Data & Research

Sharing data between the child welfare system, courts and other stakeholders can greatly improve permanency outcomes for dependent children. Examining multiple social service data systems collectively (child welfare, courts, education, drug and alcohol, mental health etc.) permits stakeholders in the dependency system to make better data informed decisions to attain the shared goal of achieving better outcomes in the areas of safety, permanency, and well-being for dependent children.

The benefits of sharing multi-system data and using data to drive decisions include:

• Recognizing the shared responsibility among partners in the dependency system
• Having a stronger focus on common outcomes
• Identifying best practices
• Identifying areas to make improvement
• Improving allocation of resources
• Pooling resources toward achieving common goals
• Supporting partners’ reform efforts
• Measuring data at different points in the system
• Better understanding trends overtime
• Better understanding the dependency system in its entirety

There are several resources available to dependency system professionals on how sharing data can lead to becoming a more data informed, data focused system.

• National Resource Center for Child Welfare Data and Technology
• 2009 as Toolkit for Court Performance Measurement in Child Abuse and Neglect Cases
• Children’s Bureau – Child Welfare Monitoring (CFSR)
• Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System
• National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS)