Disclaimer: This project idea is the intellectual property of the Watson LMSW Team.
Team: Watson LMSW (Winner, 2014)
Members: Kimberly Sy, Nekita Singh, & Lizeth Mejia, Queens College
Link to the Business Case Analysis
Project Overview – This team proposes a ‘statewide automated child welfare information system’ and a virtual caseworker assistant that will provide social workers with the support they need to effectively address child abuse and maltreatment cases efficiently and accurately.
Problem – Nationally, child welfare workers have an average caseload that often exceeds recommended levels by more than double (Child Welfare Information Gateway 1). Caseworkers routinely assume the pseudo roles of counselor, investigator, judge, and enforcer all at once and often with little to no experience in any of these fields. New hires typically leave within one year or less due to widespread feelings of inadequacy (Burstain 5). In New York State, turnover rates reach as high as 25% (Borges, 2009). The consequences of an overburdened staff can often lead to mishandled cases and child fatalities.
The Statewide Assessment of New York’s Office of Children and Family Services discovered several areas in need of improvement. They highlighted poor handling of high-risk cases and poor application of abuse prevention programs as two huge gaps in service. Because of the burdens that intake and investigations put on caseworkers, not enough is being done for children to prevent abuse once they are in the state’s care. A child of New York is 127.7% more likely than the national average to have abuse recur 6 months after an abuse report is filed (Robert Dick Jr. 8).
Approach to address the problem – Watson LMSW proposes a new City and Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS) housed on the IBM Watson platform. This system will integrate the Judicial System, the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), the Office of Children and Families Services (OCFS), the Welfare Management System (WMS), the Child Care Review Service (CCRS), the Benefits Issuance and Control System (BICS), and other relevant NYC or NYS social services systems.