United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2003-11-19 monographic deposited born digital 34 p. GA 1.13:GAO-04-267T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-267T P0b002ee1803a1585 f:d04267t DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-267T machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-267T GAO-04-267T Children Data collection Data integrity Federal aid to states Federal/state relations Management information systems Child welfare Colorado HHS Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System Testimony A08884 To better monitor children and families served by state child welfare agencies, Congress authorized matching funds for the development of statewide automated child welfare information systems (SACWIS) and required that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) compile information on the children served by state agencies. This testimony is based on our July 2003 report and addresses the following: (1) states' experiences in developing child welfare information systems and HHS's role in assisting in their development, (2) factors that affect the reliability of data that states collect and report on children served by their child welfare agencies and HHS's role in ensuring the reliability of those data, and (3) practices that child welfare agencies use to overcome challenges associated with SACWIS development and data reliability. For the July 2003 report, we surveyed all 50 states and the District of Columbia regarding their experiences developing and using information systems and their ability to report data to HHS. We also reviewed a variety of HHS documents and visited five states to obtain firsthand information. Finally, we interviewed HHS officials and child welfare and data experts and reviewed relevant literature. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-267T/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-267T.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-267T/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-267T.pdf GAO-04-267T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-267T Testimony GAO-04-267T; Child Welfare: States Face Challenges in Developing Information Systems and Reporting Reliable Child Welfare Data; Children Data collection Data integrity Federal aid to states Federal/state relations Management information systems Child welfare Colorado HHS Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System