Learned…

More Reality Manage expectations on the system. For

example, your new system will not reduce the need for technical staff - it will definitely require new skill sets.

Plan on losing some technical and programmatic staff after implementation - some will not be able to adjust to the use of new technology - some IT staff prefer to work on a project rather than ongoing maintenance.

In conclusion

…Never forget why you are taking this journey in the first place… to affect positive outcomes for children and families

QUESTIONS?