In September 2021, the Children’s Bureau (CB) of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) released the Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System (CCWIS) Technical Bulletins (TBs) #7 (CCWIS Technical Assistance, Self-Assessment Tools, and Monitoring Reviews) and #8 (CCWIS Data Exchange Standards), providing important tools to help title IV-E agencies think about the evolving landscape of the CCWIS journey.

The final rule for the Comprehensive Child Welfare Information Systems (CCWIS) is more focused on the data rather than the system itself.  This is an important change from the previous Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS) focus, and one that will have significant impact to states and tribes.  While there are still elements of the rule that affect systems design, the new focus of the CCWIS is bi-directional data exchanges with courts, education, and Medicaid claims processing systems. 

A couple of opportunities are converging at the federal level that can collectively advance the sharing of data for better child welfare outcomes. First, the recent Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System (CCWIS) Final Rule provides funding for new child welfare systems that are more modular and focused on the data rather than the system itself.  Several states have already declared their intent to take advantage of the funding and build new systems.  

The Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System (CCWIS) Final Rule represents the evolution of the earlier Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS). It also represents a bit of a sea change. Moving the focus from monolithic automated information systems to shared data enables myriad ways for Title IV-E agencies to meet their automation needs, and at the same time, provide important data to the Child Welfare community.