A new budget proposal by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz seeks to dedicate $15 million to overhauling the technology used to track and manage foster care cases — a computer system so dysfunctional, professionals in the field say it acts as a barrier to improving the work of child protection.
A March 8 hearing of the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee illustrated the hurdles created by the current software, the Social Service Information System (SSIS). A number of critical reforms were up for discussion that day: ensuring foster youth are notified when they’re eligible for survivor benefits; providing the foster youth ombudsperson access to data needed for the office’s investigations and making case plans clearer for parents fighting to regain custody of their children.
Each time, fixing the problem hit the same roadblock. Systemic changes couldn’t be made because the data system social workers rely on to manage cases has such limited functionality.
“The counties kept coming up and having to be like, we literally can’t do that,“ said Joanna Woolman, executive director of the Mitchell Hamline School of Law’s Institute to Transform Child Protection.
A $15 million, one-time investment to modernize the computer system was included in the governor’s $226 million supplemental budget proposal, released Monday.
Woolman said that while the problem has long been known, she thinks the great number of reform bills introduced this year that have been stymied by infrastructure shortcomings spurred state leadership to act.
“Child welfare staff lose important data entry due to system crashes, slowness, and unavailability.”
— Minnesota Department of Human Services analysis
In addition to funding to improve and modernize the state’s child welfare and social services reporting system, the 2024 supplemental budget provides for an additional 2,200 slots for kids to go to public school before starting kindergarten, enhancing readiness for pre-reading, pre-math, language and social skills.
“This supplemental budget invests in the core services that ensure Minnesotans can live safer, healthier, better lives,” Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan said in a press release. “By strengthening our child welfare system and adding pre-kindergarten seats, we’re making smart investments that will make Minnesota the best state for kids and families.”
More than 10,600 county, tribal and state employees rely on the SSIS program to track cases involving 60,000 Minnesotans each year. In addition to child protection, foster care and adoption cases, the program is used for other social services, including mental health care, assistance for people living with disabilities and adult protective services.
Anne Broskoff, director of human services for Brown County, said at the March 8 hearing that modernizing the program is a priority for the Minnesota Association of County Social Service Administrators, which represents human services officials across the state.
One key concern is the amount of time it takes caseworkers to complete paperwork on a system described as outdated and dysfunctional.
Employees now spend 50% to 60% of their time completing documentation in the SSIS program — and even more for cases involving out-of-home placement, Nikki Conway, the child welfare manager for Scott County, said at the hearing. That gets in the way of taking on additional burdens that require documentation, she said, representing the county association of social service administrators.
As an example, she testified, a bill that would create a plain-language summary of case plans in order to make them more understandable for parents was a needed change. But while her organization supported the premise of the proposed legislative change, she expressed concerns that it would create up to three hours of additional paperwork per case — due to limitations with the case management software.
Walz addresses this concern in his recent budget proposal.
“By improving SSIS, administrative burdens will be reduced and county and tribal child welfare workers will have more time to spend with children and families,” the governor’s supplemental budget states.
Surveys in recent years have identified significant turnover “as a direct result of the IT system burden,” according to a Department of Human Services analysis of the budget proposal. “Child welfare staff lose important data entry due to system crashes, slowness, and unavailability,” the analysis states. It also notes that the current system doesn’t have mobile capacities allowing workers to input or access data from the field, and it fails to meet accessibility requirements mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The Department of Human Services, which oversees the county-run child welfare agencies, supports the proposed overhaul of the system, but called the $15 million infusion a “down payment,” noting that further funds will be needed for a complete system replacement.
“Investing in Minnesota’s child welfare infrastructure helps ensure children and families have the support they need from county and Tribal child welfare staff,” Children and Family Services Assistant Commissioner Tikki Brown said in a statement sent to The Imprint.
The latest improvement effort comes amid a larger shift to move child welfare and other youth-focused services into a standalone Department of Children, Youth and Families. The cabinet-level department, set to launch in July, is being designed to streamline services for vulnerable families and elevate the state’s focus on child welfare-specific needs.
But despite a $20 million investment toward creating this new department, workers and families will continue to face negative consequences if the technology isn’t updated, a range of system professionals maintain.
“Without making these investments,” Association of Minnesota Counties President Neal Gaalswyk said in a statement, “Minnesota’s county-based child welfare workforce will continue to spend more time documenting and adhering to administrative requirements — instead of spending time supporting children and families in their community — a practice that research indicates is a predictor of successful family outcomes.”
Attorney Woolman further noted that even with the proposed improvements, numerous much-needed child welfare reforms will die in the Legislature because of the current barrier.
Among those is a bill she’s been working on to divert families accused of educational neglect to a community response program, rather than bringing them into a child welfare case.
“The functionality limits innovation,” Woolman said. “It isn’t serving Minnesota.”
