Alternative Child Welfare Data Sources
Policymakers might have access to other sources of data to learn about the dynamics of children into and out of foster care in their state.
The Multistate Foster Care Data Archive
at Chapin Hall collects administrative data on the histories of children placed in foster care that are provided by a number of state child welfare agencies. The Data Archive uses longitudinal data to examine spells in foster care, which researchers argue provide better measures of trends and performance. The
Center for State Foster Care and Adoption Data
administers the Archive, and was established to bring member child welfare agencies cutting-edge information technology for performance measurement. States currently participating in the Data Archives include Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, and Washington.
Fostering Court Improvement
is a partnership designed to provide child welfare agencies and dependency courts with local data to support collaborative planning, decision making, and performance management. The software converts federal AFCARS data into a longitudinal view of children in foster care and is organized by judicial district, county and child welfare. States currently participating in the FCI data project include Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Nebraska and Tennessee.
University-agency partnerships
have also allowed many states to generate longitudinal data to help states measure performance.
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In California, the University of California-Berkeley
Center for Social Services Research
at the School of Social Welfare generates county-level and statewide
data
that enables each of the 58 counties to track individual performance and to compare their progress to that of other counties.
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In Illinois, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s
Children and Family Research Center
produces statewide data to track performance, as well as an annual report on outcomes.
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The University of North Carolina’s
School of Social Work
also works with the State to produce publicly accessible data that can help policymakers measure progress on their child welfare indicators.