Readiness Phase I Complete

Over the past several months, we have been working diligently to plan and prepare for the future modernized Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System (CCWIS). The CCWIS effort is not a rebuild of SSIS but an opportunity to assess functionality and processes to find opportunities for improvement in how Minnesota supports child welfare work. The focus is on creating flexible tools, reducing duplication, improving auditability, and using automation and data exchanges where they make sense. The goal is to better support today’s case management needs and build a system that can adapt over time in order to better serve the children, youth and families of Minnesota.

Work done in phase 1

During Phase 1 of Readiness, much has been accomplished. This phase of readiness has included collaboration with MNIT and vendor partners to define scope, develop requirements, prepare procurement solicitations, submit required federal planning documents- Planning Advance Planning Document, Implementation Advance Planning Document, and Operational Advance Planning Document (PAPD/IAPD/OAPD)- and to ensure a strong foundation for project’s success moving forward. A wide network of partners have been involved, including Tribal Nations, counties, and state agencies.

More than 40 focus groups and review sessions were held with over 300 participants. These sessions covered requirements for all major program areas such as intake, investigations, case management, Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act (MIFPA), Minnesota African American Family Preservation and Child Welfare Disproportionality Act (MAAFPCWDA), fiscal, licensing, and more. End-to-end reviews were completed in late April through mid-May. Additional work has been underway on template and document planning and RFP development, including the Data Quality Plan. All documents required by our federal partners as part of the IAPD were submitted to the Administration of Children and Families (ACF) in May and are currently under federal review.

Moving towards phase 2

Next steps include starting Phase 2 of readiness with our vendor, focusing on data clean-up and data migration readiness, future-state business process design, and continued partner engagement. Opportunities for engagement will come for multiple groups, including counties and American Indian Child Welfare Initiative (AICWI) Tribal Nations— as we will need participation in reviewing and re-imagining processes and evaluating vendor proposals. An inter-agency Request for Proposal (RFP) evaluation team, including county and tribal members, has been established to participate in the upcoming procurement process, which will begin once federal approval of the IAPD has been granted. Counties and Tribal Nations are also encouraged to continue to focus their efforts on the data cleanup efforts.

Thank you to all partners who continue to contribute time, expertise, and insight as we, together, shape the future of Minnesota’s child welfare information system.