Governor Perdue Announces Contract for Automated Child Welfare Case Management System

ATLANTA – Governor Sonny Perdue and Department of Human Resources Commissioner B.J. Walker announced today that the state of Georgia is ready to implement a new child welfare information system to help caseworkers track and monitor children and families in Georgia. The contract for the Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS), for use by the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS), has been awarded to Accenture LLP, an international consulting and technology services company.

“Once it is implemented, SACWIS will give case managers the tools to perform their jobs more efficiently, thereby keeping Georgia children more safe,” said Governor Sonny Perdue. “With the signing of this contract, Georgia is one step closer to a comprehensive solution to child welfare.”

Once fully operational, the SACWIS system will enable DFCS to better monitor children under state supervision. The system will allow case managers to spend more time attending to the needs of the children, reducing expensive and time consuming paperwork and repetitive data entry. The SACWIS system will significantly improve data sharing across county lines.

The present tracking system does not provide instant means for monitoring cases, particularly when children move across county lines. SACWIS will integrate functionality and provide a seamless source of information for DFCS staff.

Before SACWIS is introduced statewide, the system will be evaluated in a controlled test environment. Douglas County has been chosen as the test site for SACWIS.

“By testing this new system on a local and limited basis before implementing it statewide, the state will be able to evaluate its components through real world scenarios, while taking into consideration the experiences of actual caseworkers and making changes as needed,” said DHR Commissioner B.J. Walker.

Douglas County was chosen for its close proximity to the metro area, diverse population and moderate size. The county secured a new facility to house county DFCS and SACWIS officials and hired additional caseworkers to reduce caseloads in preparation for SACWIS. The SACWIS project is proceeding on schedule and work on the authentic environment is expected to begin in December 2005. Statewide implementation is expected in 2007.

Planning for the implementation of SACWIS began in the early 1990’s. In 1993, the federal government announced that it would provide financial support for states to create a computerized tracking system. Georgia was one of 45 states that began working on a SACWIS system. More than ten years of work to implement SACWIS in Georgia is culminated with Governor Perdue’s announcement today.

Accenture LLP has a proven track record in this field having developed health and human services solutions in more than 30 states. The contract with Accenture was signed after receiving a seal of approval by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families.

For more information on Accenture, visit http://www.accenture.com.

The SACWIS System offers:

• Web based solution that offers 24/7 availability and will allow for the recording of Intakes at DFCS offices or remotely, wherever access to the agency intranet is available.
• Improves communication and sharing of information across county lines and with our community partners.
• Supports quality decision making by allowing staff easier access to case history, case notes and case activities and providing timely information.
• Assists supervisors with monitoring their caseloads and the quality of the work provided.
• Allows management to collect information about the availability and need for resources in a particular area and across the state.
• Enables case managers to identify foster homes and community resources available to meet a specific child’s needs.
• Provides prompts and alerts when activities are due and overdue. This enables case managers and supervisors to manage cases more efficiently.
• Supports the standardization of policy and procedures which makes the application of policy less complex and easier to adhere to.
• Structured decision-making approach for assessing risk and development of family case plans to provide better outcomes for the clients supported by the system.
• Case workers will spend less time managing paper and more time working with families to determine how best to meet identified goals which will lead to better outcomes for families.